Best platform for large portfolios

Clare says

Freetrade does exactly what it says on the tin – offers free trading (and investing). If it serves your needs in terms of the investment assets they offer, and you stay away from US stocks where FX fees are on the high-side, then it’s possible to open either a general investment account or a Stocks & Shares ISA and buy and sell investments for zero fees. That’s no account fees, no subscription fees, and no trading fees.

That only applies if you stick with the free ‘Basic’ account, however. There are two other account types: Standard (£4.99 p/mo) and Plus (£9.99 p/mo). These come with better rates of interest on uninvested cash, lower FX fees (making US stocks more affordable), and access to mutual funds. And as these are flat-fee subscriptions, they are expensive if you’re only investing small amounts. If you have a large portfolio, however, flat fees can work out very good value for money, so they’re not necessarily a bad option.

But it’s the free account that makes Freetrade a staggeringly cheap way to build up an ISA or general investment account.

Use this if

You want to invest in UK or European shares or ETFs, and you’re looking for a simple, app-only Stocks & Shares ISA or general investment account.

Fees

• Basic account is free
• Unlimited, commission-free trading
• Free ISA
• Very cheap if investing in UK stocks or ETFs
• Account minimum: £1
• Need to pay for an account to access
  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 fundSIPP
• FX fees a high 0.99% on free Basic account – makes buying US shares expensive

Account types

• General investment account
• Stocks & Shares ISA
• Self-invested personal pension (SIPP) – only available with Plus account (£9.99 p/mo)

Investments

• UK, European and US shares
• Fractional shares
• ETFs
• REITs
• Investment trusts
• Treasuries (a form of UK government bond)

Clare says

InvestEngine regularly appears on our lowest-cost recommendation tables. There’s a no-charge Stocks & Shares ISA, a no-charge general investment account, and it is one of the only providers to also offer a no-charge 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) (ETF costs and charges still apply, as they do with every provider). That means, if you’re wanting a very low-cost personal pension or ISA, InvestEngine is definitely one to look at.

Where InvestEngine falls down is in its range of investment options – it only offers Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are traded in much the same way as stocks. Instead of an individual stock, however, you own a basket of different assets which track the performance of a particular index or market. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). While these are a great option for anyone not wanting the responsibility of choosing individual stocks as they give you a diversified ‘basket’ of assets, they won’t be what everyone is looking for.

Because there are no individual stocks on offer, you don’t have to worry about A foreign exchange (FX) fee is added to all trades involving foreign currencies. If you buy a stock that trades in US dollars, for example, and your home account is in GB pounds, you’ll need to pay an FX fee.FX fees either. There are charges if you want your portfolio managed for you, but they’re a very reasonable 0.25% per annum.

Use this if

ETFs appeal to you as a ready-diversified, easy investment option.

Fees

• Zero account fees on ISA, SIPP, GIA and Business Account
• 0.25% p/yr managed portfolio fee
• Fund fees (applicable whichever provider you use) start at just 0.03%

Account types

• General investment account
• Stocks & Shares ISA
• Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)

Investments

• Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

Clare says

This is undoubtedly a very cheap platform on which to trade US stocks. Possibly THE cheapest. The only fees you’re really paying are the 0.03% “third party” fees to convert your GB pounds into US dollars when you deposit money, and visa versa when you withdraw your funds (because all funds must be held in US dollars).

The major downside, however, is that there is currently no Stocks and Shares ISA, so you can’t protect your investment income from tax. (There’s also no personal pension account.) And there is no alternative to buying US stocks at present either: no ETFs, no mutual funds, and no stocks from the UK or rest of the world. That’s pretty limiting.

But if they offer the US stocks you want to invest in, then this is possibly the cheapest place you can buy and hold them.

Use this if

You want to trade US stocks as cheaply as possible.

Fees

• Zero-commission trading
• No account fees
• No FX fees on trades
• No withdrawal fees
• T0.03% fee is an extraordinarily low rate for exchanging currencies at deposit and withdrawal

Account types

• General investment account

Investments

Clare says

XTB is has traditionally been a trading platform, so it is more complicated to use than the investment-focused platforms. (With a trading platform, there will be a wider range of tools for those trading more complex instruments to use. If you just want to open an ISA – they can get in the way and confuse things.)

Having said that, XTB has done much in recent months to make it a more comfortable space for investors too. There’s a separate price list for those just interested in stocks and ETFs, which is a great idea, as once pricing involves CFDs, options or futures, things become a whole lot more confusing.

And XTB is undoubtedly cheap. If you’re investing in non-UK assets, you’ll need to factor in a currency conversion rate that’s around about average (0.50%), but other than that, there’s almost nothing to pay. No account fees. No commission on trades (unless you’re trading over EUR 100,000 per month). And no withdrawal fees.

Use this if

You’re a large portfolio-holder wanting to mostly trade UK stocks.

Fees

• No annual account fees
• 0% commission for buying/selling stocks & ETFs (unless you invest over £100k per month)
• 0% commission for trading CFDs
• 0.5% FX fee
• Not always the tightest spreads
• Inactivity fee: £10 per month after 12 months of inactivity

Account types

• Stocks and Shares ISA
• General Investment Account

Investments

• UK stocks
• US stocks
• European stocks
• Rest of World stocks
• ETFs
• Fractional investing
• CFDs
• Forex
• Commodities
• Indices
• Cryptocurrencies

Clare says

Lloyds can be very economical for large portfolio-holders thanks to its flat fee structure. A flat fee of £20 per 6 months is the equivalent of 0.04% on a £100,000 portfolio. And private banking clients (as well as 18-25 year olds) don’t even have to pay that admin charge at all.

Where costs can add up at Lloyds, is through A foreign exchange (FX) fee is added to all trades involving foreign currencies. If you buy a stock that trades in US dollars, for example, and your home account is in GB pounds, you’ll need to pay an FX fee.FX fees and dealing charges. Currency conversion fees of 1.00% are at the top end of the spectrum (Trading 212, at the other end of the spectrum, charges 0.15%), although Lloyds doesn’t charge any dealing fees on international stocks which allows you to claw back some of the losses there. UK stocks are a staggering £11.00 per trade. So buying a selling can get expensive. That said, Lloyds does waive all trading fees if you set up a regular investment plan with them, which is a really nice way around those potential costs.

Use this if

You are a high-net-worth investor and don’t plan to trade often. Or you’re happy to use the regular investment plan.

Fees

• Twice-yearly admin charge of £20.00
• No admin fees for Premier and Private Banking customers
• No admin fees for 18-25 year olds
• No dealing fees on international shares
• Reductions on costs for frequent investors
• Regular investment plan eradicates dealing fees
• Very high dealing fees on UK stocks – £11.00 per trade
• High 1% FX fees on international stocks, that don’t reduce with size of investment

Account types

• Stocks and Shares ISA
• Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
• General Investment Account (GIA)
• Cash ISA
• Junior ISA

Investments

• UK stocks
• US stocks
• European stocks
• Rest of world Stocks
• ETFs
• Ready-made portfolios
• Bonds and Gilts
• Funds