My Isa has £24,000 in shares, trusts and ETFs – which is the cheapest investment platform?

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I have £24,000 worth of stocks and shares that Isa has invested in a mix of shares, investment trusts and a global ETF.

I regularly invest in the global ETF on a monthly basis and add my other holdings on an ad hoc basis, usually trading about twice a month, but sometimes more often.

I don’t have any mutual funds, just these listed investments. What would be the cheapest investment platform for me in terms of the cost of holding investments and buying and selling?

Helen Kirrane from This is Money replies: The rise of online brokers and do-it-yourself investing has revolutionized buying stocks, mutual funds and funds.

Investors can now make huge savings compared to the past when they used their stock broker, financial advisor or went straight to a fund manager.

Online investment accounts – and now app-based investment services – have driven down the costs of buying and holding shares, funds and trusts, with some now even offering fee-free trading and basic accounts at no cost.

We asked the experts for the best platform options to keep costs low for your investments.

Hollie McKay, founder and CEO of comparison site Boring Money, replies: If your main focus is on price, these three options are the cheapest:

• Trade 212* which would be free for the investments you described
• Free trade* which costs around £60 per year (slightly more if you pay monthly)
• CMC Invest which would cost €120 per year

When assessing the costs, we assumed thirty ad hoc share transactions during the year.

All three of these options support stocks, investment trusts, and ETFs. Trading 212 was also winner of our 2024 Best Buy awards, so in my opinion it is a very good all-rounder.

But all three are decent, low-cost options, with good apps, for those who enjoy trading and are at the more confident end of the investing spectrum.

If you’re tempted by a more mainstream, established brand, then trading fees are something to keep an eye on. In general, most platforms charge much less for regular investments, so if you could do fewer ad hoc trades and add more regular trades, your costs would generally be lower.

How investment platforms compare when trading stocks

Helen Kirrane from This is Money replies: There can be a significant difference in the cost of stock trading and also the cost of holding investments on different platforms.

We’ve calculated the figures based on the fact that you trade on an ad hoc basis – whenever you want – and not as regular monthly investments, which are often much cheaper.

If you were to keep your investments Hargreaves Lansdown*, annual account charges of up to £45 per year apply for holding shares, trusts and ETFs.

But while fund trading is free, share trading costs are £11.95 per trade for shares, investment trusts and ETFs.

Since you trade approximately twice a month, you will pay €286.80 over the course of a year if you do these as ad hoc trades. Add to that the annual fee of £45 and your total costs at Hargreaves Lansdown are £331.80 per year.

Interactive investor* charges £4.99 per month for holdings under £50,000, which equates to £59.88 per year. The transaction fee for shares, investment trusts and ETFs is £3.99. Assuming you trade twice a month over the course of the year, this would cost £95.76 in transaction fees, making a total annual fee of £155.64.

Trade 212* is probably the cheapest option for you because there are no account fees associated with the investments you hold and no fees associated with buying or selling shares. It’s free to add money via bank transfer, but above £2,000 in total, deposits via Cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and others will be charged 0.7 percent.

Free trade* also has no share trading fees, but there is a fee of £5.99 per month for the standard account with an Isa, which works out to £71.88 per year. This reduces to £59.88 if you pay annually.

IWeb has no account fees, but does incur a one-off account opening fee of £100. However, this will be waived until June 30 this year. Standard trading in shares, trusts and ETFs costs £5 per deal. So iWeb costs £120 per year for two transactions per month if you sign up before June 30.