Markets: UK

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iDealing

iDealing is a no-frills low-cost online stockbroker. One of its main selling points is that it’s one of very few UK retail stockbrokers to offer Direct Market Access to the London Stock Exchange (the other main ones are Interactive Brokers, Saxo Markets and more recently IG).

The firm also offers commission-free trading for Euronext Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, passing on only the per-trade charges levied directly by the exchange. It will also deal in other CREST-eligible foreign stocks – ie, those can clear and settle through the UK securities depository – for additional European markets and the US, traded through UK market makers. Costs are commendably low compared with many UK peers, especially once FX charges are taken into account.

Be aware that iDealing charges a £60 fee to close or transfer out an account. This kind of closure fee is relatively standard among ISA providers, but not common for regular trading accounts.

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Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown is one of the UK’s largest direct investment platform and offers a good range of US, Canadian and European stocks in addition to London-listed shares, bonds and a very extensive range of funds. The firm is consistently praised for high standard of customer service, which is a strong selling point for less experienced investors in particular.

International trades are placed via UK-based market makers (such as Winterflood Securities) and the foreign currency share price is converted to sterling each time with a mark up of up to 1%. This becomes costly for very frequent traders – who could look at firms such as Interactive Brokers or Saxo Markets where you can hold and settle in foreign currencies – but is less of an overhead for long-term investors.

Its nearest rival is probably AJ Bell Youinvest. Like Youinvest, Hargreaves Lansdown’s SIPP is set up to receive US dividends with no withholding tax deducted (and reduced tax on Canadian dividends), which is useful for income investors.

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Halifax Share Dealing

The Halifax Share Dealing account lets you invest in a handful of overseas markets in addition to the usual range of UK stocks, bonds and funds. The international service is a bit too limited to appeal to investors who want to invest globally, but could be a useful solution for those who want to add some major US and European shares to their portfolio.

Halifax also offers the iWeb brand with different fees – including a significantly cheaper trading fee of £5 per transaction rather than £9.50 – but exactly the same service. iWeb charges an account-opening fee, unlike Halifax, but will probably still work out cheaper in most cases.

However, dealing and account fees aren’t your only cost – like most stockbrokers that will only let you settle and hold cash in sterling, you will also pay a currency commission on the exchange rate used to calculate the sterling price each time you trade. Halifax charges a 1.25% margin, which is less than some rivals, but other options such as AJ Bell Youinvest, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Brokers and Saxo Markets have lower FX costs.