Which trading platforms do people use?

[TiminYorkshire]

I'm looking for a trading platform for a S&S ISA with low costs and reasonable access to some pretty general funds. What do people currently recommend wrt ease of use, access and costs? This may have been covered before but I'm sure things change all the time...

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Personally I use Fidelity, and have no real complaints. People say their customer service is a bit pants, but I’ve never had the need for it so I can’t comment. Their fees are reasonably low.

Another big name often mentioned is Hargreaves Lansdown. I gather that their customer service is good, but their fees are significantly higher than Fidelity. I guess you get what you pay for.

If you’re not likely to need much support then I’d say Fidelity are a reasonable choice.

[TiminYorkshire]

Thanks, just trying to gather a reasonable short list to choose out of at this stage.

[theaxe]

I use Hargreaves Lansdown and I have no complaints. The platform works well.

[JulianPH]

Hargreaves Lansdown are possibly the best when all factors are taken into account (wrappers available, funds and stocks availability, user friendly software and research tools, customer support) but you pay a bit of a premium for this.

AJ Bell offer (broadly speaking) the same products with lower fees but lower levels of software and support services (according to others here).

Fidelity has less in the way of offerings (and do they still have an overseas support desk?) but are cheaper again and what they do have suits most fund based investors.

I suppose you get what you pay for in these examples.

[Unexpected Item In The Bagging Area]

Fidelity works well for my OH and I too

[TiminYorkshire]

Thanks for the further succinct replies above. A few to investigate.

[Simpo Two]

What does the panel think of Old Mutual Wealth?

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

JulianPH said:

Fidelity has less in the way of offerings (and do they still have an overseas support desk?) but are cheaper again and what they do have suits most fund based investors.

Fidelity is not just fund based. You can trade individual UK stocks as well.

[WindyCommon]

Charles Stanley Direct.

V unusual approach to customer service - the person who answers your call is always helpful and nearly always able to provide the answer / info you are looking for, As someone with years of experience in financial services I find this novel and refreshing.

[JulianPH]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

JulianPH said:

Fidelity has less in the way of offerings (and do they still have an overseas support desk?) but are cheaper again and what they do have suits most fund based investors.

Fidelity is not just fund based. You can trade individual UK stocks as well.

Ahh, I was referring to their FundsNetwork platform (which was their only available platform back when I was in this market sector. I hadn't seen the launch of the Fidelity Personal Investing platform which as you say does give access to (what appears to be a limited number of) shares.

Cheers!