iWeb- Investing Insiders

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iWeb: Costly for international trades and no mobile app, but no annual fees makes it cheap for UK stocks and funds

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This is the score our team have awarded the platform based on our own personal experiences and other important factors, such as fees and ease of use.

3.0out of 5

Recommended in

Not currently recommended

iWeb is part of Lloyds Banking Group, which also owns Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Schroders Personal Wealth. It is an online execution-only share dealing service aimed at those who know what they are doing, but looking for simplicity and the best possible price.

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Capital at risk

By Clare West

Published: November 27, 2024
Edited by: Antonia Medlicott
Last Update: 2 weeks ago

Fact Checked

Disclosure

All investing carries risk, the information provided is for educational purposes only. Investing Insiders does not offer advisory services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell stocks, securities or other investment vehicles. Some or all of the products displayed on this page are from partners that compensate us. It does not influence the products we review or the location of the product on the page. Our research and analysis is 100% independent

3.0out of 5

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Clare's view

The Verdict

With more than £5.17 billion of assets under administration, iWeb (owned by Lloyds Banking Group) is a well-established execution-only investment platform. Its aims to make investing as straight-forward as possible, are largely achieved with a platform that takes away unnecessary complexity, but there's no mobile app! Making my life simple as an investor in 2024 absolutely has to include giving me the option to login via app.

IWeb offers three accounts: a Stocks and Shares ISA, a Share Dealing Account and a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), however, the SIPP is currently closed to new applicants which is a little concerning. There's a better-than-usual selection of assets for a 'simple' platform: 2,500+ funds, 8000+ stocks, plus ETFs and investment trusts. You usually find that the trade-off with platforms concentrating on simplicity is a lack of choice, but there are thousands of options here, although the assets over cover seven UK and international markets, which isn't the widest reach.

On costs, there are no service fees which is good news, and no dealing fees on international trades which is also good news. In fact, if you have a large portfolio and concentrate on UK assets, this could be a very cheap home for your portfolio. But - and it's a big but - you're paying a very high 1.5% FX rate if you trade international assets. That adds up, especially if you're trading often, or with large amounts on international stocks. There's also an off-putting £100 upfront fee for onboarding (although there's currently a welcome offer that means this fee is suspended). If you are a buy-and-hold investor, not planning to trade often, then there's savings to be made here with the lack of a service fee, but trading internationally will bring your costs up and puts iWeb in the upper price range for UK platforms.

Pros

No annual fees
Security of being part of Lloyds Banking Group
No inactivity fees
Strong selection of funds, shares, ETFs and investment trusts
Invest through an ISA or general trading account
No dealing fees on international trades
Cheap for large portfolios holding UK assets

Cons

Not accepting new applications for SIPPs
No mobile app
Very high FX rate of 1.5% on all international investment trades
No interest paid on cash balances held within an ISA / general trading account
£5 per trade on all UK stocks, funds, ETFs, investment trusts, and bonds
Not a flexible ISA
No fractional shares

Verdict3.0
Fees2.5
Trading Platform3.5
Account Opening4.0
Research3.5
Safety
Education1.0
Customer Service4.0
Social Trading0.0
Corporate Actions3.5

Clare's view

Verdict
3.0
Fees:
2.5
Trading Platform:
3.5
Account Opening:
4.0
Research:
3.5
Safety:
0
Education:
1.0
Customer Service:
4.0
Social Trading
0.0
Corporate Actions
3.5

Updates

Stocks and Shares ISA
Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
General Investment Account (GIA)
Lifetime ISA
Cash ISA
Junior ISA
Junior SIPP
Personal Pension
Trust Account
Joint Investment Account
Business Account
Current Account
Cash Savings Account
Under-16s Current Account
Joint Savings Account
Joint Current Account
Overseas Spending
Demo Investment Account

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UK Stocks
US Stocks
European Stocks
Rest of World Stocks
ETFs
Ready-made Portfolios
Bonds and Gilts
Funds
Fractional Investing
CFDs
Forex
Commodities
Indices
Futures
IPOs
Cryptocurrencies
Investment Trusts
REITs
Currency Exchange
Spread Betting

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Who do I recommend iWeb for?

iWeb could work for you if you are a buy-and-hold investor as you’ll avoid running up expenses on the relatively high trading and FX fees, and benefit from the lack of service fees.

For large portfolio holders wanting to hold UK assets, iWeb is particularly good value.

Investors with large portfolios who want to regularly trade international assets will find this a very expensive platform, however.

Accounts and assets

Accounts

iWeb says it offers the chance to invest through:

A Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAstocks and shares ISA
A A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of private pension that allows you to control the specific investments that make up your pension fundself-invested personal pension (SIPP
A General investment account (GIA) is an account designed to provide access to investments. You may be liable for tax on any income or capital gains earned within a general investment account but this can be a useful vehicle for anyone who has maxed out their ISA allowancegeneral investment account

However, they’re not currently accepting new applications for their SIPP account, so you cannot now use iWeb to save in the most tax-efficient way for retirement.

iWeb’s ISA is not a flexible ISA, either, which means if you remove money from your ISA and then repay it back in, it’ll count as two separate deposits and eat into your annual allowance twice.

If flexibility within your ISA is important to you, take a look at our Best Stocks and Shares ISA page.

Assets

iWeb offers access to a large selection of investable assets from seven exchanges across the world:

4,800+ stocks
3,100+ funds
690 ETFs
279 investment trusts
Bonds and gilts

There are no ready-made portfolios available, however, so you’ll need to feel confident choosing and managing your own portfolio with this provider.

iWeb also doesn’t allow Fractional shares are portions of shares (or ETFs) that are smaller than one whole share. They are designed to make ownership of large, expensive shares more accessible. fractional share investing info , which is a shame as it makes it impossible for investors with smaller budgets to acquire a slice of big name companies.