Stocks & Shares ISA Which One?
Discussion
Currently at the research stage so don't give me too much grief if I've got this wrong, but I have around a spare £200 a month I'd like to chuck into something to take advantage of decent compound interest, the plan is that this will be a long term thing, at the moment a 20+ year plan to carry on doing this, so is a S&S ISA what I want and if so who can I go with that offers the most choice in funds?
Thank you in advance.
Thank you in advance.
There are at least three sets of fees you need to keep in mind.
Platform charges are what the platform (Hargreaves Lansdown or Vanguard or YouInvest for example) will charge you for any funds you hold with them and again costs can vary from nothing through to 0.45% at the higher end.
Dealing fees are what you pay for buying and selling funds and they can range from free to £7-10 but on a platform where you pay you sometimes find that an automated monthly investment can be done at a reduced (or no) cost.
Those three variables along with the amount of money involved can make a big difference to what you end up paying in charges for your investments.
- Fund fees
- Platform fees
- Dealing fees
Platform charges are what the platform (Hargreaves Lansdown or Vanguard or YouInvest for example) will charge you for any funds you hold with them and again costs can vary from nothing through to 0.45% at the higher end.
Dealing fees are what you pay for buying and selling funds and they can range from free to £7-10 but on a platform where you pay you sometimes find that an automated monthly investment can be done at a reduced (or no) cost.
Those three variables along with the amount of money involved can make a big difference to what you end up paying in charges for your investments.
b
hstewie said:
hstewie said: There are at least three sets of fees you need to keep in mind.
Platform charges are what the platform (Hargreaves Lansdown or Vanguard or YouInvest for example) will charge you for any funds you hold with them and again costs can vary from nothing through to 0.45% at the higher end.
Dealing fees are what you pay for buying and selling funds and they can range from free to £7-10 but on a platform where you pay you sometimes find that an automated monthly investment can be done at a reduced (or no) cost.
Those three variables along with the amount of money involved can make a big difference to what you end up paying in charges for your investments.
Great info here. Worth looking for something that you could add to each month for little to no cost as suggested about if that fits your investment pattern.- Fund fees
- Platform fees
- Dealing fees
Platform charges are what the platform (Hargreaves Lansdown or Vanguard or YouInvest for example) will charge you for any funds you hold with them and again costs can vary from nothing through to 0.45% at the higher end.
Dealing fees are what you pay for buying and selling funds and they can range from free to £7-10 but on a platform where you pay you sometimes find that an automated monthly investment can be done at a reduced (or no) cost.
Those three variables along with the amount of money involved can make a big difference to what you end up paying in charges for your investments.
I opened one a couple of years ago to specifically place a chunk of money as a one off. I paid a bit more for the dealing fee, but it didn't matter as I only had one buy and one sell deal.
cml24 said:
Great info here. Worth looking for something that you could add to each month for little to no cost as suggested about if that fits your investment pattern.
I opened one a couple of years ago to specifically place a chunk of money as a one off. I paid a bit more for the dealing fee, but it didn't matter as I only had one buy and one sell deal.
That's exactly what I want, as I'll be looking setup up a monthly dd/standing order and maintain that hopefully until retirement (30yrs).I opened one a couple of years ago to specifically place a chunk of money as a one off. I paid a bit more for the dealing fee, but it didn't matter as I only had one buy and one sell deal.
some great info so far, thank you.
Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Sunday 7th February 14:42
Broadly speaking for small amounts and regular investments Vanguard direct are going to be pretty cheap.
Honestly and please take this the way it's intended but if you're only putting in a couple of hundred a month I'd be tempted to just go with HL and worry about charges down the line when the pot has grown large enough that they can make a significant difference.
Honestly and please take this the way it's intended but if you're only putting in a couple of hundred a month I'd be tempted to just go with HL and worry about charges down the line when the pot has grown large enough that they can make a significant difference.
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: Broadly speaking for small amounts and regular investments Vanguard direct are going to be pretty cheap.
Honestly and please take this the way it's intended but if you're only putting in a couple of hundred a month I'd be tempted to just go with HL and worry about charges down the line when the pot has grown large enough that they can make a significant difference.
I would (respectfully) disagree - a percentage is a percentage, it doesn’t matter how big your pot is.Honestly and please take this the way it's intended but if you're only putting in a couple of hundred a month I'd be tempted to just go with HL and worry about charges down the line when the pot has grown large enough that they can make a significant difference.
Go with HL or another if you need access to the broader market and their other Bells and whistles - but if you’re happy investing using a passive methodology, using small amounts purchased frequently, then the Vanguard platform is ideal.
And it’s 1/3rd the cost of HL (0.15% vs 0.45%)
thekingisdead said:
I would (respectfully) disagree - a percentage is a percentage, it doesn’t matter how big your pot is.
Go with HL or another if you need access to the broader market and their other Bells and whistles - but if you’re happy investing using a passive methodology, using small amounts purchased frequently, then the Vanguard platform is ideal.
And it’s 1/3rd the cost of HL (0.15% vs 0.45%)
Funny thing is I agree with you to some extent which means I'm kind of contradicting myself here Go with HL or another if you need access to the broader market and their other Bells and whistles - but if you’re happy investing using a passive methodology, using small amounts purchased frequently, then the Vanguard platform is ideal.
And it’s 1/3rd the cost of HL (0.15% vs 0.45%)
My reasoning is that if you're starting from nothing and putting away £200/month you'll have five grand (plus growth hopefully) after two years.
Now this is not to dismiss five grand but even with HL you'll only be paying £25/year in platform fees.
How much time do you invest (pardon the pun) trying to reduce £2/month in fees to £1/month?
I agree entirely that if Vanguard offers what you want it's almost certainly the ideal platform here.
Maybe even an argument that less choice reduces the urge to fiddle and hop from fund to fund!
Here's a simplified view on platform charges for your consideration (assume for OEIC funds in your Share ISA) using some sample platforms that provide access to the market (with one exception).
1- iWeb with an one-off £100 account fee + £5 dealing charge.
iWEB is a no-thrill budget platform [not used them myself, but other forum members have]
2- Vanguard charge 0.15%, no dealing charge.
Reputable firm with choice of > 70 funds/etf's, but you are restricted to their own products.
3- AJ Bell charge 0.25% (up to £250k pot) with £1.50 dealing charge
AJ Bell charge 0.25% and it suits all investors with a low starting £1.50 dealing charge [not used them myself, but other forum members have]. If you use AJ bell, and your portfolio reach a certain size (e.g. £50,000 @ 0.25% =£125), it's could be beneficial to switch to a fixed fee platform such as ii (see below)
4- Interactive Investor charge £9.99 / month + 1 free dealing credit (extra cost £7.99 each)
Fixed platform fee @ £120/annum + 1 free dealing charge/month which is pretty decent value for investors with a larger portfolio.
5- Hargreaves Lansdown charge 0.45% (up to £250k pot) + no dealing charge.
Slick website and fully functional phone app (I found customer support excellent in the past), you can go for HL which is the top end of platform cost @ 0.45%, and there's no dealing charge.
As stated, the above is just a simplified view of some sample platform charges, and the platform charge can vary depending on your portfolio size, investment products (maybe consider consolidating your SIPP onto the same platform too?), and frequency of dealing.
Hope this is helpful to you.
1- iWeb with an one-off £100 account fee + £5 dealing charge.
iWEB is a no-thrill budget platform [not used them myself, but other forum members have]
2- Vanguard charge 0.15%, no dealing charge.
Reputable firm with choice of > 70 funds/etf's, but you are restricted to their own products.
3- AJ Bell charge 0.25% (up to £250k pot) with £1.50 dealing charge
AJ Bell charge 0.25% and it suits all investors with a low starting £1.50 dealing charge [not used them myself, but other forum members have]. If you use AJ bell, and your portfolio reach a certain size (e.g. £50,000 @ 0.25% =£125), it's could be beneficial to switch to a fixed fee platform such as ii (see below)
4- Interactive Investor charge £9.99 / month + 1 free dealing credit (extra cost £7.99 each)
Fixed platform fee @ £120/annum + 1 free dealing charge/month which is pretty decent value for investors with a larger portfolio.
5- Hargreaves Lansdown charge 0.45% (up to £250k pot) + no dealing charge.
Slick website and fully functional phone app (I found customer support excellent in the past), you can go for HL which is the top end of platform cost @ 0.45%, and there's no dealing charge.
As stated, the above is just a simplified view of some sample platform charges, and the platform charge can vary depending on your portfolio size, investment products (maybe consider consolidating your SIPP onto the same platform too?), and frequency of dealing.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Just to add some platform fee comparisons in view of the above Vanguard comments.
Based on platform charge alone, it's 'cheaper' to invest direct with Vanguard (if that's your choice of fund) up to £80,000. Once your pot exceeds £80,000, it's 'cheaper' to invest on the ii as the platform fee is fixed at £120 i.e. you only pay the fund fee for any additional investment holding > £80,000. Apart from fund fees, the selection of your investment platform can affect your resulting investments pot in 5/10/15 years time!
Based on platform charge alone, it's 'cheaper' to invest direct with Vanguard (if that's your choice of fund) up to £80,000. Once your pot exceeds £80,000, it's 'cheaper' to invest on the ii as the platform fee is fixed at £120 i.e. you only pay the fund fee for any additional investment holding > £80,000. Apart from fund fees, the selection of your investment platform can affect your resulting investments pot in 5/10/15 years time!
Edited by chip* on Sunday 7th February 17:36
thekingisdead said:
I would (respectfully) disagree - a percentage is a percentage, it doesn’t matter how big your pot is.
Go with HL or another if you need access to the broader market and their other Bells and whistles - but if you’re happy investing using a passive methodology, using small amounts purchased frequently, then the Vanguard platform is ideal.
And it’s 1/3rd the cost of HL (0.15% vs 0.45%)
Am I missing something?Go with HL or another if you need access to the broader market and their other Bells and whistles - but if you’re happy investing using a passive methodology, using small amounts purchased frequently, then the Vanguard platform is ideal.
And it’s 1/3rd the cost of HL (0.15% vs 0.45%)
When I look at the Vanguard Personal Investor Cost and Charges Information sheet it says for
Vanguard Life Strategy 100%: Account fee 0.15%, Ongoing costs 0.22%, Transaction costs 0.02%. Total cost = 0.39%
Do the ongoing and transaction costs not apply when it is a SIPP?
I’m with Vanguard and it’s a great fire and forget type affair. Just choose your level of risk and away you go.
Pretty cheap as well but there’s no advice available with the life strategy funds.
IM on here is also well regarded and have similar type products and they’ll talk to you as well. May be worth a chat - see the sticky above.
Pretty cheap as well but there’s no advice available with the life strategy funds.
IM on here is also well regarded and have similar type products and they’ll talk to you as well. May be worth a chat - see the sticky above.
r44flyer said:
Is it correct that with IM you have to invest a minimum of 100k? Or have I made that up?
Normally....but to PH folk like us, they kindly waive that...and also waive their normal fee 
Just use the code mentioned on the first page of their monster sticky thread (there’s a few PH folk who natter there!).
& also post any questions on that thread for Julian or Nik to answer....
Are you wanting to actively pick the funds that you're in?
If not can I suggest Wealthsimple. I've been using them since Jan 2017 and they have so far returned ±17.5% over that time (so ±6% avg per year) with very low fees of 0.7% and introductory offers for free management of funds for 12 months as well as referral benefits.
https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-gb/product/invest
I'll happily send you a referral invite if you want to check it out, just send me a PM.
If not can I suggest Wealthsimple. I've been using them since Jan 2017 and they have so far returned ±17.5% over that time (so ±6% avg per year) with very low fees of 0.7% and introductory offers for free management of funds for 12 months as well as referral benefits.
https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-gb/product/invest
I'll happily send you a referral invite if you want to check it out, just send me a PM.
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