New HL fee structure from 01/03/26

marlot

Scottish Widows looks a reasonable alternative. Unless I'm missing something. At least for ISAs and general investment accounts.

mills112

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81856269#Comment_81856269

but it is a legit cost to hold the funds and you get dividends from the funds, on which you are taxed, so you should be able to claim the platform fees against your dividend tax.

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81857269#Comment_81857269

The platform fee is not paid wholly and exclusively to receive the dividend. It is not even a necessary fee an investor must pay to receive dividends from a company. You pay the platform fee for a variety of services your custodian provides to you, the majority of which have nothing to do with your dividends.

Even if there was a specific fee you had to pay to receive a dividend, it is not tax deductible. Just like an early access penalty incurred when cashing in savings or other banking fee can't be offset against interest.

ironmongem

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81857242#Comment_81857242

My annual fees will be going up by over £200 with HL, so I'm looking to move elsewhere. How can Scottish Widows have no fees for ISAs and dealing accounts? There must be a catch!

mills112

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81857380#Comment_81857380

HL mentioned their management fees are low. Maybe the others have higher management fees and bigger offer spread? Does the platform determine the bid offer spread? Are the management fees on the funds differ between platforms?

jak22

There are some charges of course https://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/assets/literature/docs/CostsAndCharges.pdf like for dividend reinvestment unless following the suggestion to make use of their free regular investing.

If HL had increased prices a little to cover increased costs or because of offering a new or improved service or slightly changing the balance between management and transaction charges then fair enough, but it's hard to justify £150 a year just to maintain an account - they aren't managing the trusts in an IT ISA for example, even with free dividend re-investment.

Opening an SW account and then requesting an ISA transfer seemed straightforward enough, hopefully it'll proceed smoothly. It may seem easier just to stay put, but given this is a money savings forum £150 a year - it's not a one off amount - seems a pretty good reason to switch.

GeoffTF

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81857380#Comment_81857380

No. There is no catch. SW/iWeb is part of Lloyds Banking Group and I have been using them for over 15 years. The SW, Halifax and Lloyds accounts are run by Halifax Share Dealing Limited, which makes profit:

https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/assets/pdfs/investors/financial-performance/other-subsidiaries/2024/q4/2024-hsdl-annual-report.pdf

GeoffTF

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81857414#Comment_81857414

No, the platform has to offer best execution in Europe. It cannot make money from the bid offer spread. Open ended funds are usually single priced. HL sometimes offers funds with lower management fees, but not low enough to compensate for their higher charges. HL grossly overcharges for holding open ended funds, but there are plenty of people willing to pay.

masonic

New T212 account opened and partial transfer initiated from HL. I'm hoping that will be done and dusted in the first half of Feb, then I can initiate a full transfer of what's left to SWSD. Leaving me with amounts I am comfortable from a platform risk perspective with both providers and access to those investments HSDL won't support for whatever reason.

I must say the process at T212 was very smooth, including ID/selfie part, which often is problematic.

RL11

I opened a T212 last year - primarily for a good cash interest rate. I also tried a partial transfer from my HL S&S ISA to see how it worked. It was very easy and quicker than I expected - submitted 20/01/25 and completed 17/02/25.

Very happy with the app - does everything I need. Planning to transfer S&S ISA and Share Account over - only shares and ETF's in these.

SIPP probably going to Interactive Investor.

Been with HL for 16 years and haven't got a bad word to say about them - except fees. Probably should have moved years ago. Too many cheaper options out there now.