This is the amount of money you've set aside for investing. You should never invest more than you can afford to lose.
A share is a unit of ownership in a listed company. Share dealing lets you buy stock in companies large and small, such as Amazon, Google, or Microsoft, to potentially make a profit if you sell that stock after its price rises.
Share dealing is carried out through a share dealing account in which you deposit money, and make your trades using the money you've invested.
These brokers act on your instructions to buy or sell shares without offering any kind of advice.
These brokers provide advice about which shares you might wish to trade but leave the ultimate decision to you.
These brokers buy stocks and shares on your behalf based on their understanding of the market.
ճisn't a one-size-fits-all trading platform that'll work for everyone. Choosing the best share dealing platform for your needs depends on your individual circumstances, however, there are some key elements everyone should consider:
How often you buy and sell shares
How much experience you have with investing
The amount of money involved
Think about what features you need from your share-dealing platform and your overall goals before making a choice.
If you're an experienced investor, you might not need all the bells and whistles. If you're new to trading, it can help to have some guidance to help you on your investing journey, which many platforms provide as part of their service.
The following are some of the more well-known trading platforms available:
Trading Platform | Platform Fee | Share dealing charge | Investment Options |
---|---|---|---|
Degiro | £0 | £2.75 (UK) | Shares, ETFs, options, futures |
IG | £8 | £8 (UK) | Shares, ETFs, investment trusts |
Interactive Investor | £4.99 | £3.99 (UK and US) | £3.99 (UK and US) Shares, funds, investment trusts, ETFs |
Hargreaves Lansdown | £0 | £11.95 | Shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, investment trusts |
Saxo Markets | £0 | £3 (UK) | Shares, ETFs, funds, bonds |
Each time you buy or sell a stock, you must pay a charge-per-trade fee. The amount varies depending on your account provider.
This is a discounted charge-per-trade fee that is triggered after you make a certain amount of trades. It's worth looking for if you trade a lot.
Charge made for holding the account. Some accounts don't have platform fees but have higher per-trade fees instead.
This is the amount of money you've set aside for investing. You should never invest more than you can afford to lose.
This is the amount of time you're willing to leave your money invested between buying and selling stock.
Risk is the uncertainty you face when making an investment. It's the size of potential gain versus the potential loss.
This is the amount of money you've set aside for investing. You should never invest more than you can afford to lose.
This is the amount of time you're willing to leave your money invested between buying and selling stock.
Risk is the uncertainty you face when making an investment. It's the size of potential gain versus the potential loss.
There are a few ways that you can earn money when trading stocks.
Growth: With this strategy, you buy shares and hang on to them until they hopefully increase in value. Once you've reached your goal price, you can sell the shares at a profit.
Dividends: With this option, you buy stock in the hope of receiving dividends (a regular share of the company's profits). Not all companies pay dividends, and some only pay them now and then, so you need to research the best stock options to support this approach. With companies that do pay dividends, payouts usually occur a few times each year. How much you get depends on how many shares you own and how the company has performed.
Day trading: This is a form of trading when you buy and sell shares over the course of a single trading day by taking advantage of small fluctuations in the prices of shares during the period. This is a high risk activity that's best for experienced traders.
You will not need to pay tax on your profit or purchases if your shares are held in an ISA or SIPP. If they are not, you may need to pay two forms of taxes.
Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT). This charges 0.5% of the trade's value if you buy UK shares that are settled through CREST (the UK electronic settlement system). If you buy shares using a stock transfer form rather than electronically and the transaction is over £1,000 you pay Stamp Duty at 0.5%.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT). When you sell your shares and make a profit, you are required to pay tax on the gains you made. The rate at which CGT is charged depends on which income tax bracket you are in and how much money you make from the sale.
From 30 October 2024:
Basic rate taxpayers pay 18%
Higher and additional rate taxpayers pay 24%
This does not include .
However, for every tax year you receive a capital gains tax-free allowance. For the 2024/25 tax year, the is £3,000 (£1,500 for trusts).
Your gains would need to exceed this for you to be required to pay capital gains tax on your profits from any trades you make.
A bear market is a market environment where a major index or stock falls 20% or more from its recent highs. It’s the opposite of a bull market.
Blue-chip stocks are the stocks of large, industry-leading companies, typically with good reputations. The term was derived from blue gambling chips, the highest-valued chips in casinos.
A firm or person who executes your buy and sell orders for stocks or other securities. Some brokers also provide advisory services.
A bull market is the opposite of a bear market and is a market experiencing a prolonged period of increasing stock prices that are at least 20% above a recent low.
Day trading is the practice of buying and selling a stock or security within the same trading day, often with the intention of profiting from small fluctuations in price.
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the first sale or offering of a stock by a company to the public.
A collection of assets that makes up a trader or investor’s portfolio. Your portfolio can contain a single stock or an infinite number of stocks and other securities.
A stop-loss order directs a stockbroker or share trader to sell a stock when it reaches a predetermined price. It is usually used by investors who want to limit their potential losses on a particular share.
Volatility can either refer to an individual stock's price movements or the movements of a financial index. Stocks that fluctuate wildly in price over a short period of time are considered highly volatile, while those that move slowly are deemed less volatile.
A share dealing account is used to purchase and sell shares. There are numerous accounts offering different features and charges, so review your options carefully to find one that fits your specific needs and investment targets.
You can start online trading by opening an online stock trading account. Once the account is opened, transfer the amount of money you plan to trade into the account. Once in place, that money can be used to buy and sell shares.
No, the company must be listed on a stock exchange such as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) or Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Do your research to check which exchange is best for you.
After a broker has been instructed to carry out a trade, they will try to find another broker looking to trade in the same shares. They will then negotiate a price for the shares and strike the deal.
How much you pay will depend on when the deal is made, rather than when you placed the order. During working hours, most brokers offer a ‘Quote and Deal’ instruction, where you’re given the best price and have 15 seconds to accept.
If this isn’t possible, the broker must locate a specialist who offers the types of share they’ve been instructed to trade. You could choose an order that gets the broker to buy at the best price possible when they find a deal, or you can set limits for the maximum you’re willing to pay or the minimum price at which you’re prepared to sell.
Processes vary by broker, so check what kinds of orders you can make with your chosen provider.
Consider signing up for a frequent trader account if you think you’ll make several trades per month – this could reduce the cost of each individual trade, although you should always check each company’s terms before signing up.
Yes. Your profits are subject to CGT (Capital Gains Tax) and you pay a 0.5% Stamp Duty charge when you buy shares. Find out more about investment tax here.
The best share dealing account depends on each person’s circumstances and investing goals. Compare features to choose the one best suited for your particular needs.
Below you can find a list of our share dealing pages:
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