AJ Bell or Hargreaves Lansdown (or elsewhere)?

B0bbyEwing

I'm very much a set it and forget it with the investing. Every so often I'll have a look - am I paying over the odds, should I invest in anything else/instead of etc.

My Lifetime ISA is with AJ Bell. I can't remember exactly why I went with them years ago but it must've been to do with cost & availability. I could invest in what I chose, cheaply, and AJ Bell themselves I think were fairly cheap at the time. Hargreaves Lansdown weren't.

I had a look around the other day & I noticed it seems HL charge the exact same annual fee as AJ except HL don't charge the £1.50 fee. It's free?

I only put money in to my L-ISA once per year so it only ever costs me £1.50 per year but another family member is looking to open one & pay in monthly, after using their L-ISA last tax year to buy a house so I'm asking the question for both situations really.

It seems to me that I'd just be better off with HL these days. It'd be the same for cheaper?

But I prefer to ask stupid questions & check than not ask & misunderstand something ... which I've done more than once.

rjmachin

I have a LISA with AJ Bell.

AJ Bell
If you have Shares or ETFs, then the account charge is 0.25% capped at £3.50 per month, this involves at £5 dealing fee per transaction (so £10 for the £4k plus the £1k bonus)
If you have Funds, then the account charge is 0.25% uncapped, but the dealing fee per transaction is £1.50 (so £3 for the £4k plus the £1k bonus)

Hargreaves Lansdown
If you have Shares or ETFs, then the account charge is 0.25% capped at £45 per year (£3.75 per month), but £11.95 per transaction (£23.90 for the £4k plus the £1k bonus).
If you have Funds, then the account charge is 0.25% uncapped, but no dealing fees


So it depends if you intend to use Shares/ETFs or Funds.

If you use Shares/ETFs, then AJ Bell is cheaper
If you use Funds, then Hargreaves Lansdown is cheaper

El_Torro

I  was going to correct you about HL but it seems that their LISA is in fact a 0.25% fee. Their other investments start at 0.45%, which makes them more expensive than many similar providers, so their reputation is well deserved.

I use both AJ Bell and HL (not for LISAs, I haven't got any). Personally I prefer HL for its website which is easy to use. I don't invest solely in HL because AJ Bell is cheaper for what I want. Looking at their LISA offering I agree that it makes sense to just stick with HL. 

There are other providers out there too. The ones that don't charge a percentage fee could be cheaper for what you want.

B0bbyEwing

Yeah I was aware of the 0.45%. This was the case the last time I looked but I guess things have changed.

I don't fully understand ETFs and I don't do shares so it's funds only that I invest in.

Although I'd have to see if one gives higher discount on the funds I hold than the other to see whether this makes a difference or not. 

legasov

Damien Talks Money made a pretty comprehensive video on ISA providers. AJ Bell is in his "sucks" category, an opinion that I share.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfMfvIieuj0

sausage_time

For funds and infrequent trading iWeb could be worth looking at.