Brokers

Platform Transfers – It’s Even Worse Than Thought

I commented last month on an article in Investors Chronicle by Mary McDougall on the subject of platform transfers, and how they are inordinately slow. Despite past efforts by the FCA, the situation does not seem to be getting any better. My latest transfer, which was commenced on the 12th of January, is still not complete. The shareholdings have recently been transferred to the selected new platform but not the substantial cash holding in the portfolio. But according to the latest article ...
Post Date: April 16, 2021 Read more

Platform Transfers – “Progress has been pitiful”

There is a very good article in this week’s Investors Chronicle by Mary McDougall on the subject of platform transfers. I have sent her the following email: Mary, On the subject of platform transfers, you are quite right to say that “It appears progress has been pitiful”. I have done several such transfers in the past and none has been completed in under 3 months. The FCA initiatives to improve matters has had minimal impact. I am currently still trying to get one ...
Post Date: March 21, 2021 Read more

Telegraph, 23 Feb 2021, How to use your broker to hold your investments to account

The Telegraph wrote a useful article about AGMs and voting. see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/investing/shares/use-broker-hold-investments-account/ It was headed How to use your broker to hold your investments to account But the real story was in the byline - Stockbrokers require investors to jump through lots of hoops to register their vote. It also explained the problems and quoted ShareSoc: However, new investors might not know that owning company shares comes with part ownership of a company – and with it the right to vote on issues at their annual ...
Post Date: February 24, 2021 Read more

Information and Experience on Brokers and Platforms

One thing that all ShareSoc members depend upon is a good quality broker. With that in mind, we have started to create topics in our member forum. Our members can now use these to share any news or opinions and raise issues about individual brokerages. This will be helpful to other members. I have set up a separate “Topic” for each of the usual suspects in this area - https://www.sharesoc.org/forums/forum/choosing-a-stockbroker-or-platform/ Over time, I hope this will become a useful resource for members ...
Post Date: January 27, 2021 Read more

ShareCentre Flexi ISA query

A ShareSoc member has sent in this question. Can anyone help?  I currently hold an ISA with the Share Centre which is being taken over by Interactive Investor and I was interested to read Roger Lawson's article "Share Centre: The Future" in Issue 113.    In the past I had made use of the Share Centre's Flexi ISA and had assumed that the same facility would apply once my account was transferred over to Interactive Investor, but having checked with the Share Centre this ...
Post Date: January 6, 2021 Read more

Invinity Open Offer, Ideagen, and AJ Bell Results

I have recently taken a strong interest in those shares that are involved in electrification of the world. It’s not just the UK Prime Minister who wants to save the world from global warming and air pollution with Joe Biden likely to be much more environmentally conscious than Donald Trump. Those companies or trusts that are involved in alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, and systems to manage the fluctuations they impose on the grid, are of particular interest. One ...
Post Date: December 3, 2020 Read more

Epidemic Over? Unable to Trade and Chrysalis VCT Wind-Up

Pandemic News The news that the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 appears to work (at least 90% of the time) and has no negative side effects gave stock markets a good dose of euphoria yesterday (9th November). It suggests that we might be able to return to a normal life in future, but exactly when is far from clear. Actually producing and distributing the vaccine is going to be a mammoth task and it is very clear that it will only be given ...
Post Date: November 11, 2020 Read more

Positive Markets but Platforms Letting Investors Down

Following Pfizer and BioNtech's announcement today that early results from Phase III trials of their Covid-19 vaccine suggested that the vaccine was safe and effective, markets generally have soared. Cyclical and leisure/travel stocks in particular have benefitted whereas certain others have suffered. With this market turbulence it is not surprising that many investors wanted to trade. However, I have seen widespread reports that certain major investment platforms, including Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell/YouInvest have buckled under the strain and are not allowing ...
Post Date: November 9, 2020 Read more

Share Centre Future and FT Spoofing Article 

The Share Centre recently advised their customers of “Our Future with Interactive Investor”. It gave details of the transfer of accounts to the Interactive Investor platform following the acquisition of the Share Centre business. However they failed to point out one important point which customers need to be aware of. Share Centre ISAs are “Flexi ISAs”. This means that you can take cash out of the ISA and put it back in so long as you do it in the same tax ...
Post Date: October 2, 2020 Read more

A Liquidity Fairy-tale

Introduction This article is about the prices you pay or get when you buy or sell shares. It may seem somewhat technical and arcane, but please bear with me, as those prices can have a significant effect on your investment results and hence this issue affects all investors. I will cite a specific example which illustrates how much existing systems that your broker offers are costing you. Quote Driven Markets vs Order Driven Markets There has been a longstanding debate about the merits of ...
Post Date: May 27, 2020 Read more