Frequently Asked Questions
I regularly receive helpful feedback and questions about this site - thank you. Here are the most common questions that seem to be cropping up:
Why do you include platforms AND discount brokers?
Because the distinction between the two is becoming increasingly blurred. Some platforms offer a direct to public service with either commission rebates or reduced charge funds, which is a similar end
result to investing on other platforms through some discount brokers. And some discount brokers also now offer their own bespoke platforms.
As the purpose of this site is to help you find the best value options for buying/owning funds and shares (including within ISAs and SIPPs) I've included both routes.
Why are some platforms not featured?
There are several reasons why a particular platform might not currently feature, as follows:
They don't allow the public to invest directly
Some platforms, e.g. Cofunds, Skandia & Nucleus only sell via financial advisers and discount brokers. If there's a good deal via a discount broker I'll try to feature them this way (e.g. Cofunds )
otherwise there's no point including them - as can't compare on a level playing field.
I haven't yet added them
Adding platforms requires quite a lot of programming and I only have a finite amount of time to spend on this site.
Could platform charges change in future?
Yes, in fact it's practically a certainty. However, there's no way of reflecting this in comparisons (I don't have a crystal ball!). This site is intended to help you make informed decisions based on
information available today. If charges change in future you can use this site again to check the impact. Fortunately it's quite straightforward to transfer between platforms, albeit there may be
costs involved.
Can I move from one platform/discount broker to another?
Yes, you can. However, you might face fees to close an account and more fees for each investment you want to transfer across. Please refer to the 'more info' popup box for each platform on the results
screen, this contains full details of these costs.
How does this site make money?
My motivation for creating this site was the belief there's a real need for this type of tool - no-one else seemed to be building one. However, it takes quite a lot of work to maintain, so I've recently introduced
'pay per click' on the results page of this site. That means some platforms have agreed to pay a small sum when a user clicks through to their websites.
It doesn't affect the results in any way nor what you pay if you subsequently use that platform, but I hope it will generate some revenue to help keep this site going. .
Can you add feature X?
Maybe. Get in touch with your suggestions, provided they're useful and viable I'll certainly look into including on the site. In any case, I'll do my best to reply.