Buying gilts - which platform to use?

fire_in_progress

I am considering buying some (conventional and index-linked) gilts and am not sure about which platform to use.

It seems that Fidelity don't offer gilts at all (only gilts funds and ETFs), whereas Scottish Widows (formerly iWeb) offer them.

Any other platform which offers gilts?

Thanks for the help!

InvesterJones

HL, AJ Bell, Interactive Investor (limited?), Freetrade (limited choice) etc. etc.

DRS1

Someone somewhere posted a list of those platforms which let you buy gilts (ILGs) online and those which make you use the phone - not sure if I can find it.

HL allows you to buy conventional gilts online and a couple of ILGs but for most ILGs you have to phone. But they still charge you the online commission for those deals so that is something.

phlebas192

This link gives the gilts tradeable online with AJ Bell. 98 in total of which 33 are index linked so all but a few - I've no idea why those missing don't qualify for online trading.

https://www.ajbell.co.uk/investment/bonds/gilts/prices

masonic

AJ Bell has the added benefit of showing the dirty price for ILG, so you don't see a spurious loss in your valuations.

mills112

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962804#Comment_81962804

HL displays the clean price, so when you go to make a purchase, do they show you the accrued interest that you also need to pay?

masonic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962868#Comment_81962868

I haven't bought ILG at HL (only conventional gilts there), but I have at both SWSD and AJ Bell. When you make a purchase, you normally specify the amount of money you want to invest, so you'll get as many units as you can buy for that money, with a contract note showing the accrued interest, dirty price etc.

GeoffTF

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962868#Comment_81962868

You do not pay accrued interest when you buy gilts. You subtract the accrued interest from the next coupon payment. (The accrued interest can be negative, but that is another matter.)

HL provides a contract note that shows the accrued interest (as does SWSD). HL's online system values new style ILG's incorrectly with the clean price, but their quarterly statements value them correctly with the dirty price (unlike SWSD).

mills112

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962889#Comment_81962889

without them showing the accrued interest that you need to pay the previous owner, it is difficult to work out the real yield on the gilt.

mills112

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962915#Comment_81962915

i am planning to buy them instead of putting money into a one year fixed rate savings account when the extra 2% tax on savings interest kicks in next April.

so I want to be able to calculate / check the gilt yield versus the fixed savings interest, so i need to know this acrrued interest accurately. do you get this information before you make a purchase on HL?

DRS1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81962868#Comment_81962868

Maybe the reason why HL don't let you buy ILGs online is so that the dealer can check that you understand the difference between dirty price and clean price when you call up to deal. The last time I did it I was told the clean price. I then said how much I wanted to spend and he went away and then came back with the number of units that would buy (at the dirty price). He did, when asked, tell me the dirty price.

As mentioned the accrued interest is separated out on the contract note (and it is part of the price you pay so I am not sure what @GeoffTF means exactly when he says you don't pay accrued interest - maybe that you are not paying interest just an equivalent amount?). But for ILGs the difference between clean and dirty is not just the accrued interest it is a whole load of index linking. That is why when you look at your account summary on HL just after buying an ILG you can appear to have made a loss of 30+% in the space of a minute.