Fidelity vs Interactive Investor
Discussion
Not sure if this has been asked before but anyway here goes.
If I were to move from Fidelity to Interactive Investor my annual fee would fall by about 93%.
The First Law of Stuff says that for that much price saving, Interactive Investor can't do what Fidelity do. Yet I've just phoned them, got a human being, and my starter questions were all answered.
I know what the Fidelity dashboard looks like, and roughly how to work it, but have no idea of the Interactive Investor equivalent or its functionality. Is it cheap for a reason?
Has anyone here used both companies, and if so what are your experiences please?
If I were to move from Fidelity to Interactive Investor my annual fee would fall by about 93%.
The First Law of Stuff says that for that much price saving, Interactive Investor can't do what Fidelity do. Yet I've just phoned them, got a human being, and my starter questions were all answered.
I know what the Fidelity dashboard looks like, and roughly how to work it, but have no idea of the Interactive Investor equivalent or its functionality. Is it cheap for a reason?
Has anyone here used both companies, and if so what are your experiences please?
I've used both.
For funds and IT and ETF purchases they do what they say on the tin.
I think I may have had to call them but can't remember specifics other than to say there was no problem getting through to someone.
IWEB might also be worth a look.
You may know this but depending what you hold and how often you buy/sell some platforms can be insanely cheap or expensive and vice versa.
For funds and IT and ETF purchases they do what they say on the tin.
I think I may have had to call them but can't remember specifics other than to say there was no problem getting through to someone.
IWEB might also be worth a look.
You may know this but depending what you hold and how often you buy/sell some platforms can be insanely cheap or expensive and vice versa.
Ean218 said:
Using II currently, moved from Selftrade and Vanguard.
Seems to do everything I want at a very reasonable price, although fund purchases seem to take longer than I would expect, so presumably sales ditto. ETFs OK though.
What is it you want to do that you think they may trip up on?
The chap did say that trades actually take 3 days - but you still get the price you clicked on and you get the cash sooner so the time seems technical more than practical.Seems to do everything I want at a very reasonable price, although fund purchases seem to take longer than I would expect, so presumably sales ditto. ETFs OK though.
What is it you want to do that you think they may trip up on?
My main concerns were fund choice - for example being able to move a GIA and ISA in specie, and phone back-up because I don't trade often enough to be fully conversant with all the knobs and levers. Also can you see gain/loss at the click of a button? May sound an obvious question but having never used II I have no idea.
If the II offering is effectively the same as Fidelity, then you wonder why anyone would use Fidelity, or any other platform for that matter? It's like saying 'Here is a nice BMW for £60,000, or you can have this identical BMW for only £5,000'.
Simpo Two said:
If the II offering is effectively the same as Fidelity, then you wonder why anyone would use Fidelity, or any other platform for that matter? It's like saying 'Here is a nice BMW for £60,000, or you can have this identical BMW for only £5,000'.
The answer's pretty simple which is if you "only" have £2000 invested (for example) II is going to be much more expensive than Fidelity.If you hold £1M worth of funds but hardly ever buy and sell IWEB will be basically free.
It's swings and roundabouts and holdings and buying/selling behaviours drive what's the best platform for your particular situation.
With OEICs check that the platform can accept the class you're looking to transfer in.
Simpo Two said:
I know what the Fidelity dashboard looks like, and roughly how to work it, but have no idea of the Interactive Investor equivalent or its functionality. Is it cheap for a reason?
It might help if you said what functionality you need, so if anyone uses ii they can see if it is there.I mostly use iWeb, but I aim to trade fewer than 10 times a year (so total annual fee of <£50), and the only functionality I want is a buy button, a sell button, the current price for the asset in question, and a list of my current holdings and their purchase prices (for CGT calcs).
Simpo Two said:
My main concerns were fund choice - for example being able to move a GIA and ISA in specie, and phone back-up because I don't trade often enough to be fully conversant with all the knobs and levers.
Based on my 30 secs check on ii, they have 139 Fidelity Funds available (possibly more if you filter for ETF and Investment trust too). Have you checked if your existing Fidelity fund / class is available on the ii platform? If your primary consideration is cost, the platform of choice depends on your portfolio size and the volume and type of trading activities specific to you . I posted this table before, and it clearly list the major platforms/players by ISA portfolio size and the associated cost.
https://moneytothemasses.com/saving-for-your-futur...
xeny said:
It might help if you said what functionality you need, so if anyone uses ii they can see if it is there.
I mostly use iWeb, but I aim to trade fewer than 10 times a year (so total annual fee of <£50), and the only functionality I want is a buy button, a sell button, the current price for the asset in question, and a list of my current holdings and their purchase prices (for CGT calcs).
That's about what I'm looking for, but with a % gain/loss column as well.I mostly use iWeb, but I aim to trade fewer than 10 times a year (so total annual fee of <£50), and the only functionality I want is a buy button, a sell button, the current price for the asset in question, and a list of my current holdings and their purchase prices (for CGT calcs).
chip* said:
Based on my 30 secs check on ii, they have 139 Fidelity Funds available (possibly more if you filter for ETF and Investment trust too). Have you checked if your existing Fidelity fund / class is available on the ii platform?
Ah, you misunderstand - the platform may be Fidelity but most of the funds are not. But I can use the Search box on the top of their home page to see if they are there, and dig them out one by one.b
hstewie said:
hstewie said: The answer's pretty simple which is if you "only" have £2000 invested (for example) II is going to be much more expensive than Fidelity.
If you hold £1M worth of funds but hardly ever buy and sell IWEB will be basically free.
I think that's the key. £9.99 a trade is buttons to me, but 0.2% of everything is a heck sight more. And Fidelity charges £10 a trade anyway. I do qualify for the Wealth service which (as both companies offer a bloke on the phone), the main benefit of which is a 'quarterly portfolio report'. Yet I'm sure II would have the same data, I just wouldn't get it posted to me as a shiny brochure.If you hold £1M worth of funds but hardly ever buy and sell IWEB will be basically free.
What would be nice is a live capital gains picture, so I could assess it before year end and use my allowance without fear of overdoing it. I believe Fidelity have this but only for IFAs.
So it seems really that there's no significant reason not to move; II can do everything the Fidelity platform does (the GIA becomes a 'Trading Account' though it wouldn't trade much) and, as Fidelity charge the same as II for trades, I think I can't help but be about £1,400 a year better off. Have I missed anything?
Simpo Two said:
I think that's the key. £9.99 a trade is buttons to me, but 0.2% of everything is a heck sight more. And Fidelity charges £10 a trade anyway. I do qualify for the Wealth service which (as both companies offer a bloke on the phone), the main benefit of which is a 'quarterly portfolio report'. Yet I'm sure II would have the same data, I just wouldn't get it posted to me as a shiny brochure.
What would be nice is a live capital gains picture, so I could assess it before year end and use my allowance without fear of overdoing it. I believe Fidelity have this but only for IFAs.
So it seems really that there's no significant reason not to move; II can do everything the Fidelity platform does (the GIA becomes a 'Trading Account' though it wouldn't trade much) and, as Fidelity charge the same as II for trades, I think I can't help but be about £1,400 a year better off. Have I missed anything?
What do you actually hold funds or ETFs or Investment trusts or a mix?What would be nice is a live capital gains picture, so I could assess it before year end and use my allowance without fear of overdoing it. I believe Fidelity have this but only for IFAs.
So it seems really that there's no significant reason not to move; II can do everything the Fidelity platform does (the GIA becomes a 'Trading Account' though it wouldn't trade much) and, as Fidelity charge the same as II for trades, I think I can't help but be about £1,400 a year better off. Have I missed anything?
Simpo Two said:
That's about what I'm looking for, but with a % gain/loss column as well.
Then iWeb will do what you want, and is reasonably cheap. Screen shot here https://wheeliedealer.weebly.com/uploads/4/0/0/7/4...from https://wheeliedealer.weebly.com/educational-blogs... if the site doesn't allow hot linking.
£5/trade, £25 to open an account.
I have been tremendously impressed with ii. As part of moving some stocks over from HL I also moved a large (at least for me - approx 90k) physical holding in a VCT fund to them. The manager seemed to be making regular off-market purchases of the fund, presumably as a discount control mechanism, which I wanted to take advantage of as having held the fund for more than five years it made sense to bed and spouse the holding if I could do so at modest cost, including the discount to NAV. I spoke to the broker, Canacord, who were happy to open an account and broke the sale (basically 5% discount to the last NAV) but their minimum commission was about £400. I spoke to ii who were very helpful and did the trade for £50! They seem to have a very strong combination of good technology and knowledgeable real people.
xeny said:
Simpo Two said:
That's about what I'm looking for, but with a % gain/loss column as well.
Then iWeb will do what you want, and is reasonably cheap. Screen shot here https://wheeliedealer.weebly.com/uploads/4/0/0/7/4...from https://wheeliedealer.weebly.com/educational-blogs... if the site doesn't allow hot linking.
£5/trade, £25 to open an account.
Simpo Two said:
chip* said:
Based on my 30 secs check on ii, they have 139 Fidelity Funds available (possibly more if you filter for ETF and Investment trust too). Have you checked if your existing Fidelity fund / class is available on the ii platform?
Ah, you misunderstand - the platform may be Fidelity but most of the funds are not. But I can use the Search box on the top of their home page to see if they are there, and dig them out one by one.bhstewie said:
hstewie said: Any percentage based platform is going to sting a bit on a large amount.
For what it's worth, Fidelity's annual fees are capped at £2,000 so at their 0.2% rate anything above £1m is free. But you've got to get there first!Is 0.2% expensive? It's not the cheapest but doesn't necessarily look expensive compared with, for instance, the additional costs incurred within actively managed funds.
I guess if someone's investment approach is based on "low cost trackers" then there's not much point paying more than absolutely necessary for a platform.
Also compare: IM at something like 0.87% "all-in".
rockin said:
For what it's worth, Fidelity's annual fees are capped at £2,000 so at their 0.2% rate anything above £1m is free. But you've got to get there first!
Is 0.2% expensive? It's not the cheapest but doesn't necessarily look expensive compared with, for instance, the additional costs incurred within actively managed funds.
I guess if someone's investment approach is based on "low cost trackers" then there's not much point paying more than absolutely necessary for a platform.
Also compare: IM at something like 0.87% "all-in".
I expect it's a psychology thing with many people in that you notice platform fees coming out every month whilst fund returns are usually net of fees.Is 0.2% expensive? It's not the cheapest but doesn't necessarily look expensive compared with, for instance, the additional costs incurred within actively managed funds.
I guess if someone's investment approach is based on "low cost trackers" then there's not much point paying more than absolutely necessary for a platform.
Also compare: IM at something like 0.87% "all-in".
Not saying it makes sense but I know it is with me.
rockin said:
For what it's worth, Fidelity's annual fees are capped at £2,000 so at their 0.2% rate anything above £1m is free. But you've got to get there first!
Is 0.2% expensive? It's not the cheapest but doesn't necessarily look expensive compared with, for instance, the additional costs incurred within actively managed funds.
I guess if someone's investment approach is based on "low cost trackers" then there's not much point paying more than absolutely necessary for a platform.
Also compare: IM at something like 0.87% "all-in".
If on that £1m I'm spending £9,500 on Terry's pad in Mauritius, what value add is there in spending another £2,000 on Fidelity?Is 0.2% expensive? It's not the cheapest but doesn't necessarily look expensive compared with, for instance, the additional costs incurred within actively managed funds.
I guess if someone's investment approach is based on "low cost trackers" then there's not much point paying more than absolutely necessary for a platform.
Also compare: IM at something like 0.87% "all-in".
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