S&S ISA - Transferring

[Countdown]

I currently have a S&S Isa with First Direct. To be fair it's ok overall and Ive just been topping it up for years. However recently I opened a SIPP with Vanguard and the platform looks so much more user-friendly, so I'm wondering whether to transfer my S&S ISA to them as well.

Has anybody done an S&S ISA transfer? How long did it take? What are the pitfalls/risks?

[m_cozzy]

It was a shambles and took about 5 weeks.
I read the ombudsmans was inundated with complaints as it's supposed to take 15 days.
On the plus side I did end up with an extra 60k after transferring. I've not told them yet ..

[Countdown]

m_cozzy said:

It was a shambles and took about 5 weeks.
I read the ombudsmans was inundated with complaints as it's supposed to take 15 days.
On the plus side I did end up with an extra 60k after transferring. I've not told them yet ..

Ah carp that doesnt sound good....

Dont they transfer the shares on a like for like basis? So if I have

1000 VHYL shares
2000 Centrica shares
3000 HSBC

I assumed that they moved the shares rather than doing any kind of cash adjustments?

[seyre1972]

Did similar with a Virgin S&S ISA to a Virgin Cash ISA - had to complete/print/post a form to them … (no way to do online, though everything else was online). Chase 2 weeks later, and then another 2 phone calls to “clarify’ what was on the form. With Xmas it took nearly 5 weeks.

Only up side was values had gone up by a few 100’s …

But yes - affectively it’s an instruction- that they execute on a day - which will be the values you get - rather than the day values you issue the instruction to sell.

Ah - reread ops post - apologies thought you were moving to a cash ISA … OOPS

Edited by seyre1972 on Thursday 19th January 12:33

[Simpo Two]

You may find that the Vanguard platform only allows you to have Vanguard products on it - so anything that's not Vanguard-flavoured in your FD ISA would have to be sold and the cash transferred.

I agree the FD sharedealing site is dreadful and was the reason I recently moved stuff from there to Fidelity (who do allow you to have other products on their platform)

[Countdown]

Simpo Two said:

You may find that the Vanguard platform only allows you to have Vanguard products on it - so anything that's not Vanguard-flavoured in your FD ISA would have to be sold and the cash transferred.

I agree the FD sharedealing site is dreadful and was the reason I recently moved stuff from there to Fidelity (who do allow you to have other products on their platform)

Damn - that's a bit annoying

[ILikeCake]

I transferred from fidelity to vanguard in years gone and it went smoothly.

If the funds you are transferring are available on the Vanguard Platform (i.e. you have Vanguard funds in your first direct ISA) you will generally be as to do an 'in-specie' transfer and they will move across. For shares/funds not on the Vanguard platform then they will be sold on the transfer date and the cash transferred.

You may want to look at Hargreaves Lansdown as well as they have a juicy cashback offer on transfers at present. They also are not limited to vanguard funds so more chance of doing in-specie if that's what you want.

[Dewi 2]

I have been involved in many ISA transfers over the years.
Usually when the original provider gave up.

Did a compulsory transfer from Natwest (no fees at all, perhaps why they gave up) a couple of years ago, to A J Bell.
No hassle.

Last year did a voluntary transfer from Barclays. They took over Sharelink and all went well for many years, until they eventually introduced ridiculously high fees and the service changed to amateurish, following a new computer system and an office transfer.
That transfer was also to A J Bell. The transfer was easy and surprisingly (to me) quick.
I carefully monitored for any Barclays errors (potentiial for lost dividends during the transfer period), but it was fine.

Apply to the recipient company. There was no involvement between me and the original provider.

Impressed by AJ Bell's service and sensible fees. The account website is easy and provides the full data that investors require. They even email to inform about every dividend credit (which serious investors would already know, but a nice touch anyway). It is now a listed company.

In the early days of PEPs (before ISAs), my very first plan was with Midland Bank.
They were abysmal. Did not have a clue about what they were doing. One error after another, needing my time to have corrected.
The bank itself was excellent, but they got involved in a new activity and could not cope.
The industry has improved since then.

You might know, that ISAs are not as 'tax-free' now though, as people think. There used to be a tax reclaim credit, in respect of every dividend. Another sneaky tax take, but the star prize for that, is the tax they charge on tax, when we buy petrol !

Edited by Dewi 2 on Thursday 19th January 13:02

[bitchstewie]

Vanguard will only transfer Vanguard funds or cash.

When I did mine it took around 2 weeks from memory and that was from Hargraves Lansdown.

A lot of it depends on who it's from and how quickly they respond to the transfer request.

But you can only hold Vanguard funds on Vanguards platform so in your example above you could transfer the VHYL but not the others you'd have to sell them and either buy Vanguard funds and transfer those or have the cash transferred to Vanguard.

They also are a bit fussy about how they handle partial transfers.

[alscar]

Transferred my wife’s ISA and GIA a few years from Fidelity.
Complete pita.
From memory had to transact each Fund instructions separately as opposed to a complete sell / transfer instruction for the whole account/s.
Didn’t help that the individual was stroppy and relatively new.
After all done , complaint made and all dealing costs refunded plus a small amount of compensation.
Time out of market was minimal and actually slight profit when all sorted.
Results prior not bad but glad I moved it.

[Countdown]

Thanks all, especially the heads up about non Vanguard stuff

[bitchstewie]

Just remember that ISA transfers can be incredibly archaic depending on lots of specifics.

I did one a couple of years ago where they were waiting for a fax to be sent

[Dewi 2]

alscar said:

Transferred my wife’s ISA and GIA a few years from Fidelity.
Complete pita. ...

Interesting.

I had a brief ISA spell with them.
Think they bought a book of business, from the provider that I was with.

Soon discovered that they knew less about shares administration, than a 2 year old child.
A shambles and another time consuming involvement for me, checking and telling them they had made yet another mistake.
It was before the days of asking for compensation, but at least they did not try to charge any fees for the time I was with them.

I don't know what happened to Fidelity, but notice they have left their big office in Hildenborough. Perhaps most of their customers left them first.

[Simpo Two]

For those who left Fidelity, what prompted the move?

[ILikeCake]

Simpo Two said:

For those who left Fidelity, what prompted the move?

Fees for me. Marginally lower at VG and capped... Won't matter if you're a few years from drawing down, but I've still got 30 years of building to do! Don't want to work a minute more than I have to!

[alscar]

Simpo Two said:

For those who left Fidelity, what prompted the move?

Fees and lack of fund choice as I recall and also just a feeling that I could do better elsewhere.
As my post above was glad that I moved given the complete lack of service.
In comparison F&C ( became BMO became Columbia ) far better to deal with.