Stocks & Shares ISA

[Markus]

Does anyone have a Stocks & Shares ISA they can recommend?  A managed one would be preferable. I’ve heard Nutmeg is good.    Bit hesitant about using Hargreaves Lansdown. 

[Gordon Bennett]

Does anyone have a Stocks & Shares ISA they can recommend?  A managed one would be preferable. I’ve heard Nutmeg is good.    Bit hesitant about using Hargreaves Lansdown.

Your question equates to asking for someone to recommend an escort... It's too vague.

You need to read up on them. You are essentially saying "I want to invest in something". You need to drill down a bit and get a bit more specific than just "something".

Do you have ethical concerns? Happy to invest in China/drugs/weapons/tobacco? "Safe" or "Risky"?  I'd suggest going on Hargreaves Lansdowne of Fidelity or Vanguard and just trawling through their basic guides, not the funds.

Once you have a better general feel you could come back and say "I'm looking at investing in a European fund covering large tech companies, any good ones or are their better options in that field?"

Ive been in this one more or less since it's inception and have done very well. Of course past performance means fuck all though....

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[Yankee41]

I use fidelity and its the best i found.  The US version that is. The UK version was not as good.

Stay away from h&l.  They showed there true colours this past week by shutting down or delaying transactions to benefit brokers and hedge funds.  Lots of us little people suffered because of it.  Having them manage your money is literally signing it away now i feel. 

[Markus]

Thanks for the feedback.

I have no ethical concerns about where the money is invested (I’m on a punting forum after all) and am not concerned with ESG (Enviromental social and governance)  funds.  I want the money to grow steadily rather than sitting in a Cash ISA as they have zero growth.

I’ll have a look at your suggestion. I have had a previous bad experience of HL but I am not planning on going down that route again. Even their suggestions for shares this year (CVS, Tesco etc are on P/E ratio over 20+ times) are not favourable.  I was thinking Prudential but their Initial Advice Charge is 3% and thereafter less than 1% fund fees. They spread it between different markets and shares.  I had a look at Nutmeg Trustpilot reviews and they seem good albeit with questionable customer service.

Anybody invested in EasyJet, Cineworld, Rolls Royce with a view to when things pick up?  The prices are rock bottom due to the pandemic.

[Squire Haggard]

Thanks for the feedback.

I have no ethical concerns about where the money is invested (I’m on a punting forum after all) and am not concerned with ESG (Enviromental social and governance)  funds.  I want the money to grow steadily rather than sitting in a Cash ISA as they have zero growth.

I’ll have a look at your suggestion. I have had a previous bad experience of HL but I am not planning on going down that route again. Even their suggestions for shares this year (CVS, Tesco etc are on P/E ratio over 20+ times) are not favourable.  I was thinking Prudential but their Initial Advice Charge is 3% and thereafter less than 1% fund fees. They spread it between different markets and shares.  I had a look at Nutmeg wankers reviews and they seem good albeit with questionable customer service.

Anybody invested in EasyJet, Cineworld, Rolls Royce with a view to when things pick up?  The prices are rock bottom due to the pandemic.

I took profits on positions in IHG and Whitbread today, after doing so many previous times. IHG is close to pre pandemic levels, but Whitbread is a good bit below that. I'll dip buy the latter if the opportunity presents itself.  I came across this today. They are building a new hub hotel in London. They are usually very good and cheap if booked in advance, and I'll probably pay a visit sometime..

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[Trenlover]

I recommend trading212 for the ISA as it has no fees, however you wont be able to invest in funds with them, only stocks and ETF's and investment trusts


AJ bell has competitive fees if you insist on an ISA that allows you to invest in funds.

companies like trading212 make their money by earning interest on cash held in your account. ( alot of investors fund their accounts but typically leave large amounts of cash sitting there "waiting" for the right moment to invest )

[Trenlover]

I took profits on positions in IHG and Whitbread today, after doing so many previous times. IHG is close to pre pandemic levels, but Whitbread is a good bit below that. I'll dip buy the latter if the opportunity presents itself.  I came across this today. They are building a new hub hotel in London. They are usually very good and cheap if booked in advance, and I'll probably pay a visit sometime..

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Not to go off topic I have been keeping an eye on TUI as people love their holidays, also not sure if whitbread is a good investment however I do really like Premier Inn its a great middle ground between price and quality for hotels

I like rolls royce , im sure air travel will come back and since electric planes are impossible there should be demand for turbine engines for the foreseeable future

[Squire Haggard]

Not to go off topic I have been keeping an eye on TUI as people love their holidays, also not sure if whitbread is a good investment however I do really like Premier Inn its a great middle ground between price and quality for hotels

I like rolls royce , im sure air travel will come back and since electric planes are impossible there should be demand for turbine engines for the foreseeable future

I'll look into the ones you mentioned. IMO I think there's a good chance Whitbread will get back to its pre pandemic levels. We've both recommended them on this thread. 

[sharkman2017]

I would recommend vanguard and buy a vanguard index fund or lifestyle fund. You really don’t need anything else

Happy to chat via pm, it’s an area I know a bit about

[Markus]

Rolls Royce are the ones I am going to take a bite at for sure. When flights take off, all those maintenance contracts and new engine orders will mean decent business. It’s long term investing but worth a punt. Whitbread too, hotel bookings will increase rapidly if the majority of the population is vaccinated and overall sentiment seems to be quite positive.

Mixed views on Cineworld as it’s cheap but Tenet already flopped badly last year and Matrix 4 and others will be released via streaming sites.  That leaves them banking on the new James Bond movie when they re-open. 

[johnsthomas]

I would take a look at the Interactive Investor website I have been using them for stocks and shares ISA and SIPP for many years and they have lots of sensible guidance for investors whatever level of involvement or risk you are comfortable with

[Blackpool Rock]

Rolls Royce are the ones I am going to take a bite at for sure. When flights take off, all those maintenance contracts and new engine orders will mean decent business. It’s long term investing but worth a punt. Whitbread too, hotel bookings will increase rapidly if the majority of the population is vaccinated and overall sentiment seems to be quite positive.

Mixed views on Cineworld as it’s cheap but Tenet already flopped badly last year and Matrix 4 and others will be released via streaming sites.  That leaves them banking on the new James Bond movie when they re-open.

I'm not sure if you are actually looking more toward individual stocks or funds as specific companies have been mentioned.
Anyway HL have been mentioned and a few seem to have had bad experience, I do know someone who raves about them but I also believe they not only stuck with but were still actively pushing the Neil Woodford fund that tanked a couple of years back long after others said to avoid it 

Amongst others I quite like Fidelity and their recent website overhaul is good, access to in depth fund info and all sorts of stats on your account profile and investments.

Things are a bit strange at the moment for investing and could potentially be a lot of volatility over the next year or so as covid rumbles on so it really depends on your attitude towards risk.
Individual shares are probably riskier than funds which spread the money around however it also depends on the sector that the fund operates in, as always the recommendation is to spread the money around so if 1 sector does badly it's supported by the others doing well etc.
Personally for any new funds I only invest in them if they are Morningstar 5 star rated as it seems to be a good measure of the broad strength of a fund not just in the last year but over a longer term 

[Squire Haggard]

I'll look into the ones you mentioned. IMO I think there's a good chance Whitbread will get back to its pre pandemic levels. We've both recommended them on this thread. 

Since I posted this, I've thought about how more remote business meetings might be done via Microsoft Teams instead of travelling and using hotels. My understanding is that Premier Inn Hub is designed partly for sole business travelers. This could mean a struggle to reach pre pandemic levels perhaps?  Also, Whitbread plan to expand into Germany, so who knows how that will go. 

[mills_and_bhuna]

Why do you prefer a managed fund ?
They're usually more expensive because of the higher fees and if it's a long-term investment an index fund statistically does better on average.

[RLondon99]

Hargreaves Lansdown are crooks, they milk punters through the deals they have with shit fund managers like Woodford. But okay to deal individual shares on although cheaper platforms emerging.

Rolls-Royce-Is-Undervalued-Buy-Now is one of the oldest stories in the market. Never worked yet, company has an inbuilt failure gene.

Beat up travel / entertainment venue / retail-still-standing companies could be good. There's a boom coming.

[chrishornx]

Since I posted this, I've thought about how more remote business meetings might be done via Microsoft Teams instead of travelling and using hotels. My understanding is that Premier Inn Hub is designed partly for sole business travelers. This could mean a struggle to reach pre pandemic levels perhaps?  Also, Whitbread plan to expand into Germany, so who knows how that will go. 

perhaps not if all the service providers get busy 

[lostandfound]

Thinking of transferring my cash ISA into my stocks and shares ISA with another provider.

Reading online summaries of rules I should be able to move cash between S & S ISA (execution only) and cash ISA (if interest rates on cash ever return!) with the same provider at will?

Has anyone here been able to do that? It seems to me as though some providers will only do wholesale transfers like all of a cash into a S & S or vice versa?

[lostandfound]

To answer my own question - I've been talking to my S & S ISA provider and I could move cash in that way but each time it would have to be an "ISA Transfer" which could take up to 6 weeks.

[Blackpool Rock]

Why do you prefer a managed fund ?
They're usually more expensive because of the higher fees and if it's a long-term investment an index fund statistically does better on average.

I agree that an index has lower fees however that's due to it following a set of rules as to what to invest in so it's effectively a passive fund whereas a managed fund relies on the fund manager actively seeking out opportunities and having to do some work hence the higher fees.

A well managed fund in a reasonable sector will provide a better return than most indexed funds which are recommended for steady eddy investors or those who've already retired 

[Gordon Bennett]

To answer my own question - I've been talking to my S & S ISA provider and I could move cash in that way but each time it would have to be an "ISA Transfer" which could take up to 6 weeks.

I've done it both ways and it is slow. I know a few times it took more than 6 weeks too. It's was really fucking annoying too as you're in limbo "out of the market"  for a big chunk of that time.
Transferring an ISA stash just can't be done swiftly to take advantage of market conditions unfortunately. Obviously smaller pots could simply be cashed in and reinvested if you are under the £20K annual limit for paying in to an ISA.

[lostandfound]

I've done it both ways and it is slow. I know a few times it took more than 6 weeks too. It's was really fucking annoying too as you're in limbo "out of the market"  for a big chunk of that time.
Transferring an ISA stash just can't be done swiftly to take advantage of market conditions unfortunately. Obviously smaller pots could simply be cashed in and reinvested if you are under the £20K annual limit for paying in to an ISA.

Thanks that's good info. 

Yeah - they pointed out I can use the £20K float within a financial year which offers some flexibility I suppose.

I had to ask the questions but the adviser I spoke to had all the answers off pat like she'd been asked before so maybe a common desire amongst their customers for this to be easier. Wish the gov (I assume it's them) would make it easier.

[Gordon Bennett]

Thanks that's good info. 

Yeah - they pointed out I can use the £20K float within a financial year which offers some flexibility I suppose.

I had to ask the questions but the adviser I spoke to had all the answers off pat like she'd been asked before so maybe a common desire amongst their customers for this to be easier. Wish the gov (I assume it's them) would make it easier.

Yeah you're right. Thing is, it's been like it for years. I vaguely recall it was even slower and possibly not even allowed ages ago. I suspect they want ISAs, particularly stocks and shares ISAs, to be long term instruments and not something people hop in and out of every 5 minutes trying to "play the markets"?
The general panic to sell shares when stock markets start tumbling is bad enough on its own, if you then add to that millions/billions of shares being sold due to ISAs being transferred it all adds to the freefall.
I suppose the government would say you're free to cash--in anytime you want BUT..... if you want to keep it all under the ISA wrapper you'll have to wait a bit.

[sub_marine]

Yeah you're right. Thing is, it's been like it for years. I vaguely recall it was even slower and possibly not even allowed ages ago. I suspect
The general panic to sell shares when stock markets start tumbling is bad enough on its own, if you then add to that millions/billions of shares being sold due to ISAs being transferred it all adds to the freefall.

I have a mixture of managed funds and induvidual shares.  I was through fidelity, who in turn used a rebranded platform provided by Charles Stanley, but about 7 years ago Fidelity decided to give up the retail side and I was transferred in to a full blown Charles Stanley account.  It costs about £50 a month.  I have my daughters JISA through them as well.

[KermitK2]

HL has very good customer service if you have any special issues and the website and app are pretty slick. I have all my investments on the platform and never had any issues. I only invest in funds and mainly investment trusts.

Like others have said i would steer well clear of HLs recommended funds. Instead buy Investors Chronicle and do some research on funds and equities there if you have time to research. It's hard to argue that trackers/ETFs are best when you see the likes of SMT going through the roof in 2020.

If you have very little time to research then stick all the money in a mix of a FSTE ETF, worldwide equity ETF and fixed income ETF. Nutmeg is one way of doing this but check out the performance and cost of their ETFs vs other platforms.

[Hurley]

I use the Freetrade app they charge £3 a month for a stocks and shares isa
I’m quite a lot into recovery stocks at the moment, whitbread, carnival cruises and Lloyd’s bank as well as a few investment trusts

[Markus]

Whats freetrade like?  Have you been on them for long?  I downloaded the app but haven't used it as yet.

[billybob69]

HL has very good customer service if you have any special issues and the website and app are pretty slick. I have all my investments on the platform and never had any issues. I only invest in funds and mainly investment trusts.

Like others have said i would steer well clear of HLs recommended funds. Instead buy Investors Chronicle and do some research on funds and equities there if you have time to research. It's hard to argue that trackers/ETFs are best when you see the likes of SMT going through the roof in 2020.

If you have very little time to research then stick all the money in a mix of a FSTE ETF, worldwide equity ETF and fixed income ETF. Nutmeg is one way of doing this but check out the performance and cost of their ETFs vs other platforms.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are SMT's?

[whoya.kiddin]

I would recommend vanguard and buy a vanguard index fund or lifestyle fund. You really don’t need anything else

Happy to chat via pm, it’s an area I know a bit about

Marcus I agree with this reply.  Vanguard are difficult to beat for the low fees together with the quality and variety of their funds. If I am allowed to say you should read on the UKpersonalfinance section of Reddit - lots of good, impartial advice and plenty of expertise.

[Hurley]

Whats freetrade like?  Have you been on them for long?  I downloaded the app but haven't used it as yet.

I like it every thing is nicely laid out shows what you’ve bought how much you paid what percent the stock is up or down an overall percentage on your portfolio, how much it’s up or down in monetary terms,  you can Create a watch list to keep an eye on things.
Some stuff is only available to people who pay for the premium which is I think a tenner a month but that allows you to set stop losses and things like that. I’ve only really found a couple of shares I was interested in buying in there so was unable to.

[Markus]

I’m going to make a decision on which Stocks and Shares ISA to approach after this financial year is over as I have already paid in to one. Thanks for the tips, Vanguard does look very good with low fees.

In relation to free trade, is it like the name suggests buying stocks without any cost as most other providers charge £10 or £11 per transaction (Fidelity and HL respectively).  I don’t want to pay a platform fee as most of the stocks I am going to get involved with are long term (ie once the economy bounces back and travel resumes in full flow)

[KermitK2]

Excuse my ignorance, but what are SMT's?

Sorry, should have specified full name, it's Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. It's a fund that has done really well in the last few years.
Managed by Baillie Gifford who have quite a few funds doing well at the moment.

[robsmith149]

I put £1500 in a s and s isa in 2001,never touched it and is at £5k now, no idea that's good or not.

[Blackpool Rock]

I put £1500 in a s and s isa in 2001,never touched it and is at £5k now, no idea that's good or not.

OK so over 20 years I calculate you have got a return of about 6.2% a year, far better than if you'd put it in the building society but i'd say pretty crap for a stocks ISA however it does depend what it's invested in and what your attitude is to risk

[Blu007]

OK so over 20 years I calculate you have got a return of about 6.2% a year, far better than if you'd put it in the building society but i'd say pretty crap for a stocks ISA however it does depend what it's invested in and what your attitude is to risk

Did you use an online calculator to work that out that return by any chance?

[Blackpool Rock]

Did you use an online calculator to work that out that return by any chance?

Yeah 

[robsmith149]

OK so over 20 years I calculate you have got a return of about 6.2% a year, far better than if you'd put it in the building society but i'd say pretty crap for a stocks ISA however it does depend what it's invested in and what your attitude is to risk

Got it through my bank, main holdings in the fund are Diageo and Unilever so it's a pretty low risk isa, 6.2% a year will do for me.

[chrishornx]

OK so over 20 years I calculate you have got a return of about 6.2% a year, far better than if you'd put it in the building society but i'd say pretty crap for a stocks ISA however it does depend what it's invested in and what your attitude is to risk

spot on BR

[Rick2468]

I invest everything in Vanguard now. I aim for around 85% in Global Developed Equity and 15% in Emerging Markets. I used to have a variety of funds but now I keep it simple.  I use Interactive Investor as a platform and I think it's really decent.

I've bet my entire investments on two houses and equities. The investments have done very well for themselves over the years. I worked my ass off in my 20s and hit bonus boomtown a couple of years and made a million around the age of 30 so pretty comfortable now. I hang around with mates who are skint all the time which means I don't spend most of my money and the rest I just put into investments.

[Markus]

Your platform is Interactive Investor but your funds are Vanguard? May I ask why not go with Vanguard directly?  Do you invest in the share market as well or stick to funds?

[Rick2468]

Your platform is Interactive Investor but your funds are Vanguard? May I ask why not go with Vanguard directly?  Do you invest in the share market as well or stick to funds?

I did look into that and the Vanguard platform fee is £375 pa compared with c£120 pa with Interactive Investor so it is actually cheaper with ii.

I could save further if I moved to iWeb but not loads so not sure i can be bothered.

Edit sorry didn't cover your later question. I invest in funds. I used to invest in individual shares but found it was too expensive to trade so the returns would be quickly wiped out. You get charged to huy and sell so double whammy.

[Markus]

I found the Vanguard global equity fund on my platform but are you invested in the 100/80/60/40/? I believe the 80 means an split of 80% equities to 20% bonds.

Il go across to Interactive Investor once this Financial year comes to an end.  It seems very informative.

I wouldn’t mind playing a bit in to stocks and even crypto.  The charges for shares are high though £10 to buy and the same again to sell. 

[Rick2468]

I found the Vanguard global equity fund on my platform but are you invested in the 100/80/60/40/? I believe the 80 means an split of 80% equities to 20% bonds.

Il go across to Interactive Investor once this Financial year comes to an end.  It seems very informative.

I wouldn’t mind playing a bit in to stocks and even crypto.  The charges for shares are high though £10 to buy and the same again to sell.

It's this one I think. I can double check when I'm logged into my work computer. I'm pretty sure it's only equities. I used to have some bond funds but they did bugger all so I'm betting it all on shares.
FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund - Accumulation - Vanguard

I really rate interactive investor. I found it overwhelming at first but got used to it quick. I have phoned them a few times to check at what time they lock in the prices for each investment. You could open the account now and put £1 in so you can log in and look about so you are used to it before the new fiscal year. Although just thought you might get billed £10 a month. I work with a few investment consultants and a lot of them use AJ Bell or ii.

I have a £1 cash investment in Hargreaves which gives me access to their articles although I don't tend to read them anymore. I used to be with Halifax as I used to bank with them but their Stocks and Shares is expensive and awful. I had to trade over the phone. With ii it's easy to log in and do what you need to do.

I recommend the UKInvesting page on Reddit if you haven't heard of it. I don't post on it but I quite like reading what some of the people think on there.

[Rick2468]

I found the Vanguard global equity fund on my platform but are you invested in the 100/80/60/40/? I believe the 80 means an split of 80% equities to 20% bonds.

Il go across to Interactive Investor once this Financial year comes to an end.  It seems very informative.

I wouldn’t mind playing a bit in to stocks and even crypto.  The charges for shares are high though £10 to buy and the same again to sell.

Hi. Just to follow up. I invest in the following funds. Aim for around 85% in the global and 15% in Emerging. Note that the ongoing fees are on top of ii's platform fees.

Global: Vanguard FTSE Glb All Cap Idx Inv A £Acc ISIN:GB00BD3RZ582 Fee:0.23%
Emerging: Vanguard Emerg Mkts Stk Idx GBP Acc ISIN:IE00B50MZ724 Fee 0.23%

I did invest a few thousand in a different emerging markets fund (ISIN:GB00BZ82ZY13) by accident. It had a higher fee of 0.78% so thought I would keep hold of it to see whether it outperformed my other emerging markets fund to justify the higher fee but it didn't. So I'll get rid of that one when I next move stuff around.

I have been investing for over 15 years now and used to invest in exciting things such as hedge funds and crowdfunding. It was much more volatile and in the long run I didn't think it outperformed the index tracking funds. It was fun but didn't justify the higher fees.

I think investing in cash ISAs is a real waste of money unless you think the market is about to tank. I hold my investments in shares to ride the peaks and troughs. I have a mate who I discuss investment with a lot and he copies my strategy except for he moves into cash when he thinks the market is about to tank. I think he has had varied success and don't know if he has seen better returns than me. In my view the economy is going to grow over time and I won't retire for 30 years so I am prepared to take the risks. I think there is a (hopefully low) risk that the world economy would tank due to extreme climate change impacting industry but in that scenario most investments will probably take a hit.

Also, goes without saying but keep as much as possible under an ISA wrapper to take advantage of the tax relief.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. It is fun and I have enjoyed it. I have some years where my investments have increased more than my gross salary.

[Markus]

Thanks for this.  Yes, Cash ISA's are a waste of time and serve no purpose other than to make use of the ISA allowance under the current tax year while you are still thinking where to put the money.

I have invested in a few Baillie Giffard funds.  I intend to go for some Blackrock and Vanguard funds.  I want to put a few thousand in to the LSE but am unsure which companies to invest in. Companies like Saga have a lot of room for growth but you have to ride it out for the long haul as until the market recovers and old folk start to take cruises again, nothing is going to make the share price jump.   Same goes for Cineworld and the return to people at cinemas.

I will look in to Vanguard but at present all I can find are the 100/80/60/40 equity to bond funds so I may need to go to II next. 

[sanchez]

Thanks for this.  Yes, Cash ISA's are a waste of time and serve no purpose other than to make use of the ISA allowance under the current tax year while you are still thinking where to put the money.

I have invested in a few Baillie Giffard funds.  I intend to go for some Blackrock and Vanguard funds.  I want to put a few thousand in to the LSE but am unsure which companies to invest in. Companies like Saga have a lot of room for growth but you have to ride it out for the long haul as until the market recovers and old folk start to take cruises again, nothing is going to make the share price jump.   Same goes for Cineworld and the return to people at cinemas.

I will look in to Vanguard but at present all I can find are the 100/80/60/40 equity to bond funds so I may need to go to II next.

I think you need to look under Index and Active funds. From my understanding you can then create a custom fund that picks and chooses from S&P500 and Emerging markets etc.

It’s at the top under What we Offer. 

[pbj46]

I use Interactive Investor.  Their platform is a bit crap/outdated, especially compare to HL, but they're much cheaper (for me) than most alternates.

HL are fine if you're just starting out. The platform is pretty good and they are good about adding new shares/instruments that aren't currently available on their site if you just contact them.  HL start to get expensive once you amass a bigger pot, which is when it's worth shifting to a flat fee broker. 

One thing to note is that they really don't like you transferring your pot out of HL to another provider.  Took me 12 months to get mine moved over to II which is just a disgrace. They ended up paying me compensation though.

Monevator has a great broker comparison table which is kept updated regularly.  Google it, not sure if I'm allowed to post links yet.

[binbag]

Another vote for Vanguard. I'd avoid buying individual stocks unless you really know what you're doing. My feeling is casual investors rarely do well so I'd go for a fund (Vanguard) and/or have a portfolio manager choose the individual stocks for you.

[binbag]

Sorry. I meant to say casual investors rarely do well with individual stocks

[chrishornx]

Sorry. I meant to say casual investors rarely do well with individual stocks

Speak for yourself many do very well thank you

[Markus]

I’m going to go across to Vanguard in the new financial year.   Their life strategy funds have performed well over the years and they have a good reputation.

I signed up with a virtual trading 212 account to see how some of the shares I am interested in are going to perform over the next month.  I wouldn’t dip my toe in to shares by more than £1k at this point in time.  I don’t have the time to research P/E and other metrics to make proper judgements on them.

Thanks for all the feedback, it’s been very helpful.