Comdirect.

[titus-uk]

I have been using DLJ direct as my online self-select ISA for 1 year. Overall, I have found the service excellent. They give a guaranteed quote, and is executed instantly even on busy tradeing periods (seen on ADVFN order screen usually in <30secs). I have been impressed by their quality.

However, £15 per trade is not esp cheap - on a £1000 trade, thats I need to make 4% before I am in profit (with stamp).

COmdirect appear to have a very good site, with lots of info. However, hey charge only £10 per trade at my levels - 2/3 price of DLJ. Has anyone used them, and if so how good are they? Would be interested to know as I will soon be opening my 2nd ISA.

Thanks
Mark

 

[darth trader]

can't comment on either but don't forget to take into account any other charges too. depending on your trading frequency a second lot of quartlerly charges may make it more attractive to stay where you are.

 

[Hill Farmer]

I have an account with Comdirect. No problems to-date. Efficient access and very clear online details of transactions etc. You can also transfer money online via MasterCard, if you wish; it takes two days to clear funds. Gomez rates it as one of the better sites. It also has a nice look and feel! As always DYOR.

 

[titus-uk]

Thanks for the reply Hill Farmer...am getting tempted! Esp as I use the site for sector news, charts etc.

Any more opinions will be appreciated

Mark

 

[izzie]

comdirect

the only thing that put me off comdirect was the 'emergency only' view they apparently have towards telephone dealing (which I feel is sometimes the best - or only - way to deal).
On the (very) positive side, they -in my experience - are probably the most organised of all the sites; their ISA application could not be simpler, and their entire site, including the excellent game, is brilliant.

Unfortunately I chose Barclays instead, whose phone dealing is excellent but online is dreadful; on smaller deals (£1k ish) there is only £3 difference in price, and the phone is quite quick, accessible and you can always deal, even on difficult stocks which are otherwise restricted (e.g Innovation 2 weeks ago).

The 'price improver' on Barclays appears to work well, both on phone and online, but I'm not sure how this compares with comdirect, or other sites. Comparing the on-screen (Updata/Prestel) price with their actual trading price, I always get an improvement, sometimes up to 2.5 pence!

Otherwise, I am seriously considering using comdirect myself for two more ISAs later this year (wife & I); its good to spread it around anyway!

 

[Uncle]

I have been using iDealing.com since February and whilst it is a no frills service, at £10 regardless of size of trade, I have found execution to be immediate, followed by the contract note, normally within 5 minutes of execution, and as you say about your present broker, your deal is shown on ADVFN as soon as you switch over. There is a small admin fee £5 per quarter, just in case you need to consider this.

Best wishes

John

 

[Aaln1]

Halifax shareXpress is £12.50 up to £2500 and £22.50 above, beyond that no other charges. Advantage is that you pay in and out of a nominated bank account - ie your own bank account is used as the account giving better financial control. Works out almost as cheap as idealing if only making a few trades.
Also cost comparison report available at http://www.ecomgroup.co.uk/Research.htm, which I found very useful

 

[Hill Farmer]

Aaln1,

I would watch Halifax VERY carefully. My wife recently had a bad experience with them where they took money out of from accounts they should not have done so. It took numerous telephone calls to sort this out. Also, the ISA admin side was appalling. All-in-all, a very poor service. I'm not going into all of the details, other than to say I had a very long letter from their customer relations people admitting that things had gone bad. We were less than impressed with their explanation. The bottom line is that my wife is closing all of her accounts with Haifax as they have has lost all credibility in our eyes. I am also tempted to close my account with them. I will certainly not be putting anymore business their way. We may be the exception, but given their amateurish handling of the situation this has not inspired any confidence going forward. I belive their admin facilities are not up to scratch.

The broker market is very competative and we should expect higher standards than those provided by Halifax. I wanted to share this with the board members in order that everyone is made aware of the type of things that can happen, and not be too complacent in assuming that a just because there is big name backing things will be ok. Good luck.

 

[Aaln1]

Thanks Hillfarmer,

Your're right I would just not expect that of such a sizeable bank. OK I'll give serious consideration to idealing or selftrade or maybe comdirect (since you can also deal US shares there) who work out very cheap indeed. Thanks for the warning. Cheers