I canât say Iâm a fan of this 30 shares keeping-it-simple thing, even though this reshuffle doesnât affect me; it does make me slightly uneasy that at any moment a future reshuffle could:
1 Like
Itâs been a great option though for a Lifetime ISA buying Lifeguard Strategy monthly.
1 Like
Dodl was the missing piece for me in terms of a DIY Investment LISA offering so still very happy with them.
The Easy Bank Transfer addition Iâve used a few times now so hopefully they keep on bringing positive updates like this:
2 Likes
10 working days = smooth SIPP between 2 fintechs 
The way the markets were last year, Lifeguard Strategy⢠monthly sounds like a winner 
Just had a look. I did the 80/20 split, as I wonât be touching the LISA for some time. Itâs been up and down like a yoyo, but 0.5% up overall. Sort of academic though if youâre in it for decades
1 Like
pound cost averaging over the long term is the way. Just checked mine, Vanguard is outperforming S&P500 for me atm. Have some Tesla thatâs 15% in the green as of today too.
Is the weird monster gone?
Wonder if theyâll be dropping the platform charges as well? AJ Bell slashes fees and hikes interest rate after warning from regulator
1 Like
Indeed it is.
Before:
After:
Dodl is AJ Bellâs low cost platform. It is commission free. The FCA warning is doesnât apply to Dodl. However, would like Dodl to pay interest on uninvested cash or at least add a decent interest paying money market fund to the platform.
Donât see why it wouldnât apply to them given that they have a monthly charge when many others donât.
Youâre mixing up their offerings - Dodl is basically AJ Bell disrupting itself with a zero-commission app to fend off the likes of Freetrade:
Yes, regular legacy AJ Bell platforms have charges that the FCA warned against that AJ Bell responded to already as follows:
Under the new changes, the costs customers pay to buy and sell exchange-traded investments via the AJ Bell consumer platform are being reduced from ÂŁ9.95 to ÂŁ5.00 per trade. The dealing charges for frequent traders will reduce from ÂŁ4.95 to ÂŁ3.50 per trade.
The firm said it will also roll out higher rates of interest on cash held in pension drawdown, ranging from 3.45 per cent for balances below ÂŁ10,000 to 4.45 per cent for balances over ÂŁ100,000.
Hopefully this makes sense now. Dodl is AJ Bellâs own branded low-cost platform (ÂŁ0 dealing charges) that bridges the gap between AJ Bell and Freetrade/Vanguard et al.
I know they are separately run but my point is that Dodl still charge that ÂŁ1 a month for what is quite a limited service. Itâs why Iâm with T212.
Iâd be surprised if Dodl didnât similarly change their charging structure.
Technically itâs 0.15% fee (minimum ÂŁ1/month). This is peanuts for a platform fee and is in no way in the cross hairs of the FCA. The FCA has issues with dealing charges per trade and not passing on interest rates to consumers on their uninvested cash.
This platform fee is comparable to Vanguardâs 0.15% which is industry leading.
Pretty sure Moneybox charge ÂŁ1/month subscription fee on top of a 0.45% platform fee. Monzo charge 0.45% platform fee. Freetrade you pay subscription fees for any tax wrapped account.
Itâs about value for money, not a race to the bottom on fees. Trading212 is unique in that itâs basically free (as it has a highly profitable CFD arm) but that doesnât make everyone else automatically uncompetitive.
The issue I have with the ÂŁ1 is that they are aiming at new investors with relatively small sums. You can invest via Moneybox with roundups so itâs particularly bad but even ÂŁ100 in and youâre talking 12% charges, not 0.15%.
Personally think itâs reductive to think of it like that. No one bats an eyelid on ÂŁ1 for a McDonalds cheeseburger or a coffee. Itâs about value - ÂŁ1 fee and zero commissions is more than enough value for money for their tax wrapped accounts. Itâs cheap as chips, literally, and for a long term novice investor provides a low barrier of entry into investing.
An investor who invests ÂŁ100 per month after 1 year will have a ÂŁ1,188 (assuming no growth) portfolio and will be paying a fair circa 1% fee (that trends down to 0.15% as the portfolio grows over time) for a robust investment platform. Itâs misrepresentative/unrealistic to quote a 12% charge as if a portfolio remains static.
Also worth pointing out if you use them for a LISA or SIPP, the fee pays for itself out of the government bonus / tax relief. Hard to lose money on those accounts.
1 Like
It isnât high in absolute terms but that fixed monthly charge really hits those starting. I suspect ÂŁ10/month is more realistic for many and even after a year youâre looking at a 10% charge. Better to start out with a percentage based place and move when your balance gets to ÂŁ5000 or more. Not the cheapest but Hargreaves Lansdowne is cheaper up to around ÂŁ3000 and offers SIPPs and whatnot too.
At these amounts, itâs better to just start. Worrying about tiny absolute fees at this early stage of an investment journey and conflating them with large % fee equivalents is the wrong/inhibiting focus.
Building the mere habit of investing at this stage is the important part and ÂŁ1 per month (or whatever % fee) can be chalked up as the cost of keeping the platform lights on / tuition fee of learning about investments. Thatâs the way I see it and did it half a decade ago or so, and while I do get where youâre coming from, I just strongly disagree on this point. Good to hear your perspective either way, Iâm sure itâs widely shared.
For sure starting is key.
Dodl is OK from a thousand or so as would be Moneybox. Where itâs bad is for someone starting out with only roundups on Moneybox as you could very easily get out off investing altogether with that scheme as itâs not the 12% or so of Dodl but potentially 100% depending on the roundups.