Hello Patrick I too have a Barclays Stockbrokers account. I agree the switch from the old Barclays Stockbrokers to the new Smart Investor platform has been fraught. It appears to offer less functionality and analysis – or at least it is much harder to find. I noticed an article in one of the weekend papers saying that they had received a number of customer complaints and the helplines were asking people to wait for 40 minutes at least. I also hold a SIPP with Hargreaves Lansdown which I can highly recommend. The information is easy to access, the analysis is extremely good and everything is within easy reach. There is a charge for the SIPP of course which depends on whether you hold shares or funds (or a mix of the two). I think their charges for the fund and share account are negligible (this is the equivalent to the Barclays Investment Account).
I use AJ Bell Youinvest – very happy with them and I believe they are very competitive on pricing – https://www.youinvest.co.uk/ – I use them for SIPPS . ISA’s and general investments….
Just picking up on the Barclays Smart Investor launch disaster. The platform has been universally slated on many websites for its poor functionality and Barclays communications have been utterly dire. I am going to move my 2 accounts to alternative providers but interested to know if anyone has had any feedback from using the Smart Investor website.
The main thing I want from a broker is a low-cost way to purchase and hold shares for the long term. The Monevator website has a good listing of the cheapest brokers. I use iWeb for my ISA and AJ Bell Youinvest for my SIPP.
Interactive Investor are probaqbly worth investigating.
I’m afraid we don’t do SIPPs, but my niece and I have a joint regular invsestment account with them and manage half a dozen ISAs for various family members.
Works very well, fair charges and no complaints so far.
I use Interactive Investor. I’ve only been with them since August, but very happy with them. Very competitive fees, a good online platform and mobile app, and a good selection (even better since they recently upgraded their platform after merging with TD Direct) of overseas stocks.
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