Interactive Investor fees

downhillian

I have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA through ii worth around £18k. I have just noticed I pay a £9.99 pcm fee for having an account with ii which i think allows you one trade a month (which I don't need) Should I keep this or close the account and maybe transfer it direct to Vanguard?

dunstonh

I have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA through ii worth around £18k.

You cannot have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA with II.  You can have an II ISA investing in Vanguard funds though.

 Should I keep this or close the account and maybe transfer it direct to Vanguard?

Will you be wanting to use the whole of market in the future for your investments?
Will you want to use functionality that is not available on the vanguard platform but is on II?

Albermarle

II has a fixed fee charging structure that is more suitable for larger funds . For smaller funds it is better to be with a platform that as % fee charging charging structure.
So you can transfer to Vanguard ( which has some limitations) or to another % charge platform with a slightly higher charge but less limitations, particularly in terms of investment choice, such as Hargreaves Lansdown; Fidelity or AJ Bell.

downhillian

I has a fixed fee charging structure that is more suitable for larger funds . For smaller funds it is better to be with a platform that as % fee charging charging structure.
So you can transfer to Vanguard ( which has some limitations) or to another % charge platform with a slightly higher charge but less limitations, particularly in terms of investment choice, such as Hargreaves Lansdown; Fidelity or AJ Bell.

I'm happy to leave investment choice to the platform so with a fund of £18k would it be cheaper to transfer to Vanguard?

downhillian

dunstonh said:

I have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA through ii worth around £18k.

You cannot have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA with II.  You can have an II ISA investing in Vanguard funds though.

 Should I keep this or close the account and maybe transfer it direct to Vanguard?

Will you be wanting to use the whole of market in the future for your investments?
Will you want to use functionality that is not available on the vanguard platform but is on II?

what do you mean by using whole of market and functionality?

dunstonh

downhillian said:

dunstonh said:

I have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA through ii worth around £18k.

You cannot have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA with II.  You can have an II ISA investing in Vanguard funds though.

 Should I keep this or close the account and maybe transfer it direct to Vanguard?

Will you be wanting to use the whole of market in the future for your investments?
Will you want to use functionality that is not available on the vanguard platform but is on II?

what do you mean by using whole of market and functionality?

Vanguard is a restricted platform that only offers its own funds.    Vanguard does not have the best trackers in every area.  So, if you are building a portfolio of single sector funds you would likely want to use funds from other fund houses.    Whereas if you are just in one of the vanguard multi-asset funds, then that doesn't matter.

And in terms of functionality, Vanguard's platform is relatively new and doesn't offer all the functionality that others do.   There have been comments on the board that some things that people wanted to do are not available yet (at the time of posting).  This mainly applies to pensions though.     Platforms are not all the same.  The front ends differ (what you see) and the configuration and options vary.    Some have lots of information and functions you can use.  Others do not.   So, if you value certain functionality from ii, you should make sure it is present on any alternative platform you are considering moving to.

Linton

downhillian said:

dunstonh said:

I have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA through ii worth around £18k.

You cannot have a Vanguard 100% equity ISA with II.  You can have an II ISA investing in Vanguard funds though.

 Should I keep this or close the account and maybe transfer it direct to Vanguard?

Will you be wanting to use the whole of market in the future for your investments?
Will you want to use functionality that is not available on the vanguard platform but is on II?

what do you mean by using whole of market and functionality?

Whole of market - a very wide range of funds from many providers vs only having access to Vanguard funds
Functionality - easy access to all your required facilities, tools, reports and data from website.

EdSwippet

downhillian said:

I'm happy to leave investment choice to the platform so with a fund of £18k would it be cheaper to transfer to Vanguard?

In short, for you, and for now, and if you're happy to use only Vanguard funds, then yes. Vanguard's 0.15% platform charge will cost you £27/year. Compare to Interactive Investor at £120/year.

If or when your investments reach £80k, then the balance switches. 0.15% of £80k is £120. Above £80k, Interactive Investor has the lower platform charge.

Exodi

dunstonh said:

And in terms of functionality, Vanguard's platform is relatively new and doesn't offer all the functionality that others do.   There have been comments on the board that some things that people wanted to do are not available yet (at the time of posting).  This mainly applies to pensions though. 

To highlight from dunstonh's (spot on) advice, Vanguard only offers their own funds and you can not invest in individual stocks.

As someone that uses Vanguard, among other other platforms, my main two gripes with them are:

• they do not have a mobile app.
• they do not allow employers to make payments into a SIPP (commonly by direct debit). You have to be a director and using a company debit card.

Though the annual charge being a third of HL's (for example) certainly does help you look past it if you only intend to invest in broad index funds!

Albermarle

I'm happy to leave investment choice to the platform so with a fund of £18k would it be cheaper to transfer to Vanguard?

None of the platforms mentioned will make any investment choices for you. You have to do that yourself.

Think of a platform, like a supermarket. They have all the goods on display, and they may even make some more prominent, but it is you who chooses what to buy.

cloud_dog

downhillian said:

I has a fixed fee charging structure that is more suitable for larger funds . For smaller funds it is better to be with a platform that as % fee charging charging structure.
So you can transfer to Vanguard ( which has some limitations) or to another % charge platform with a slightly higher charge but less limitations, particularly in terms of investment choice, such as Hargreaves Lansdown; Fidelity or AJ Bell.

I'm happy to leave investment choice to the platform so with a fund of £18k would it be cheaper to transfer to Vanguard?

AJ Bells new platform Dodl might be an option.  Similar charging percentage as Vanguard (0/15%), and whilst is does have a restricted list of funds available (compared to the full providers; II, HL, AJ Bell, etc), they are selected from what AJ Bell consider to be the 'better' options (what constitutes 'better' is in the eye of the beholder).  Dodl also offers AJ Bell's ready made, risk targeted funds for those that may feel more comfortable with using that as an option (I'm not commenting on the funds 'value', just highlighting their availability).