Best app or trading account for S&P 500

[edgemon03]

Hi there, so I’m new to Reddit and investing. I’m hoping to start putting £50 per month into a stocks and shares ISA and invest in the S&P 500 like the VUAG ETF for example.

My understanding is that my bank lloyds and HL will charge something like £11 per investment and Vanguard account requires a minimum of £100 per month investment which I’m not comfortable doing right now.

Any apps or account that would allow me to invest £50 with lower fees?

Any help appreciated.

 

[pcalu]

@edgemon03 HL will actually let you do that for free. You just have to use their Monthly savings feature, set it to £50 and choose your investment and it will go in every month and you won't be charged the £11.95 fee.

However VUAG costs £66ish per share and HL doesn't sell partial shares in ETFs - though they do in OIEC funds - so if you definitely want VUAG you would need to invest more like £70/month (the surplus will remain as cash in your account and be used to pay account fees)

 

[edgemon03]

@pcalu Thanks! I was confused with the £11.95 monthly fee. I’ll check our OIEC funds.

 

[brianccph]

@edgemon03 Just a correction on Vanguard you can get an account with EITHER £100 a month OR lump sum of £500 with no minimum monthly.

 

[richies]

@edgemon03 HL allow you to set a minimum £25+ per month direct debit. The app is fab too.

 

[apkarctic]

@edgemon03 Trading 212 use IBKR as the market execution (so a large broker) but are fee free. I use them, excellent UI and more than happy with them.

iweb are an option, open an account with them in the near future and it's free rather than the usual £100. They do charge trading fees though, so I'd go with 212 for frequent investments.

 

[valetic]

@apkarctic Would you recommend T212 over InvestEngine?

 

[apkarctic]

@valetic I really like the 212 interface, UI, ISA / tax free option and it also offers index funds, not just ETFs so thats why I like it. Will use it to accumulate then transfer into iweb at the end of the tax year.

 

[billiemae]

@valetic I would because they have individual shares as well as just funds.

 

[abbiewhite]

@apkarctic I have used T212 and IBKR (both for ISA’s). T212 is great for small amounts and has the better UI IMO…but I’m keeping my main ISA with IBKR simply because they are more established globally and publicly traded - which gives a bit more transparency. Also with large trades, £3 per trade is nothing , if your in for buy and hold for long term.

I’m just a little on the fence with T212 in terms of its size, and also aware that it’s income only derives from spreads/fees/FX on its CFD.( not sure how it makes money from Invest/ISA)

I understand that both companies are FCS regulated (protected up £85k).

 

[shadow2]

@edgemon03 Obligatory why S&P500?

 

[edgemon03]

@shadow2 From what I’ve been reading and consuming online it just seems to be the way if you want to invest with no hassle. Obviously I’ve heard people on podcasts and Warren Buffet talking about it. It’s all new to me.

 

[shadow2]

@edgemon03 You'll find a lot of finance blogs and social media "investors" give advice with a US perspective (i.e. tongue-in-cheek "ignore the rest of the world, we're the best!"). By electing for S&P500 you're actively choosing to ignore a huge chunk of the global markets, which as a novice investor is a brave move.

Take a look at our wiki pages for the essential information that will start your investment journey (Hint: stay away from trading, start long-term investing instead).

https://ukpersonal.finance/investing-101/

 

[reynaldo]

@shadow2

By electing for S&P500 you're actively choosing to ignore a huge chunk of the global markets, which as a novice investor is a brave move

I don't think I've ever seen someone call investing in the S&P500 a brave move. Outside of a global all-cap, it's one of the most conservative investments you can make in equities.

I get this sub is very cautious in its investment philosophy, but we might be swinging too far when investing in the S&P is called brave.

 

[julia736]

@reynaldo

the most conservative investments you can make in equities.

That's quite a caveat.

Investing in equities is inherently risky - people who come here upset because they've lost money, selling their ISA at a loss because obviously it was unsuitable for them, always did so thinking it was a "safe" investment.

 

[shadow2]

@reynaldo

I don't think I've ever seen someone call investing in the S&P500 a brave move. Outside of a global all-cap, it's one of the most conservative investments you can make in equities.

Ask the professionals. Vanguard give it a 6 out of 7 risk rating, riskier than FTSE Global All Cap's 5 out of 7 rating.

And I didn't say investing in S&P500 was a brave move (but it is), I meant ignoring the rest of the world is a brave move.

 

[edgemon03]

@shadow2 Thanks you!

 

[johnanand]

@edgemon03 I use Moneybox. It’s a very intuitive app. They have an S&P500 ETF.

 

[faithfulfindings]

@edgemon03 Freetrade is a good option

 

[edgemon03]

@faithfulfindings £5.99 per month and I don’t think I can partially invest £50 in S&P / Vanguard. Correct me if I’m wrong