Interactive Investor bought TD Direct Investing’s UK business in 2017, creating a service that combined TD’s international share dealing platform with II’s fund supermarket.
From an international investing perspective, the good points include decent coverage of North American, European and some Asian markets. The main downside is the commission on currency conversions of up to 1.5%, an often-overlooked charge that will eat into your returns if you trade frequently.
That said, unlike many UK stockbrokers, Interactive Investor offers multi-currency facilities, so clients should try to minimise the FX cost by making currency conversions as infrequently as possible. In addition, the firm will accept deposits in foreign currency, so you could consider using a low-cost foreign exchange transfer firm to pay in funds rather than exchanging currencies within the account.
AJ Bell Youinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown will probably be cheaper for long-term investors in shares, while Interactive Brokers or Saxo Markets offer better value for very active traders. However, Interactive Investor’s flat-fee structure makes it attractive for larger accounts that hold a mix of funds and shares
| Online trading | Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany - Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, UK, USA |
| Telephone trading | Sweden, Switzerland |
| Typical online | UK £7.99, US £7.99, other international £19.99 |
| Online details | UK £7.99, US £7.99, other international £19.99 on "Investor" tariff or UK £3.99, US £4.99, other international £9.99 on "Super Investor" tariff |
| Typical telephone | £56.99-68.99 |
| Telephone details | Online rate plus £49 |
| Account fees and inactivity fees | Dealing account and ISA: £9.99 per month (includes £7.99 trading credit) on "Investor" tariff or £19.99 per month (includes £7.99 trading credit) on "Super Investor" tariff;
SIPP: additional £10 per month |
| Custody charges for stocks | None |
| Dividend charges | None |
| Corporate action charges | None |
| Currency conversion charges | 1.5% on transactions up to £24,999.99;
1.25% on transactions between £25,000-49,999.99;
1% on transactions between £50,000-99,999.99;
0.5% on transactions between £100,000-599,999.99;
0.25% on transactions above £600,000 |
| Hold cash in foreign currencies | Yes |
| Currencies allowed | AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, SEK, SGD, USD |
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