The ban on UK execution-only brokers receiving trail commission takes effect in April 2014, so the few providers who have not yet announced their revised charges have been rushing to do so.
Fidelity FundsNetwork
Taking FundsNetwork first, Fidelity will be charging a relatively straightforward 0.35% on fund holdings up to £250,000 and 0.2% from £250,000 to £1,000,000 (stocks, investment trusts and ETFs are not affected – the Fidelity share dealing service is a white label service operated by Charles Stanley). There’s no minimum charge.
That’s towards the middle of the pack on costs – the lack of a minimum fee means it’s better than some for smaller portfolios, but will be beaten by – for example – Charles Stanley Direct (Charles Stanley’s own d2c fund and share platform, not to be confused with the aforementioned white label share dealing operated for Fidelity).
If you’d prefer to use the FundsNetwork platform anyway, Fidelity’s direct pricing can still be beaten by using Cavendish Online, which is an execution-only broker that uses Funds Network. The cost here is 0.25%, with FundsNetwork taking 0.2% and Cavendish getting 0.05%. (This is Fidelity’s pricing for intermediaries of 0.25%, announced a couple of years ago, but with the fee split between Fidelity and Cavendish and a waiver of the £45 account fee.)
So at present, there is no reason that I’m aware of to go direct to Fidelity (and never has been – FundsNetwork has always been cheaper via Cavendish and other intermediaries.)
Changes take effect from 9th February 2014.