Stocks & Shares ISAs
Options
Comments
-
The entire MSE article just serves the purpose of generating affiliate income for MSE. It is anything but impartial, and does not equip investment newbies with the basic yet comprehensive information needed to make informed decisions. Sad but true.0
-
It's hard for a simple site like MSE to be able to cover all the options and variations but they certainly don't make things easy for new investors with some of the misleading info provided.
HL are one of the more expensive providers but as you have spotted it really depends on the amount you have invested. At £10k the difference is small and like you say the good service and friendly website is worth paying for.
However once you get to having a portfolio of £100k or £200k and the difference is £450 vs £250 or £900 vs £500 then saving £200 or £400 per year starts to become far more significant and maybe not worth paying for.
A lot also depends on what you have invested in, and whether you chose an ISA or a SIPP. For small SIPPs (up to around £50K), HL are amazingly competitive. They are also quite competitive if you have a huge portfolio (£1m upwards - - - which almost nobody has presently).
HL also have many other potential charges that need to be taken into account. Let's not forget, they are a plc that has to generate income and added value for their shareholders. Similar to MSE having to generate affiliate income.
Dog eats dog.0 -
You are joking, are you. Your, and the MSE, approach is a bit like choosing a car dealer before you have even established whether you want a car or a push bike.
Giving inexperienced people the wrong advice is a terrible thing to do.
I do not have an approach.
MSE is stating a fact: To buy an ISA yiu need to have a platform first and buy funds using it.
You are saying this is wrong because it is unwise to choose the platform first when the costs of the funds you buy may be cheaper on another platform. Also true, but MSE makes that point three paragraphs later.
I am in no position to accuse anyone of being pedantic, but I think you could cut them a little slack!Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.0 -
I'm a pretty new investor since last December and have mine with H & L. I went with them because of the old S & S ISA guide which gave them a decent review. I looked a few days ago and the guide was still the same and if memory serves me had not been updated since 2009 (stand to be corrected on that) but it was certainly a long time ago. I look tonight after getting the weekly email and low and behold it has been updated and H & L are now awful !! If I'm reading it right their charges will now cost me £45 per £10K and I could get it for £25, so that will save me £25 per ten thousand pounds each year. Hmmm don't think I will be rushing to move. I know rates and costs are important in all things but does customer service count for nothing anymore. I will be staying put as IMO their customer service is first class, their website and apps easy to use, informative and convenient. Probably the same reasons I have banked with first direct since it's inception.
Is it me or has this website become progressively worse since it sold out ?
Rant over
Not sure if you've seen the rather long thread - currently running to 47 pages - about folk trying to leave Hargreaves Lansdown?
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=48700180 -
I stopped paying any attention to the information on the main site a long time ago. The quality of information that can be gleaned through reading the forums is much better and it appears this article is no exception.0
-
I do not have an approach.
MSE is stating a fact: To buy an ISA yiu need to have a platform first and buy funds using it.
You are saying this is wrong because it is unwise to choose the platform first when the costs of the funds you buy may be cheaper on another platform. Also true, but MSE makes that point three paragraphs later.
I am in no position to accuse anyone of being pedantic, but I think you could cut them a little slack!
MSE, and you, are saying that you first chose a platform and then choose your investment. This indicates that neither MSE nor you actually do understand anything about investments since it is totally obvious to anyone thinking this through is that you start with defining your investment portfolio, not with opting for your investment vehicle.
Nothing pedantic about it, just plain logic and common sense.
If you would care to read up on investments (e.g. Tim Hale "Smarter Investing", anything on Motley Fool or monevator, anything in the personal finance sections of respectable papers, and even the personal finance sections of tabloid papers), you would see that nobody who wants to make money from their investments is starting by choosing a platform.0 -
I can't work out which is the best platform for making regular (monthly) investments. Let's say I want to put anywhere between £250 and £1,250 a month into a stocks & shares ISA. It looks like I'm better off with Cavendish's 0.25% fee (maximum £37.50 for the first year) rather than iWeb's fee of £5 per trade (£60 a year + £25 charge); but in subsequent years I might have to switch.
Ease of use is important too. Are there any providers where I can set up a standing order, and have it automatically invested in a specific fund or share? iWeb used to offer this for just £1.50 a month, but they stopped, citing "low demand".0 -
drewsterboy wrote: »Ease of use is important too. Are there any providers where I can set up a standing order, and have it automatically invested in a specific fund or share? iWeb used to offer this for just £1.50 a month, but they stopped, citing "low demand".0
-
Thank you for the feedback above folks.
We've done our best to meet the constant demand from users for an article on this subject.
As you'll note this is what we call a 'first incarnation' article - and we always welcome your thoughts as on an expansive piece like this people don't necessarily read it the way we intend it to be read. So we have to tweak it to try and reflect that.
I'm actually off work this week, but was involved in the planning and angles we chose to take before I went, though not the final draft.
We're constantly tweaking this and improving it, and your feedback where appropriate will be incorporated. I have a meeting next week, as I normally do with new guides, when back to review the guide again looking at feedback as well as data analysis of the article use itself (plus as I didnt edit this personally, my take on it) as we aim to hone and improve it.
It's not easy writing a guide like this, and I think the team have done a great job. The difficulty is it must be aimed both first time investors who haven't a clue where to start, and more experienced investors who just want to know the cheapest place to do it. More difficult is the fact that our focus is on platforms not funds as we don't aim to become an investment choice site.
One thing I would note is that a few of the criticisms above seem to have missed where we say exactly what you're saying "we should say". Eg we already have a full Junior ISA guide. We have a SIPP guide. Yet we segment articles on the subject - this is only a 'stocks and shares ISA' guide for adults.
The point about cash ISAs v shares was for those who wanted to do both talking which is more favourable for tax in different circumtances, that obviously didn't come across, so I've asked the team to look at tweaking the text to make it more clear.
The team have done very detailed research and number crunching into different scenarios to pick these providers. As always we first do the research, pick the top providers, then go seee if the top providers had affiliate links, in this case most did - if they hadn't we would've still linked and written in the same way (its worth noting in this sector, virtually all proividers have affiliate programmes, so the vast majority of those we didn't pick have them too).
Anyway back to the main point, hopefully over the next few weeks (then months, then years) you'll see the article iteratively improve and help more people - and your feedback will have been a valuable part of that so thank you.
Martin
PS Sorry if this is scrappily written, I've bashed it out quickly while Mrs MSE isn't looking - as Im meant to be going work Cold Turkey!Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert.
Please note, answers don't constitute financial advice, it is based on generalised journalistic research. Always ensure any decision is made with regards to your own individual circumstance.Don't miss out on urgent MoneySaving, get my weekly e-mail at www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.Debt-Free Wannabee Official Nerd Club: (Honorary) Members number 0000 -
Robin_Davies wrote: »Take a look at Charles Stanley Direct. Similar charges to Cavendish but may have more scope. Excellent website too.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.1K Life & Family
- 248K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards