Share Dealing Platform

frankiesowner

I am retiring in the next few years and live in the UK and a UK taxpayer. I have built up a holding of company shares through the company's share scheme, current value is ~ £50k. They are currently managed by Equiniti. When I retire I have the option of leaving the shares with Equiniti to manage or transferring to another 'brokerage' platform - the 'window' in which to make that decision is quite short so I need to have decided up front. Colleagues who have said it's better to move the shares as Equiniti is expensive if you want to sell in the future. I wont sell them all but will want to trade a few £k's worth each year.

I've looked at the monevator tables but cannot figure out the best scheme. The basic facts are:

1. The holding will most likely be static (I wont' be adding to it) but will decline as I sell

2. I will sell approx 4 - 5 £k per year as a one off sale

3. If things go south then I'll firesale the whole lot.

Appreciate any comment of what might be the best platform for this scenario. One other point, I already have a SIPP in Hargreaves Lansdowne.

Thanks.

Linton

Define “best” .

If you believe HL is best for your SIPP then I do not see why you would come to a different conclusion for your shares. Some people would regard HL as unnecessarily expensive. Any mainstream platform should have the functionality you require, assuming these are shares quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

coastline

Will it be possible to transfer some if not all into a tax wrapper ?

Tax and Employee Share Schemes: Transferring your shares to an ISA - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

guessing you've looked at the links ?

The cheapest stocks and shares ISA on the market - Monevator

Broker comparison: cheap investment platforms UK - Monevator

If in an online account select the EQi tab it's £10.99 which isn't too bad really. If your present account is different then as about a transfer ? Might save all the hassle ?

Charges to buy and sell shares - Buy and sell shares - Help and Support - Equiniti

refluxer

I have recently opened a Nominee account with x-o who run a simple, good value service and charge a flat fee of £5.95 per trade. For a very occasional trader without complex requirements, this suits my needs.

If it's a Corporate Sponsored Nominee (CSN) account you currently hold with Equiniti/Shareview, the selling fees are 1% with a minimum of £20 but would there be a charge for transferring out ?

One advantage of x-o for me over some other brokers is that there are no ongoing costs for holding the account and no inactivity fees. I used to have a share-dealing account with Halifax but left because the annual charges they introduced meant the account is now only really suitable for someone who trades on a much more regular basis than I do.

where_are_we

 Assuming your company shares are UK based and traded on LSE then I also would suggest x-o . I have held an x-o nominee account and an x-o isa account for a number of years, and appreciate no annual charge and a £5.95 dealing charge. Beware that there is a £60 closure charge. I suspect their dealing prices might not be the best and withdrawals are by email and take a couple of days.

As "coastline" suggests check out your scheme`s transfer out into an ISA wrapper to avoid tax. Try to keep your annual £20K ISA allowance unused for the year of transfer. Holding £50k of shares in one company is high risk and I would suggest spreading your risk when your share scheme is wound up. Remember x-o is no good for funds and I use it mainly for ETF`s.

refluxer

where_are_we said:

 Assuming your company shares are UK based and traded on LSE then I also would suggest x-o . I have held an x-o nominee account and an x-o isa account for a number of years, and appreciate no annual charge and a £5.95 dealing charge. Beware that there is a £60 closure charge. I suspect their dealing prices might not be the best and withdrawals are by email and take a couple of days.

I think that closure charge only applies to their ISA account ? I think I checked that when applying for the Nominee account

frankiesowner

Linton said:

Define “best” .

If you believe HL is best for your SIPP then I do not see why you would come to a different conclusion for your shares. 

Yes I was a little naïve at the time and followed a previous HL ISA into a HL SIPP. Since then I've moved the ISA, because of charges, and will most likely do the same with the SIPP.

frankiesowner

refluxer said:

If it's a Corporate Sponsored Nominee (CSN) account you currently hold with Equiniti/Shareview, the selling fees are 1% with a minimum of £20 but would there be a charge for transferring out ?

One advantage of x-o for me over some other brokers is that there are no ongoing costs for holding the account and no inactivity fees. I used to have a share-dealing account with Halifax but left because the annual charges they introduced meant the account is now only really suitable for someone who trades on a much more regular basis than I do.

Thanks. Yes I believe it is a CSN account (getting details out of Equiniti is proving to be a challenge).  Yes one of the things previous leavers have warned me about is the future charge should I wish to transfer out - hence the need to act quickly after I retire so as not to be 'locked in'.
I'm going to look at x-o which looks promising.  However I need to understand how the trade is executed. Is it online and do you get a confirmed price for the sale.  Will look into that.

adindas

frankiesowner said:

I am retiring in the next few years and live in the UK and a UK taxpayer. I have built up a holding of company shares through the company's share scheme, current value is ~ £50k. They are currently managed by Equiniti. When I retire I have the option of leaving the shares with Equiniti to manage or transferring to another 'brokerage' platform - the 'window' in which to make that decision is quite short so I need to have decided up front. Colleagues who have said it's better to move the shares as Equiniti is expensive if you want to sell in the future. I wont sell them all but will want to trade a few £k's worth each year.

I've looked at the monevator tables but cannot figure out the best scheme. The basic facts are:

1. The holding will most likely be static (I wont' be adding to it) but will decline as I sell

2. I will sell approx 4 - 5 £k per year as a one off sale

3. If things go south then I'll firesale the whole lot.

Appreciate any comment of what might be the best platform for this scenario. One other point, I already have a SIPP in Hargreaves Lansdowne.

Thanks.

You will be more flexible if you choose a low fee for share dealing platform. Example FreeTrade. HL is definite not in this league. 

But you also need to consider that this challenger investment platform is relatively new.

frankiesowner

Was investigating the x-o platform which looks very interesting and a possibility. Discovered Freetrade - https://freetrade.io/ - which also seems to offer a no fee / no frills service and can handle transfer in of UK listed securities. Freetrade seems to be almost perfect but wonder if I'm missing something?

jimjames

How about iWeb? No annual fees and only £5 to trade.