Curiosity: why go with (example...) H/Lansdown, St James' Place?

masonic

B0bbyEwing said:

masonic said:

B0bbyEwing said:

Do all providers have to display what investments they offer before you sign up or is that not the case?

Most providers do, as it saves them having to deal with questions from potential investors individually. iWeb does, I'm not sure which other cheaper providers you are researching.

I just went to the S&S ISA section of the MSE main website & started looking at ones that are listed as the cheapest. 

iWeb as listed here in this thread didn't seem to be listed. 

I noted Trading 212 listed. I dabbled with them last year in to the start of this year but if memory serves, they were only shares? I was just playing with loose change and I think overall lost money because it was gambling with individual shares. 

In the end I took it as a lesson & knocked it on the head, sticking totally to funds. One of my holdings in one pot is Fidelity Index World P, another in another pot is HSBC Global Strategy Adventurous. 

I wouldn't use MSE as a guide for investments. It really isn't their forte, although they are a good place to look for joining and switching incentives. Monevator has a more comprehensive platform comparison table, and there is https://comparefundplatforms.com/ if you want to input details of your portfolio to compare the different charging structures.

You won't have any trouble finding the two funds you mention on platforms supporting open ended funds rather than just shares/ETFs/investment trusts, but I also doubt you'll find a more competitive offering than iWeb as most others rely on caps from holding just the latter.

thegentleway

I’m only aware of one person I know who uses SJP. I tried to explain she could get better return for lower fees but she said she was happy with returns and service. I guess she finds them reassuringly expensive lol. She’s wealthy anyway so didn't think there was much point arguing with her.

poseidon1

MacPingu1986 said:

I’ve been with HL for about 15 years as a platform with a S&S ISA, SIPP and general fund & share account.

Hold mostly shares with some funds and have always been very happy, platform works, on rare occasions I’ve had to contact they’ve been good and responsive. Honest answer why I’m still with them is they seemed a safe solid choice 15 years ago and I’ve never changed.

That said perhaps now is a good time to re-evaluate… - any recommendations for platforms with lower holding fees?

I too started solely with HL for isa, sipp and gia accounts. However have been steadily migrating across to Interactive Investors for following reasons:

*  flat £19.95 monthly fee covers all three accounts 
*  one free trade per month, £3.99 per trade thereafter
*  £1 charge for dividend reinvestment ( particularly useful for a monthly income investment trust holding I am building up).
*  The ability to hold foreign company shares in their home currencies, receive and hold foreign dividends in the relevant currencies, hold  up to 9 foreign currencies as an investment asset class  ( currently building dollar and euro investment positions together with associated currencies for diversification purposes ) - I think ii is the only platform to provide this option.
* their pricing of corporate bonds and pibs appears better than hl ( I have held and traded many ORB corporate bonds over the years).
*  for Sipps one can access UFPLS withdrawals for no extra charge ( something which initially attracted me to the HL's sipp and their very helpful explanation of how this option operated)

However, as well to note that ii's web and mobile sites are not as intuitive as HL, but ( at least for me) this is has been a small compromise to access the above features.

Albermarle

For those with a need for more a hands on approach - the premium services may have something to offer- or those with a substantial number of assets needing more esoteric advice for tax etc.

Premium or not, you will not get any personalised investment or esoteric tax advice from these platforms.

Unless they also offer a separate financial advice service, which of course will come with its own fees.

ScarletBea

george4064 said:

I always think of the different platform providers like supermarkets. All provide the same products/investments, just different shopping experiences. (See breakdown below).

It's down to the individual which supermarket or investment platform they shop at/invest with. Many know that Waitrose (or HL) aren't the cheapest, however they prefer the experience over mid-tier places and certainly over the budget shops/platforms.

1. The luxury top tier. In the supermarket world is Waitrose and Ocado, across investments Hargreaves Lansdown fits this category.

2. Next you have the mid tier supermarkets. Sainsburys and Tesco, the likes of AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and Fidelity are here.

3. Finally the budget tier, I'm talking Aldi and Lidl where the shopping experience is typically not as pleasant than a trip to Waitrose. iWeb is the budget platform that comes to mind.

Where would you include Charles Stanley Direct? I moved there from HL to benefit from the cashback and I'm quite happy with the service.

george4064

ScarletBea said:

george4064 said:

I always think of the different platform providers like supermarkets. All provide the same products/investments, just different shopping experiences. (See breakdown below).

It's down to the individual which supermarket or investment platform they shop at/invest with. Many know that Waitrose (or HL) aren't the cheapest, however they prefer the experience over mid-tier places and certainly over the budget shops/platforms.

1. The luxury top tier. In the supermarket world is Waitrose and Ocado, across investments Hargreaves Lansdown fits this category.

2. Next you have the mid tier supermarkets. Sainsburys and Tesco, the likes of AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and Fidelity are here.

3. Finally the budget tier, I'm talking Aldi and Lidl where the shopping experience is typically not as pleasant than a trip to Waitrose. iWeb is the budget platform that comes to mind.

Where would you include Charles Stanley Direct? I moved there from HL to benefit from the cashback and I'm quite happy with the service.

I’ve never had any dealings with CSD so can’t comment on the experience with investing through them, something you’d know better.

I also don’t know their fees, but I’d suspect they’re in the middle tier.

UncleK

Finding this thread very useful! Always steered well clear of shysters like SJP but now thinking of leaping from H&L to iWeb and saving me some money, so thank folks

B0bbyEwing

UncleK said:

Finding this thread very useful! Always steered well clear of shysters like SJP but now thinking of leaping from H&L to iWeb and saving me some money, so thank folks

Glad it's helped someone. 

As I say, I was genuinely just curious so asked. I half expected to be told by some - "it doesn't matter what others do, do what you want to do", which would've missed the point. Pleasantly surprised that didn't come as the posts from others have been helpful for me also.

DavidAC

How would you rate Vanguard and their Life Stratergy funds for the novice investor.

ColdIron

The Lifestrategy range is good for a novice investor. Simple, cheap one stop shop

Vanguard Investor is fine until the sums become more substantial

You could do a lot worse