Vanguard Life Strategy 60/40 best platform please

havingaball74

ColdIron said:

havingaball74 said:

ColdIron said:

What is 'best' to you? Cheapest? Best customer service? Portfolio analysis and graphs? Regular investing? On site research?

ISA, SIPP or GIA? How often will you trade?

What will be best for one person will not be for another

I am presuming that a VLS 60 on their website will perform the same as on iWeb, but the fees will be different?

Yes, identically. The fund fee, that OCF, will also be identical. The platform charges will differ. Looking at a Vanguard fund on the Vanguard platform can blur those differences if you are unfamiliar with them

I have a work pension so, at the moment I am just thinking about an ISA.  What is GIA?

It's a General Investment Account, no tax advantages like an ISA or a SIPP

Just to throw a spanner in the works and completely confuse myself, is a SIPP worth looking into?

ColdIron

havingaball74 said:

gravel_2 said:

The fund fee is the same on both platforms (of course).
On iWeb you would pay £5 for the trade if you bought 60k at once. This is a negligible % and a one off cost.

If you buy on Vanguard you are signing up to a 0.15% annual platform fee (approx £90 per year, assuming the investment stays at 60k).

Vanguard direct has a 0.22% ongoing charge.
On top of that, there is a fund fee which is the same whichever site you buy it on? do you know this fee please?

No. That 0.22% Ongoing Charge Figure (OCF) or fund fee is internal to the fund, you will pay it indirectly regardless of your platform

The Vanguard platform annual fee is 0.15%, £0 to buy and sell

IWeb's annual fee is £0, £5 to buy and sell

Lots of trades can make IWeb more expensive than Vanguard (the platform) but the size of your investment doesn't affect the cost

Lots of trades with Vanguard will cost you £0 but the percentage fee will make them more expensive the more you hold with them

Just do your sums with your values and trading frequency

havingaball74

Aidanmc said:

havingaball74 said:

Aidanmc said:

Although Iweb is offering free account opening until 30 June, but a £5 charge per trade. No platform fees

If you were buying the fund in one trade, this would be cheaper overall.

Vanguard has 0.15% platform fee

Thanks. So, you mean, if I just bought a Life Strategy/multi asset fund in one go it is cheaper? 
Vanguard have an Ongoing charge (OCF) of 0.22%. Is that on top of the OCF?

Buy on Iweb is £5 per trade, so buying £60,000 worth would cost £5

If you were going to be investing regularly, Iweb may not work out cheaper

edit.oh, i see you intend to invest 3/4 times per year, so on Iweb that would cost £15/£20 per year, still working out cheaper than Vanguard direct.

Yeah, Vanguard platform fee is 0.15% per year. The OCF is 0.22% whichever platform you choose, its within the fund itself.

I see you mention ISA? Is the £60k already in Cash ISA somewhere and were intending to transfer in to S&S ISA. Otherwise £20k per tax year max can be put into ISA

Yep, it is ready to transfer across. Vanguard don't allow partial transfers but is that the platform or the fund? If I use iWeb can I do a partial ISA transfer so that I can 'drip feed' in a number of transfers? I am not brave enough to transfer £60k in one go!

ColdIron

havingaball74 said:

ColdIron said:

havingaball74 said:

ColdIron said:

What is 'best' to you? Cheapest? Best customer service? Portfolio analysis and graphs? Regular investing? On site research?

ISA, SIPP or GIA? How often will you trade?

What will be best for one person will not be for another

I am presuming that a VLS 60 on their website will perform the same as on iWeb, but the fees will be different?

Yes, identically. The fund fee, that OCF, will also be identical. The platform charges will differ. Looking at a Vanguard fund on the Vanguard platform can blur those differences if you are unfamiliar with them

I have a work pension so, at the moment I am just thinking about an ISA.  What is GIA?

It's a General Investment Account, no tax advantages like an ISA or a SIPP

Just to throw a spanner in the works and completely confuse myself, is a SIPP worth looking into?

Do you have a pension? Do you want or need a second one?

Aidanmc

havingaball74 said:

Aidanmc said:

havingaball74 said:

Aidanmc said:

Although Iweb is offering free account opening until 30 June, but a £5 charge per trade. No platform fees

If you were buying the fund in one trade, this would be cheaper overall.

Vanguard has 0.15% platform fee

Thanks. So, you mean, if I just bought a Life Strategy/multi asset fund in one go it is cheaper? 
Vanguard have an Ongoing charge (OCF) of 0.22%. Is that on top of the OCF?

Buy on Iweb is £5 per trade, so buying £60,000 worth would cost £5

If you were going to be investing regularly, Iweb may not work out cheaper

edit.oh, i see you intend to invest 3/4 times per year, so on Iweb that would cost £15/£20 per year, still working out cheaper than Vanguard direct.

Yeah, Vanguard platform fee is 0.15% per year. The OCF is 0.22% whichever platform you choose, its within the fund itself.

I see you mention ISA? Is the £60k already in Cash ISA somewhere and were intending to transfer in to S&S ISA. Otherwise £20k per tax year max can be put into ISA

Yep, it is ready to transfer across. Vanguard don't allow partial transfers but is that the platform or the fund? If I use iWeb can I do a partial ISA transfer so that I can 'drip feed' in a number of transfers? I am not brave enough to transfer £60k in one go!

I dont know if Iweb accept partial cash ISA transfers. If they dont, you could split you existing cash ISA up first, by transferring some to another cash ISA elsewhere and leaving a balance where you can do a full transfer from.

MeteredOut

havingaball74 said:

ColdIron said:

havingaball74 said:

ColdIron said:

What is 'best' to you? Cheapest? Best customer service? Portfolio analysis and graphs? Regular investing? On site research?

ISA, SIPP or GIA? How often will you trade?

What will be best for one person will not be for another

I am presuming that a VLS 60 on their website will perform the same as on iWeb, but the fees will be different?

Yes, identically. The fund fee, that OCF, will also be identical. The platform charges will differ. Looking at a Vanguard fund on the Vanguard platform can blur those differences if you are unfamiliar with them

I have a work pension so, at the moment I am just thinking about an ISA.  What is GIA?

It's a General Investment Account, no tax advantages like an ISA or a SIPP

Just to throw a spanner in the works and completely confuse myself, is a SIPP worth looking into?

Note that if you go the SIPP route rather than ISA, the fee structure is different.

Here's iWeb's:

https://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/our-accounts/self-invested-personal-pension/sipp-charges.html

Would be £180 pa for a £60K investment (4 x £45) compared to Vanguard's 0.15% (£90 pa initially)

Aidanmc

havingaball74 said:

Aidanmc said:

havingaball74 said:

Aidanmc said:

Although Iweb is offering free account opening until 30 June, but a £5 charge per trade. No platform fees

If you were buying the fund in one trade, this would be cheaper overall.

Vanguard has 0.15% platform fee

Thanks. So, you mean, if I just bought a Life Strategy/multi asset fund in one go it is cheaper? 
Vanguard have an Ongoing charge (OCF) of 0.22%. Is that on top of the OCF?

Buy on Iweb is £5 per trade, so buying £60,000 worth would cost £5

If you were going to be investing regularly, Iweb may not work out cheaper

edit.oh, i see you intend to invest 3/4 times per year, so on Iweb that would cost £15/£20 per year, still working out cheaper than Vanguard direct.

Yeah, Vanguard platform fee is 0.15% per year. The OCF is 0.22% whichever platform you choose, its within the fund itself.

I see you mention ISA? Is the £60k already in Cash ISA somewhere and were intending to transfer in to S&S ISA. Otherwise £20k per tax year max can be put into ISA

Yep, it is ready to transfer across. Vanguard don't allow partial transfers but is that the platform or the fund? If I use iWeb can I do a partial ISA transfer so that I can 'drip feed' in a number of transfers? I am not brave enough to transfer £60k in one go!

Just checked my Iweb acc, they do accept partial ISA transfers from previous years ISA subscriptions

havingaball74

Thank you everyone. So useful. I appreciate you all taking the time to help. My take out is this:
Vanguard Direct:  Pros: Simpler as less choice, good customer service when I called up, known platform name, reputable. Cons: more expensive with larger amounts, less choice (although this can be a good thing!), no partial transfers in
iWeb: Pros: cheaper for larger amounts, more choice of investments (or decisions to make!), allows partial transfers. Cons: Unfamiliar to me. 
How are iWeb on the phone if you need to call them up? I am a nervous investor so being able to talk to a human is really important to me.
Have I missed anything? Over all, which one would YOU opt for?

ColdIron

They're OK. IWeb is operated by Halifax Share Dealing which is owned by Lloyds Banking Group so a big name and reputable

GeoffTF

havingaball74 said:

ColdIron said:

IWeb are great for infrequent trading in an ISA or GIA but their SIPP can be expensive. £180 pa, £360 in drawdown

Thank you!  As a complete beginner who only wants to invest in Vanguard, is iWeb easy to use/ have good customer service? I am trying to balance out cost with ease of use. 

I have been with them for 17 years. No serious problems. iWeb has a better IT system and better customer service than Vanguard, in my experience.