Stock Market Rally: What does it mean for your portfolio?
21 July 2023 6 min read
5 min read
Published:
Updated:
Ibrahim Khan
Co-founder
Choosing an online stockbroker is essential to your investing journey but it is often a rather painful process to work out who to go for. In this article we’ve tried to take some of that pain away by doing a detailed comparison and sharing our personal experiences too.
To start investing, you need to decide on the broker that you will invest through. Once you have a brokerage account, you can transfer money in and out of it – like a bank account.
Below we have compiled a comparison between a number of different types of stockbrokers in the UK. This is not an exhaustive list but it does cover off the various different flavours of brokers you can get – from the large institutional types, to the no-commission challengers, to the high street banks.
Make sure you read the helpful pointers and tips in the sections below the comparison too!
Name (and link) |
Asset options | Costs/ Fees | Account Min. | Security Features | Trustpilot rating & Customer Service | Notes | Shariah Compliance | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AJ Bell |
Shares, funds, investment trusts |
£3.50 per month for ISA.
0.25 percent custody charge, £1.50 for funds and £9.95 for shares
|
£500 | Encryption |
4.1
Helpdesk receiving calls.
|
One of the largest brokers in the UK.
Education resources include videos, research tools, Shares magazine. ‘Investment ideas’- specialist resources. |
Shares, Funds, Bonds | £1.75 plus 0.014% per share.
Currency conversion 0.1%. Real time figures – £4.50 per month Education resources include a blog (insights and ideas) and ‘Investor’s academy’. |
Stocks, Funds, Crypto, commodities | 0% commission.
Fees calculated on daily basis. $5 withdrawal fee. Education resources include market analysis, podcast, News and insights, learning lab, trading school. Demo account available. |
Stocks, Funds, investment trusts |
£0 commission. £3 per month (stocks and shares ISA). £9.99 per month (SIPP account). |
£2 | Waive liability for any breaches of security and instruct users to keep app updated and protect account details. |
4.0
FAQs, email, and live chat 8 am-9 pm Weekdays 10 am-5 pm Weekend.
|
Customisable auto-investment option.
Education resources include a forum, blog posts and articles. |
Shares, Funds, Bonds | £36 annual customer admin fee.
£12.50 per online trade. 1.25% exchange rate for international trading. Transaction and ongoing charge for funds. Education resources include Market News and Insight articles.
|
Shares, bonds, Funds, Investment trusts | Max charge of £11.95 per UK deal.
Max annual charge of 0.45% on funds. Max fee of 1% charged on currency conversion. Education resources include Factsheets, market reports, newspaper round-ups, live share prices. |
Shares, Funds, investment trusts |
£9.99 a month
£7.99 for all UK and US trades. Streaming prices and real-time portfolio management (£20 per month). Currency conversion 1.5% Education resources include ‘Insight resources’ – impartial editorial, rated lists and portfolios. Currency conversion 0.5% Education resources include Youtube channel with weekly content. Demo account available. ISA/SIPP and Tax-Saving ConsiderationsBrokerage accounts are subject to Capital Gains Tax (on profits over £12,300 a year) and and Dividend tax (on dividend profits over £2,000 a year). If you’re thinking of investing regularly and think you’ll exceed those thresholds in terms of profits, you may want to use an Individual Savings Account (ISA) or a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) rather than opening a brokerage account due to their tax advantages. But bear in mind, each ISA is limited to investing £20,000 per year. On the other hand, there are no limits to how much you can invest in a SIPP but tax relief will only apply to a maximum investment limit of £40,000 per year and there are restrictions on how and when you can withdraw the money. When a brokerage account is right/not rightIf you want to purchase and manage your own investments, a brokerage account at an online broker is for you (and the comparison table above is for you). Other options you may want to consider is a managed brokerage account (where your money is managed for you- which you pay for) or a robo-investor/advisor such as Wahed Invest for those that want to be hands-off. Sharia considerations: CFD Trading, Margin TradingWhen opening an account, you may be given the option of a cash account, a margin account or an account that involves CFDs. Margin accounts allow you to borrow money (with interest) from the broker to make trades – this is of course haram so stick to the cash account. Any account involving CFDs (Contract For Differences) are also haram as CFDs enable profiting from price movement without ever owning the underlying assets. Important Factors to Consider in a BrokerWhat will you invest in? What features are important to you? What will cost less in light of the aforementioned? If you are a beginner, you should also consider the ease of use, education support, and access to market research. A few notes of cautionRemember: don’t invest money you need within the next few years because just as you can profit through investing, you can also lose money. How you’re taxed will depend on your circumstances, and the rules can change. How to Learn Halal Investing QuicklyIf you want more information on investing, be sure to check out our course on halal investing for busy professionals. You can also use our own platform Cur8 Capital to find and invest in Sharia-compliant investments in Venture and Real Estate Capital. Related ArticlesView allStock Market Rally: What does it mean for your portfolio?
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