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Summary

A great choice to deal shares with low costs in a variety of investment accounts.

• Investments: Shares, ETFs, bonds & funds
• Minimum deposit: £500
• Account types: GIA, ISA, SIPP, JISA, JISA, JSIPP
• Share dealing account charge: 0.25%
• Share dealing fee: £3.50 – £5

Fees: AJ Bell share dealing account fees are capped at £3.50 a month. Dealing costs are £1.50 for funds and £5 for shares but drop to £3.50 when there were 10 or more online share deals in the previous month.

Special Offers:

• Recommend a friend, and you’ll both get £100 gift vouchers – When you recommend a friend to AJ Bell that invests more than £10,000 in a SIPP or ISA, you and your friend can get One4All gift vouchers worth £100.
• Switch your share dealing account and receive up to £500 to cover exit fees – If you transfer your share dealing general investment account valued at more than £20,000 to AJ Bell they will help cover any exit fees charged by your current provider. They will cover £35 per investment moved and up to £100 for general exit fees, up to an overall maximum of £500 per person.
• Free subscription to Shares Magazine worth £220
  Get a free subscription to Shares (worth over £220 per year) by maintaining a balance of £4,000 or more across your AJ Bell investing accounts.

Is it expensive to buy and sell shares on Hargreaves Lansdown?

Hargreaves Lansdown is not as expensive as it used to be as there is no account charge for holding shares in a general investment account and a max of £3.75 in a stocks and shares ISA. HL does still cost more than competitors like AJ Bell and Interactive Brokers to buy and sell shares, but the account running costs can be lower because of the monthly cap.

HL won the Best Stock Broker in our 2024, 2022 awards, and in 2021, it won Best Full-service Stockbroker for their all-round approach to customer service..

Another added bonus of dealing shares through HL is that their clients benefit from price improvements for best execution. HL say they reach out to multiple brokers to get the best prices for a trade and clients can make a saving of £18 per trade on average.

This is particularly relevant if you are dealing with cap UK shares, which is where Hargreaves Lansdown excels.

Overall, Hargreaves Lansdown is an excellent choice for most types of share dealing on UK and international markets.

Summary

One of the most advanced share dealing platforms for beginners and professional investors.

• Investments: Shares, ETFs, funds & bonds
• Minimum deposit: £500
• Account types: GIA, ISA, SIPP, CFD
• Share dealing account charge: £0
• Share dealing fee: 0.05%

Fees: Interactive Brokers does not charge share dealing custody fees and minimum share dealing commissions are £1 in the UK or 0.05% of the deal size.

Summary

Interactive Investor is a great choice for anyone who wants to buy and sell shares on a regular basis and has a large portfolio.

• Investments: Shares, ETFs, bonds & funds
• Minimum deposit: £1
• Account types: GIA, ISA, SIPP, JISA
• Share dealing account charge: £4.99 per month
• Share dealing fee: £3.99 – £5.99

Dealing Fees: Interactive Investor share dealing commissions are a free trade every month, then UK Shares and Funds, US Shares charged £7.99 or upgrade to a £19.99 “Super Investor” account 2 free monthly trades and deal for £3.99. Regular investing is free.

Special Offers:

• One free trade per month – One buy or sell order is free every month, after that, the cost is between £3.99 and £5.99 depending on what plan you are on.
• Free investing for your friends and family –  You can give up to five people a free investment account subscription with Interactive Investor’s Friends and Family plan. You pay a single extra fee of £5 a month, and their monthly cost is zero. Each member can invest up to £30,000 in an ISA or a general investing account with free regular investing and no account fees. However, they will still pay normal dealing commissions when they buy and sell investments.
• Get £200 when you refer a friend to Interactive Investor – Recommend a friend or family member to ii and get a £200 reward. Your friend will get their first year’s service plan for free – saving £120. To qualify, your friend must transfer or fund their account with at least £10,000 in combined cash/investments. However, your friend will not receive the usually monthly free trade.

What does Trading 212 offer?

– Special Offer: Deposit £1 & receive a free fractional share worth up to £100. Capital at risk. Sponsored link. T&Cs apply. 

– Cash ISA Bonus Rate: 4.61%. 3.6% variable + 1yr 1.01% bonus. Sponsored link. T&Cs apply. 

Trading 212 offers access to a broad range of stocks and ETFs across 16 exchanges. In total, there are over 13,000 stocks and ETFs available on the platform. 

Additionally, it offers access to a range of features that many traditional investment platforms don’t offer such as:

• Commission-free trading 
• Fractional shares (you can buy fractions of shares) 
• 24/5 trading 
• Investment pies: A pie is a diversified portfolio that invests automatically for you but note, this is an execution only service meaning the management is down to you ● A debit card with no FX fees, issued by Paynetics 

What accounts are available on Trading 212? 

Trading 212 currently offers a range of investment accounts including a regular investment account, a Stocks ISA, a Cash ISA, and a SIPP. We look at some of these accounts in more detail below. 

Stocks ISA 

With Trading 212’s Stocks ISA, you can invest in a broad range of stocks and ETFs commission-free, although other fees may apply. You can deposit up to £20,000 per year and there is no tax payable on investment gains or income but note, tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and regulations which may change. 

Benefits of this account include: 

• Access to 13,000 stocks and ETFs 
• No account fees 
• The ability to earn interest on your cash 
• Low FX fees when trading international shares (0.15%) 
• Access to ready-made portfolios 
• Fractional shares 

Overall, the Trading 212 Stocks ISA is a solid offering. It could be a good option for those looking to trade stocks and ETFs with no commissions. 

Cash ISA 

The Trading 212 Cash ISA offers a simple way to save money. You can deposit up to £20,000 per year and withdraw your money at any time.

Benefits of this account include: 

• Attractive interest rates (3.6%* AER at the time of this review) 
• Interest paid monthly 
• No minimums 
• No account fees 
• FSCS protection up to £120,000 

This ISA could be well suited to those who want a Cash ISA on the same platform as their investments. It may be possible to find higher interest rates elsewhere, however. 

SIPP 

Trading 212’s SIPP is a pension account. With this product, you can deposit up to £60,000 every year, however, you cannot access the money until age 55 (57 from 2028). Trading 212’s SIPP is operated and administered by Platform One. 

Benefits of this account include: 

• Tax-relief is provided on top of your deposits 
• No tax on investment gains or income 
• Access to 13,000 stocks and ETFs 
• Commission-free trading 
• Low FX fees (0.15%) 
• No account fees 
• Fractional shares 
• Access to ready-made portfolios 

Overall, this is a solid pension offering. There’s access to many investments and fees are very low. 

Market access 

Trading 212 offers access to UK stocks, international stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, and more. In total, there are over 13,000 global stocks and ETFs available on the platform which for most investors, is going to be more than enough options.

Those in the UK can also access CFDs. With CFDs, it’s possible to trade indices, commodities, forex, and stocks. 

Where the platform falls short against traditional platforms, however, is mutual funds. Regular mutual funds are not available – only ETFs and investment trusts. 

One other thing to point out is that the company executes through Interactive Brokers. It can take time to fill orders on small UK stocks. 

What are Trading 212’s fees 

Trading 212’s fees are very competitive. Here’s a snapshot of its fee structure: 

• Trading commissions – free 
• Custody fee – free 
• FX fees – 0.15% 
• Deposits via bank transfers – free 
• Deposits via cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay – free below £2,000 then 0.7% ● Withdrawals – free 

Note when buying UK shares, you still have to pay Stamp Duty. This is 0.5% of the transaction value. 

How does Trading 212 make money? 

Trading 212 offers commission-free trading and also charges no custody fees. So, how does it make money? 

Well, one source of revenue is CFDs – here it makes money from the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price of a CFD. Another source of revenue is interest on uninvested cash. 

Who is Trading 212 regulated by and is it safe? 

In the UK, Trading 212 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In the unlikely event of a default, FSCS compensation is up to £120,000. 

With Trading 212, your cash is held at some of the world’s largest banks where it is ring-fenced. This means that it is held separately to the firm’s money.

As for shares, Trading 212 works with The Bank of New York Mellon and IBKR to safeguard your assets. Here, shares are ring-fenced and completely segregated from the company’s assets. 

So overall, the platform operates within safeguarding requirements. There are obviously risks that come with investing on the platform, however, especially if trading CFDs. App and platform 

Trading 212 offers desktop access and an app. The app, which has a 4.7 rating in Apple’s App Store – tends to be more popular with customers. 

Through the app, you can trade stocks and ETFs, check your account balances, analyse your portfolio and asset allocation, and research individual companies and ETFs. The interface is clean and suitable for both beginners and advanced investors. 

One issue to be aware of, however, is that the company is constantly tweaking the app and desktop interfaces. Some users find this frustrating. 

Added value and research 

Trading 212 offers more investing information than a lot of other low-cost platforms. On its ‘Learn’ page, there are many educational articles. 

That said, some topics are not explained that well. As a result, beginner investors could end up a little confused. 

One handy feature on the platform is the Trading 212 Hotlist. This shows the most popular stocks among its customers. 

On the downside, there doesn’t seem to be any investment research on the platform. The only source of investment ideas is the Hotlist. 

Customer service 

You can contact Trading 212 24/7 via the ‘contact us’ function in the app. This connects you with the T212 chat assistant who can connect you with an agent from the customer care team on chat.

It should be noted, however, that some users have complained about poor customer service. One common theme is withdrawals, these seem to be an issue for many users.

Please note, when investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.