# The Cheapest Irish Stockbroker



## Brendan Burgess

If you are buying non-Irish shares, you may find a non-Irish stockbroker is cheapest. Check out This post.

They might even be cheaper for buying Irish shares as long as you are using a € denominated account.

Brendan


----------



## JohnGonne

*Re: Key Post: The Cheapest Irish Stockbroker*

I decided to maybe update the original post by Brendan with today's figures. I deal with DBB, only recently transferred from Fexco, and having just done a few deals for small holdings last week, I was flabbergasted by the charges - I work out that Commission, Contract Charge, and Stamp Duty, I paid €315 on share sold with a value of €2,767 - an *!!.38%* charge. Anyway this is as much an education for me, as I hope it is for you.

Campbell O'Connor 
1.5% on first €8,888 Minimum charge €25.40 
Cost of €2000 deal: €30

Davys Online
Minimum commission €25
€0 - €25,000 0.75% 
€25,001 and above 0.50%
Account Maintenance €40 twice per year. 
Shares must be held in a nominee account - you can't have share certificates.

goodbodyonline 1.25% up to €25,000.Minimum €32.
Cost of €2,000 deal: €32
Shares must be held in a Goodbody nominee account - you can't have share certificates. 
There is an annual maintenance charge of IR£20.
Dolmen Butler Briscoe 
€0-€20k 1.65% on first €15,000. Minimum fee: €50
Cost of IR£2,000 deal: IR£40 

BCP 1.5% on first €20,000.Minimum charge: €45 + €15 Admin fee. 
Cost of IR£2,000 deal: IR£47 

Bloxhams 1.65% on first €13,000. Minimum:€60
Cost of IR£2,000 deal: IR£47 

Fexco 
Many people (including myself) who have dealt with Fexco would not deal with them again no matter how cheap the deals were. It was an intensely frustrating experience. Their systems were so bad, that the Central Bank prohibited them from taking on new clients for over a year. For those of you willing to take the risk that things have changed, here are their charges as of May 2002:

Fexco sent me their love note last week informing me of their more attractive charges! Slightly unattractive!


The new rates are as follows:

Commission on € trades up to €9K: 1.25% (was 1%). 
Minimum commission: €25. (was €15.87)
Admin charge: €7.50 (was €7.62)

Commission on $ trades up to $7K: 1.25% (was 1%).
Minimum commission: $20 (was $12.50)
Admin charge: $20 (was $6) <=4999 shares

Commission on Stg£ trades up to Stg£6.5K: 1.25% (was 1%).
Minimum commission Stg£20 (was Stg£12.50)
Admin charge: Stg£6 (was Stg£6)

Also, they are charging an annual charge of €40 (€20 payable twice yearly in March and September).
Stock transfers to another broker will be charged at €15/stock


----------



## DrMoriarty

*Re: Key Post: The Cheapest Irish Stockbroker*



			
				JohnGonne said:
			
		

> I deal with DBB, only recently transferred from Fexco, and having just done a few deals for small holdings last week, I was flabbergasted by the charges - I work out that Commission, Contract Charge, and Stamp Duty, I paid €315 on share sold with a value of €2,767 - an *!!.38%* charge.


John, does this refer to your last trade with Fexco or your first with DBB? I was thinking of moving from Fexco, simply because I don't do enough trades to warrant the €40 annual fee. 

Sharewatch currently seem to be the cheapest, at 0.3% commission (minimum €30) for any trade — but I recall seeing some very negative comments here and elsewhere about the quality of their service, about a year ago. Anyone got any recent experience with them?


----------



## DrMoriarty

*Re: Key Post: The Cheapest Irish Stockbroker*

I see that the RTE business show's website recently posted this useful [broken link removed] (.pdf format).


----------



## marksa

[broken link removed] offer online share trading - execution only, with a minimum of EUR20.00, which I believe is lowest available in Irish Market. You probably have to open a custody account to transfer your de-materialised shares into. I haven't set one up as yet.....
*Brokerage rates for securities trading *
Charge
UK/Ireland
€ 0 - 15,000 0.75% minimum € 20
€ 15,000 - 30,000 0.50%
€ 30,000 - 150,000 0.40%

Nordic, Europe, US
€ 0 - 15,000 0.75% minimum € 20 
€ 15,000 - 30,000 0.50%
€ 30,000 - 150,000 0.40%


----------



## tolkarovers

It depends on what you're buying. I'm buying some of the iseq 20 etf and these need to be held in a crest account. For this transaction goodbodys works out to be the cheapest (if not trading regularly) - 26 per annum fee, crest a/c is free, initial cost is higher but works out better in the long run.


----------



## Trebledigit

Since being taken over by Danske, NIB claim to be offering an online execution only dealing service (equities, not drugs !) with a minimum commission of €20 per deal.  Only problem is that NIB themselves are not quite sure what they are offering and what their various commission rates cover.   I've been on to them by phone twice and they promised to ring back with details but I've had no useful response yet.  If they will do online deals in the Irish and UK market for €20, that would make them very competitive here (Mybroker.com also offers deals at £12.50 which is marginally less than €20 on conversion).

Anyone know what precisedly NIB are offering ?


----------



## Amygdala

IFSRA have just released their last Cost Survey for [broken link removed].


----------



## badgambler

Is that survey accurate?


----------



## jpd

These are much higher charges than those charged by online UK, Europe or US based brokers. For a € 10,000 euro deal, anywhere from €20-€50 is the norm and it is possible to find even lower !

Obviously, the small(?) retail investor is not wanted here in Ireland.


----------



## cyberbunny

FWIW, some recent feedback on Sharewatch....sold some shares over 2 weeks ago and still awaiting the funds...on the same deal, the trader appeared to misunderstand the instruction requiring an additional buy contract to fill the deal and while the latter was only for a minor # shares, the commission costs/duty effectively doubled the transaction cost....certainly a caveat emptor for any future dealings......


----------



## Lumpsum

The IFSRA stockbroker cost survey has provoked much comment here and in the press - Shane Ross in Sunday Indo for example - on the fact that charges in Ireland seem to be clearly at rip off levels compared to elsewhere.  Can any of you more experienced posters say whether an Irish citizen and resident can use a foreign stockbroker to buy Irish and other stocks with a Euro denominated account? 

Seems too simple a solution but perhaps it is available.


----------



## fran1496

I use Sharewatch all the time and find them very efficient.I buy irish shares on an execution only basis.Commission is 0.3% and minimum trade is €30.I can access my portfolio at any time on the iNTERNET. I


----------



## kraggy

hi folks, 

could someone shed some light on the significance of this statement?

" Shares must be held in a nominee account - you can't have share certificates."

i see this in reference to many online dealing accounts.  e.g. davy, goodbody.

what does it mean exactly?  

if you're buying shares in the company, don't you own them after paying for them?

also, i am looking to buy shares in a couple of companies but would be a very small player eg. €2000 at a time.  

who's the best dealer for small-timers like myself?

thanks alot


----------



## soy

kraggy said:
			
		

> hi folks,
> could someone shed some light on the significance of this statement?
> " Shares must be held in a nominee account - you can't have share certificates."
> i see this in reference to many online dealing accounts.  e.g. davy, goodbody.
> what does it mean exactly?
> thanks alot



It means that rather than a physical share cert the Broker holds the shares in trust and instead you get a periodic statement saying that you own XX shares in XXX company. There is usually a charge for holding the shares in this manner. I suppose the concern would be what happens if the broker goes bankrupt, can you recover your shares.


----------



## stanbowles

Broker going belly up is one concern with nominee accts. 

The other, frankly more probable, cause for concern with nominee accts is that the broker has the shares in their possession and charges to babysit those shares. This is useful lolly to the brokers and guarantees that in effect they have a continuing income stream in addition to / after the purchase or sales commission. The way they carry out this levy is often by taking a lump of your dividends, often in ways that are not especially clear to the shareholder. 

Eg. I made the foolish mistake of purchasing shares in a large German telecom 5 yrs ago via NCB (Irish agents for this particular sharesale). All shares purchased by Irish customers are held in nominee accounts. Cut to five years later, in addition to the shares being worth less than 20% of what I paid for them (sh** happens), I receive an annual letter from NCB (Irish agents for this particular share sale) advising that I have x no of shares and then a certain small amount of cash in the account. No indication of where the cash has come from but of course it is dividends minus the NCB babysitting charge. You'd largely have to guess this as none of it is properly indicated. Moral: better to hold share certs. You get the dividend cheque - without undocumented deductions for negligible service. You decide on scrip dividend possibilities, etc, if available. You control your shareholdings.

Holding in a nominee acct also means that you, the shareholder, are pretty much constrained in terms of selling through the same brokers .... as they will charge you yet another fee to convert your nominee acct holding into transactable share certs should you choose to try and avail of better selling commissions at another broker. 

I have not been active sharebuying for a number of years but my impression is that there is too small a market for Irish brokers to worry themselves about small customer needs. Fexco did shake up things a few years ago with good, cheap, execution only deals but appears to have altered its charging structure in line with many of the other SBs ... ie annual charge (FOR WHAT) to stay on their books, bigger fees.

Frankly, the best way to invest in the ISEQ is, IMHO, to put money into a Quinn Life Celtic Freeway tracker. Especially true if what you require is stockmarket exposure (generally a good thing) as well as the flexibility to cash in at short notice. What this offers is v.low charges and none of the hassle of having to build up a diversified portfolio. Buying shares is more long-term given that you are talking about a 4-5% spread when taking charges, stamp duties into account. 

One final reflection on ISEQ share buying: one of the big advantages of share purchase is the possibility of scrip dividends. You forgo your dividends, receive shares in lieu, your shareholding in a company increases while, hopefully, the same also happens with the shareprice. Consequence: merry compounding of your initial outlay. As many companies are giving up or changing their scrip dividend scheme (AIB for eg.) and preferring to return cash to shareholders (no shortage of that for many ISEQ cos) rather than further dilute their shares, this is yet another reason that buying shares in ISEQ companies for the 'retail investor' is becoming less interesting. 

Stan


----------



## cerberos

stan,

NCB did a deal with DT under which they do not charge maintainance so if you are getting charged, ring them and remind them

Once a year they will sell thm free for you july-aug (dont remember dates but this year window is gone)

C


----------



## stanbowles

Thanks Cerberos,

This is a bit off subject but wrt yr specific point re the big German telecom firm shares, you are right that there was some type of deal between NCB and said company re no nominee acct fees. 

However:
1/ NCB charge a 'dividend collection fee' of I think euro 12.50 on any individual shareholding in any company annually (where dividends apply, I imagine)
2/ + Dividend tax is withheld at source ... not sure how this is calculated
3/ None of these deductions / calculations are mentioned on Statement of safe custody ... ie. punter in the dark as to what is happening with these shares and their dividend payments. 

So, I repeat my preference for having share certs and ideally not having any permanent ongoing relationship with brokers. Go execution only. 

Above is based on a discussion with NCB today after seeing your posting , btw. It is clear that NCB are trying to close out these accts and encourage people to cash out by offering limited period 0% sharedealing service. Decided to get rid of shares at approx 15% of original value. Farewell then, telecom shares. 

Stan


----------



## taung

Hi,

I'm thinking of disposing my Aer Lingus shares through the *[broken link removed] *which costs €50, flat fee. This appears to be the cheapest way for me to get rid of the shares as I have no sharetrading account with any stockbroker.

Has anyone any experience of this service? Can you recommend the service?


----------



## davidg

Hi,

What is a Crest account and how does it differ from a nominee account?


----------



## Ravima

CREST is where shares are reistered electronically in YOUR name. You receive all corespondence direct from registrar/company.

NOMINEE is where shares are held in nominee company. this company is owned by stockbroker and you do not get copies of all correspondence automatically from company, but may get it via broker. 

Both have advantages and disadvantages.


----------



## PCS

Crest is a Settlement system only. shares are not held on the system it is a means of tracking and paying for shares.

Share Certs are going to be gotten rid of as they are open to fraud.

The buying and selling of shares works as follows:
You ring your broker to sell the shares and he takes the shares and places them on the crest system into his nominee account. where they are purchased by another broker and they are transfered into the buying brokers nominee account and then when payment and the rightful owner has been established the shares are then transferred in to the buyers name. And share certs are issued and stock transfer forms are taken to the revenue for stamping.


----------



## Turbidine

Hi all,

I know that this won't really fit in this thread, but I would like to start buying shares and I'm a little confused as to who I should contact in order to do this - a stockbroker I suppose, should I open a specific account for that, etc.

If someone could give me some advice I'd really appreciate as I really want to get started !

Thanks
Turbidine


----------



## Anto Cad

Hi to everone who reads this,

I have just joined sharewatch to buy and sell shares, I was with Davy's but found them to expensive. Any news on sharewatch would be a help. News that they dont trade with US stock is worrying. Any updates on this subject would be a help.

thanks


----------



## feorais

Try "Dogs of the Dow" on the web and sift through their unbelievably interesting site and you will find several very competitive stockbrokers names, ranging from 7 to 20 dollars per trade. You may even decide to stay with this site and spend your money on the dogs!


----------



## Seamu$

Hi guys,

My father was issued with 200 shares in Friends Provident a while back as he had a Pension with them (I think, I'm not too familiar with the details of how he got them, it was a surprise to him!). He wants to sell them now, they are worth Stg£420.50 at the moment. Lloyds in the UK are the brokers for the company but won't sell his shares for him as he is not in the UK. 

Can anyone suggest which broker would be the cheapest to sell these shares for him. It's a once off transaction so he doesn't want to incur sign-up fees, annual account charges, or pay 15% broker fees for executing 1 transaction. Is this possible?

Any help to a sharedealing novice would be appreciated.


----------



## Godfather

Hi there,

I'm very new to this... I have 15K Euro I'd like to invest with an on-line stockbroker... Which would be the preferrable one in your opinion pls? Am I too "emotional" if when I go -10% I start selling?

Thanks


----------



## jpd

IMHO, -10% is a bit low for a single holding (I am assuming that the market is not moving much up or down) - I would expect that movement of a single share could be + or - 10% and still be considered almost normal. If this is too scary for you, then an investment in a pooled fund or ETF would seem more appropriate.


----------



## Godfather

Thanks jpd


----------



## bsloe

godfather, check out some previous threads about pooled funds and efts (as jpg has suggested) on this website. u should seek advice before investing in shares. there are plenty of tipsters giving advice on share to buy in 2007 but like anyone else they dont know whats going to happen to effect share prices. I would suggest diversifying your portfolio so you are not at risk to any one market condition. ie,  if you only  buy ryanair and the price of oil sores this will have a detremental effect on your 15k but if you invest in a number of different industries it wont have such an adverse effect on your money. make sure you read the small print as you will need to know about switching to other funds and the exit fees and management fees associated with the fund.


----------



## conormc99

i have returned from the US and am still reeling at the outrageous fees for retail investing. I have an Ameritrade account in the U.S. and they are a perfectly adequate low cost broker.

I still want a low cost broker in Europe. Has anyone experience with TD Waterhouse in the UK? they are at [broken link removed]. Ameritrade took over TD Waterhouse in the US a while ago, though I assume the UK TDW is independent of the US outfit.

Each transaction costs STG 12.50. You can have a EUR denominated account, as well as USD/STLG/CAN$.There are no maintenance fees as long as your balance is above STLG 5,000 or you make one trade per quarter. If you're buying EUR denominated ETFs/funds then there won't be any FX charges. If you are buying e.g. a Japan ETF, then there will be a 1.5% FX charge on the exchange rate.

This sounds a hell of a lot better than Davy or Goodbodys.

Any feedback on the above? I am surprised TDW didn't come up as an option on this posting so far.


----------



## DirtyH2O

conormc99 said:


> This sounds a hell of a lot better than Davy or Goodbodys.
> 
> Any feedback on the above? I am surprised TDW didn't come up as an option on this posting so far.


 
They don't offer trading in Irish shares afaik so don't belong in this thread so Sharewatch is still the cheapest place if you want to trade in Irish shares.
For grey market shares such as Airtricity then it's Goodbody's, Davy's or the like.


----------



## conormc99

Hmm. I think my post is relevant. Let me explain more clearly:

With TD Waterhouse UK, you can trade Irish shares that have a listing on the London Stock Exchange, with 1% stamp duty charge applying as usual. Most major irish companies have a listing on the LSE e.g. you can buy ALBK (AIB) in a EURO denominated account - therefore no FX charges, and only STG12.50 per trade. That is the only cost. You may even be able to buy the ISEQ ETF (Ticker: IETF.XE) on the Frankfurt exchange using TD Waterhouse again via a EURO account, though I have to confirm that. 

Sharewatch charges EUR60 annual fee. Online trades are 0.3% + EUR19.95.

TDW UK - no annual fee. Online trades STG12.50 

Surely TDW UK is relevant ?... Is this post for the cheapest way to buy irish stocks, OR cheapest broker in ireland to buy irish stocks, OR cheapest broker in ireland to buy foreign issues??... apologies for my confusion... Maybe there are other sharewatch advantages i am not aware of?


----------



## DirtyH2O

I think it is less confusing to separate trading ISEQ listed shares from LSE or other exchanges. It is very true to say that Irish shares with dual listings can be traded as described but then every other brokerage that includes LSE should be considered Irish too. Possibly the NYSE also if AIB is the measure used NYSE:AIB.
There is a thread on non Irish brokerages referenced earlier in this thread that would be more relevant for the pros and cons of TDW UK versus other brokers.


----------



## kiki35

I am also interested in an answer to this Yorky!  I want to invest 10k directly and am trying to get a handle on how much it will cost to buy shares in 5 diff companies.


----------



## kiki35

another question on Sharewatch - why are they not in the IFRSA cost survey of stockbrokers - do they fall into a different catergory?  I just want to ensure they are bonafide, before I start buying shares with them.


----------



## conormc99

conormc99 said:


> With TD Waterhouse UK, you can trade Irish shares that have a listing on the London Stock Exchange, with 1% stamp duty charge applying as usual. Most major irish companies have a listing on the LSE e.g. you can buy ALBK (AIB) in a EURO denominated account - therefore no FX charges, and only STG12.50 per trade. That is the only cost. You may even be able to buy the ISEQ ETF (Ticker: IETF.XE) on the Frankfurt exchange using TD Waterhouse again via a EURO account, though I have to confirm that.


 
Just to close out above point: on the LSE, you can can trade 16 (all the big ones) out of the 30 odd ISEQ listings. However, there is no market for the ISEQ ETF on the Frankfurt Exchange, so you can't use TDW to trade the ISEQ ETF. I'll move my post to the one you refer to. 



kiki35 said:


> I am also interested in an answer to this Yorky! I want to invest 10k directly and am trying to get a handle on how much it will cost to buy shares in 5 diff companies.


 
With Sharewatch, if you buy 5 stocks with 10K (2K each) then this will cost you annual fee (=60) + 0.3% (=30) + 20 per security (=100) +1% stamp duty (=100).

Your total Year 1 cost with Sharewatch to buy 5 securities would be 290.

Your other option is to buy the more diversified ISEQ ETF. This will lower you transaction costs, and provide you with a better risk profile (a 5 stock porfolio will have way more variable returns than an index based ETF). You would save 80 on transaction fees as well. The down side is that the ETF will deduct annual management fees (typically 0.5 to 0.8% for ETFs). My personal view is that you need a lot more than 10K to build a diversified enough portfolio of stocks, without getting hammered by trading costs.


----------



## DirtyH2O

I'd agree that it is not really worth opening an Irish brokerage account with 10K trying to build a share portfolio. Even if you wanted to buy the ISEQ ETF the cheapest deal available is Sharewatch so taking a five year plus view it would cost at least 900 euros excluding the ETF charges (??? 0.5%). It looks like funds such as Quinn Life are the best current option for small investors.
There are non Irish stockbrokers who may be worth considering if Irish shares are not required.


----------



## kiki35

hi,

I contacted Campbell O Connor today on the phone and I can get the certs done for 30 euro each (plus 1% stamp duty) so that is 250 euro all in and this is a once off fee.  As I don't plan to trade and hope to hold onto these certs for the long term, I think this is an ok 'entrance fee.' 

Hope that helps you too Yorkie.


----------



## Guest111

I'm interested in buying about $25,000 worth of shares in an American company. Has anyone any suggestions as to the best way to go about it?
Any input greatly appreciated...


----------



## Guest111

Yorky said:


> kiki35, would you like (and are you allowed?) to say which shares you intend buying?


 
Don't think your allowed!


----------



## ClubMan

No - you're not. Somebody with 420+ posts really should know that at this stage!


----------



## kiki35

hi Yorky,

guess that means I cannot say what they are.  We picked 4 solid Irish companies and one 'wild card' - also Irish.  We worked out the P/E ratio for each one and read what some analysts have to say and then decided on 2 defensive stocks, 2 of the other type (cannot rem the classification) and 1 newcomer (wild card). 2 are food industry, one pharma, one financial, one property.


----------



## Simple Simon

Getting back to the question, National Irish Bank are, as referenced very early in this thread, cheaper than almost all of the registered stockbrokers - check out their website. The commission per trade is only €20 online and you can buy stocks listed on about 13 different stock exchanges - I bought some shares in a well-known airline recently (not that they've done much) and the whole thing worked like a dream. I bought €150 worth (I'm no millionaire!) of another well-known stock last week, and it only cost me €170 - not the most intelligent way to invest perhaps, but again I don't have access to the sort of funds that the large stockbrokers need you to have. It has already gone up slightly and I'm only "down" about €12.50 now!

You have to be a customer though, and then open a Custody account, which wasn't as much hassle as I thought it would be, but I am now finding myself reading the stock tips on MorningStar and others and trading regularly - its like going racing, only the horses take much much longer to come in!! They also have Reuters News which is great!


----------



## Simple Simon

No.  There's no annual fee at all - just the commission charge (Min €20 per trade, but 0.75% after that, according to the blurb).  Obviously, any tax issues are your own to settle up, but that's all.

I haven't sold anything yet mind you!


----------



## IrlJidel

NIB used to have a E40 per-annum fee. I don't see it listed in [broken link removed] anymore. 

Anybody know for sure when/if they dropped the per-annum fee?


----------



## Simple Simon

Yeah, its gone - no charge, just the fee per trade - min €20, or 0.75%.


----------



## tall chapy

Personally, I only buy certificated shares on an execution type basis, I prefer to hold/manage the shares myself which is also cheaper & better for me as I wish to hold the share long term.
Initially, I started purchasing shares with Fexco, then they changed there pricing structure, so I never used them again. I am only a small time purchaser of share approx:€1000 each time.Since dumping Fexco I have since noticed that they spelt my name incorrectly on some of the Share certificates & have since had to send them to the relevant people to get them changedto my correct name.
Nowadays I only deal with Campbell O'Connor and find them excellent and no hassle. For your initial purchase your must provide the funds up front, along with the usual info, anti money laundering stuff same as opening a bank account. Once you have an account number, you can phone them, you quote your account no. & they will quote you the current price you say how many shares you want and they will execute the deal. They will send you the contract note & you will have a week or so to get the funds to them.They do not except cash or credit cards, so I send them a cheque for the amount.They will then send you the share certificate & a slip for you to send back to them to acknowledge that you received it.
The old downside to buying certificated shares is if you need to dispose of them quickly. ie: the share price plummets and you want to get out of the stock. To sell your share I think Campbell O'Connor must have possession. Since I have a long term strategy & I purchase 'safe shares'/'low risk' I have not had the need to sell any.
Another alternative is where some stocks offer cheap share dealing in their stock using someone like computershare.
The NIB online system seems good. You cannot get share certificates though.If that annual fee of €40 was gone it would be worth considering,especially since you can set limit orders


----------



## bbop

I went to open an NIB "Custody A/C" which is what is required for share dealing.

In addition to the usual info which is required to open an account these days (proof of identity and address), they required that I provide them with:

1. Copy of P60
2. Letter from employer stating how long you have been with them
3. Last three payslips.

In addition details of income outgoings, existing credit cards, loans etc.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does this not seem ridiculous to anyone (in particular those who are existing NIB customers as posted here, did you have to do all this)?? This to my mind seems like a serious amount of financial and personal information to have to give to open a current a/c!? I have opened two current accounts last year and all that was required was proof of identity and address. Needless to say I pointed out my concerns and walked from the branch. The deal they offer is quite good I think, having done much research on this forum and independently, but I would not feel comfortable giving that kind of info to any bank, unless I was applying for a mortgage or loan in which case I can understand why it is necessary. Maybe it is because NIB were one of the one who started the necessity for all the anti money laundering info in the first place with their off-shore accounts 

I believe that such info would be used for targeted advertising by NIB of their products even though you can sign a disclaimer (in which you have to tick about 10 different boxes!) to say you don't want to be contacted.

I will probably go with Campbell O Connor, but unfortunately they don't have online facilities which I would find useful, and they also charge an annual rate for a CREST a/c. It is true what someone previously said, the small investor is not wanted in this country, look at the recent Smurfit Group offer..


----------



## Little Sis

OK .. A final Q .... Am just dipping my toe in the mad world of stocks and shares with very low €'s to go maybe €300 - €400 per quarter so want to keep fees low.  Am I correct in saying:
for Irish stockmarket (maybe more but al least)
for on-line deals
NIB has a minumum charge of €20 and no annual maintenance charges

This seems to be the best deal as at March 12th, 2007.

A thunbs up would make me happy.

Regards

L.S.


----------



## CCOVICH

For €300-€400 per quarter, I would say that investing through a fund may be a more cost effective method.


----------



## bbop

Yes Little sis NIB has minimum charge of €20 and no annual charge.

However when I rang them they were not so sure of how their nominee a/c works either (i.e whether the shares are held in CREST in your name or by the bank). It may be possible that they could start to charge for this in the future.

Because of that and the reasons I have already outlined (the amount of information they require to open an a/c), I have decided not to pursue it until they release more information on the holding account and explain why they need so much personal information when most stockbrokers and banks only require proof of identity and address.

As CCOVICH points out, for €300-400, a fund would be more cost effective as the initial fees and stamp duty on purchasing the shares would eat up on any gains you would make. Ideally you should keep your costs to below 2% of your initial investment. Prob best to spare up you €400 in a high interest deposit a/c and then buy a share(s) at the end of the year if you want to go the shares route.


----------



## cyberbunny

Spot on with the AIB big brother approach. Slightly offtopic, I opened a a deposit a/c with them last year and when I went to deposit some more funds later in the year, they realised they hadn't conducted their full interrogation first time around so I was taken to a side office and asked more questions than even the taxman or my mother would ask ! And that was for me to deposit money. I shudder to think of the strip searches, bright lights etc that awaits me when withdrawing funds !

On the share dealing service, while on the surface it does appear attractive, I understand its not really online, prices are those from prior day's close, not sure how useful that would be in a volatile market !


----------



## cyberbunny

Scratch the A in AIB and insert an N for nosey, or NIB


----------



## Mayo1969

My Ma has some Intel stock that she bought in 2001 through ACC via Davey S/B?. She recently got a letter saying that ACC are no longer stockbroking and that she needs to find a new Stockbroker.

The Intel shares are about 20% down on what she paid for them. Should we go to the trouble of finding a new stockbroker for the purpose of just holding share (It's unlikely she's going to speculate on the market on an ongoing basis) or should she just off load the shares and cut her losses?

Any advice appreciated, particularly on what Irish stockbroker to use for this purpose or indeed if it is necessary to use an Irish stockbroker?


----------



## laragh

I opened a custody account with NIB a while back but I still haven't used it yet.
I seem to remember something about a €40 annual management fee for using the account although I can't find my copy of the terms & conditions to check this.

One question relating to these online share dealing accounts- can you purchase ETF's using NIB's online facility?


----------



## jinty

Hi

I have an account with an Irish stockbroker which was setup by default. I have shares on the AIM, ISEQ, NYSE, and on the NASDAQ which amount to a value of €10,000.

In the past when I have purchased shares I have asked (on the phone) to buy a certain amount of money's worth of shares. When I have recieved the shares the amount that has been bought is less than what I requested - not hugely but it's still not what I asked for. Am I being anal here or should they buy exactly what I say. I know the price will fluctuate so they will not be able to spend the exact amount of money I request but I would have thought this should be to the nearest share?

I have contacted other brokers with regard to moving my account and they have said that this would be more bother than it was worth. Is this correct?

I plan now to buy some shares on the DAX. Can you do this with any Irish stockbroker or what would be the best route?

Thanks in advance!

Jinty.


----------



## Gautama

Just got my Sharewatch application pack today, with an apology for the delay (about a week) due to a huge demand for application packs of late.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the Goodbody downgrade?


----------



## kev53

conormc99 said:


> With Sharewatch, if you buy 5 stocks with 10K (2K each) then this will cost you annual fee (=60) + 0.3% (=30) + 20 per security (=100) +1% stamp duty (=100).
> 
> Your total Year 1 cost with Sharewatch to buy 5 securities would be 290.


 
Is this right??? Where did the +20 per security come from?? No mention of that in their cost structure. Just says 0.3% or a minimum of 19.95 (lets say 20 euro for convenience). I would understand this as: 5 stocks with 10k (2k each), this will amount to annual fee (=*60*) +0.3% (with a minimum of 20 per security) (= 2,000 euro*0.3% = 6 euro which is not >20 euro, therefore minimum cost of 20 euro applies, therefore = 20 euro*5 stocks = *100* euro. Stamp duty =1% = *100* euro
Therefore total cost = 60 +100 +100 = *260* euro!!
Can someone clarify please.


----------



## failsafe

Has no-one suggested American internet brokers? I used to use www.firstrade.com and now I use www.zecco.com. Zecco is free, so all I pay is the cost of funding it from my AIB account (AIB charge €25 for any transfer up to €20k)


----------



## CollyD

laragh said:


> I opened a custody account with NIB a while back but I still haven't used it yet.
> I seem to remember something about a €40 annual management fee for using the account although I can't find my copy of the terms & conditions to check this.
> 
> One question relating to these online share dealing accounts- can you purchase ETF's using NIB's online facility?


 

Not sure about ETFs possible ring them or log the query, as for the presumably no annual charges they seem to have a charge for holding a custody account that I believe is needed to trade shares with them €40 a yr.  At the end of this document is charges in relation to share dealing [broken link removed]


----------



## camel

Failsafe, how long have you been using zecco.com for? It seems too good to be true. I've read some bad reviews but they mainly centered around the user interface and customer service rather than the actual execution.
What exchanges do they cater? ISEQ?


----------



## camel

Oops, sorry I've just twigged this should be in the 'cheapest non-irish stockbroker' thread. Don't know how to move


----------



## stanman

Hi

The link from earlier in the thread to IFSRA's comparison of Irish stockbroker charges no longer works.

[broken link removed]

I've contacted IFSRA but no reply.

Does anyone have a working link to this survey?

Thanks!


----------



## tonster01

Has anyone used AIB's online share dealing facility and if so, how have you found them?


----------



## xman

tonster01 said:


> Has anyone used AIB's online share dealing facility and if so, how have you found them?


 
I've used it. It's linked to your 24 hour online banking account. You need to have an AIB current account to fund purchases and to receive proceeds from sales.

I've got ISEQ, NASDAQ and LSE shares in it. Works fine for me


----------



## trader66

Thinking of setting up a online share trading a/c with sharewatch but got no reply to email sent asking if i could buy and sell same day up to my a/c ballance also if their service would be suitable for fast trades, read somewhere that when shares are sold that it takes up till 3 days to get funds credited to a/c ifso this wouldnt be good for fast trading, can anyone recomend a service that operates fast online trading of ire and uk shares without breaking the bank with charges like the big brokers here.


----------



## highly

Davys will let you buy and sell the same day. min commission is EUR25 with the frequent rate of EUR15.


----------



## galwegian44

trader66 said:


> Thinking of setting up a online share trading a/c with sharewatch but got no reply to email sent asking if i could buy and sell same day up to my a/c ballance also if their service would be suitable for fast trades, read somewhere that when shares are sold that it takes up till 3 days to get funds credited to a/c ifso this wouldnt be good for fast trading.


 
I've used Sharewatch from time to time for ISEQ/AIM shares (although I predominently use TDAmeritrade for NYSE/Nasdaq) and their service is quite average in my experience. I sold some shares recently and they sent out some forms with no cover letter or instructions on what was required. I then received an irate phone call from one of their brokers as I was about to board a plane in Stansted (irate female Scottish accent is actually quite appealing) because I had not returned the form (my fault). When I explained that I would be away on business for a week and unable to send the form she got really upset and threatened me with penalties.

I politely got her off the call and completed the forms on my return only to wait in excess of 2 weeks for the funds to reach me. As I mentioned I'm an irregular user and to be fair this may have been a one off type of incident. However, my main point in response to your query is that there seems to be a delay in receiving the funds.

All the best.


----------



## tonster01

Would I be right to take it that Sharewatch and NIB are currently the most competitive?


----------



## Simple Simon

_Would I be right to take it that Sharewatch and NIB are currently the most competitive?_ 

It appears so in my experience, although the way the markets have been going, buying anything now seems overly expensive....

The NIB version is the only one I have any experience of.  I have to say I like the Reuters News and research function on it which, as a journalist friend of mine pointed out recently is better than the info they get on their news desk!


----------



## tinam

Canyou trade etfs with nib.


----------



## RedDevil

Do ShareWatch provide you with Share Certificates for ISEQ shares


----------



## galwegian44

RedDevil - I was provided withe the share certificate when I purchased through Sharewatch although the company I purchased was listed on the AIM market. Certainly, if you are doing a one-off type of transaction with them you should get the share certificate regardless.



RedDevil said:


> Do ShareWatch provide you with Share Certificates for ISEQ shares


----------



## RedDevil

*ShareWatch and Share Certificates*

Finally got an answer from them after three E Mails
It is .3% on top of their usual fee


----------



## trader66

Is there any disadvantages to same day buy and sell of shares concerning certificates etc, would there be a loss of profit of shares due to not obtaining certificates due to fast sameday buy and sell of shares.


----------



## oriordanyvon

Check out sharewatch.com, as far as I am aware they are the cheapest on the market.


----------



## tinam

Hi Marksa
Can you trade ETFS with an execution only account in NIB?


----------



## tonster01

Or has anyone traded etfs using sharewatch?


----------



## donzo112

I have bought shares in a Belgian pharma company through an employee share participation scheme for the last three years. The shares I bought in the first year have now matured ( I don't have to pay income tax ) but they have dropped in value by over 50% since I bought them. They have been held in trust until now by a financial services company who have offered me three options 
 1.sell the shares.
I dont want to do this as they dropped in value by about 50% and would prefer to hold
 2.Transfer to my broker 
I dont have a broker so they recommend Davey who it appears are very expensive (annual maintenance charges and very expensive phone share dealing)
 3. Take share certs
They cost 30.25 euro's and seems expensive considering they are valued at about 500 euro and I am told that brokers charge higher commissions to sell  shares this way.


My preferred option is to hold the shares but in a way that I can sell them  in the medium term (2 or 3 years) at minimum cost.

All suggestions greatly appreciated


----------



## mercman

A broker I use is www.selftrade.co.uk, based in London. Owned by Lloyds Bank and quite good. Transactions are £12.50 per trade (in and out). Well worth checking out.


----------



## donzo112

Is it easy to set up a account from Ireland and do they have any other charges


----------



## mercman

donzo - very easy = the normal things are required to open an account. And you must lodge sterling funds into your account before you may start trading. No other charges are applied and they pay interest on your cash deposits


----------



## chippie1974

mercman said:


> A broker I use is , based in London. Owned by Lloyds Bank and quite good. Transactions are £12.50 per trade (in and out). Well worth checking out.


 
Mercman,

I have been looking at these today, can't seem to find it but do they allow trades in ISEQ companies?

Also when one tries to set up an account, it says the following "Details of a UK bank account in your name. (You must have a UK bank account to hold a Selftrade account, except if you are applying for a Child Trust Fund, where bank details are not mandatory.) " Do you do your trading from an irish bank account?

Thanks,


----------



## donzo112

Just checked out  and it appears I need a UK bank account. Is it possible as a resident of R.O.I to open a bank account in the UK. What are the cheapest options in Ireland.


----------



## mercman

I use a UK Bank account. However if you ask your Irish Bank they will be able to facilitate you with a sterling account. Failing that check out the details of a UK branches of the big boys here. You will be able to find their UK branches from their websites. As there are no exchange control restrictions here there is no problem for an Irish Resident holding a UK bank account.

The only time I have traded Irish shares in the past five years is if they are listed in London. Normally I choose not to trade Irish shares.

I chose a quite a few years ago not to use Irish brokers. They are too expensive and also unprofessional for me compared to UK brokers.


----------



## electroslave

'Broker going belly up is one concern with nominee accts' was a comment on the thread. Alot of brokerages dont take risk and literally just broker trades, so make a fee on buying and selling securities in a matched way. How much risk they have on their own books would have to be researched. Its a really good question though. If a brokerage operates a pure brokerage then then will make money as long as people trade. If they are investing themselves and actually trading a book then it would be useful to know. Does anyone have any knowledge about the Irish brokers and what their gig is?


----------



## Ben Graham

The NIB version is the only one I have any experience of. I have to say I like the Reuters News and research function on it which, as a journalist friend of mine pointed out recently is better than the info they get on their news desk![/quote]

I've been thinking of getting the so-called "Prestige" a/c with NIB. This gives access to share trading (which is what I want). However three things put me off:-

1. NIB seem to want an inordinate amount of information b4 you can even open an a/c. Actually it's rather intrusive. 

2. I find the staff in the branch that I've dealt with not exactly up to speed. 

3. They made a very poor impression on me the first time I ever dealt with them (Don't ask!).

If the online sharedealing service was good I might persist. But I've also heard there are SNAFUs on this as well.

Would you advise me to persist?

Thanks


----------



## Howya2000

Hi, 
Living abroad and wondering what is the best way of buying irish shares can i do it online?


----------



## susie78

Hi, just to answer what the diff is between a crest a/c and a nominee a/c..

A nominee a/c refers to your a/c as a whole in the brokers.  If you have a nominee a/c you are agreeing for the broker to hold all your shares on your behalf electronically.

Then any Irish or Uk registered shares you purchase in your nominee a/c are held through Crest and any other shares you purchase (e.g. French, US registered...) are held through a Custodian, such as Bank of New York.  

With Crest account the stock is held under your stockbrokers nominee name and designated with your individual a/c number.


----------



## Ravima

I have individual membership of Crest. The shares are held electronically in my name, not in brokers name.


----------



## Calico

Just came across a working link to the regulator's comparison for those who are interested....


----------



## zztop

Good man.handy info.


----------



## zztop

Or person if you prefer Calico


----------



## Betsy Og

Goodbody's online looks fairly good to me for real small timers dabbling like I'm considering. (buy and long hold strategy I'd say)

€32 per trade min, (1.25% starts to benefit above €2,560).

€26 annual fee.

Sharewatch can be €50 per trade, no annual, Or €30 per trade (0.3% starts to benefit above €10k).

So the way I see it, if a small timer using "play" money of €400 per stock or so, is to buy, say, 3 shares then the savings on the 3 trades Vs sharewatch's €50 a go gets you about 3 years of Goodbody annual fee, and if you continue to trade at least once a year this should be worth it.

This is money to "lose" - I know the jazz about wide diversification and tax savings of pension investment (which I usually do), this would be my equivalent of the gg's.

Have I missed something basic here?


----------



## charttrader

32 to buy, 32 to sell = 64.  That's 16% of 400 euro, which is a crazy outlay. Just doesn't make sense to buy such small amounts.


----------



## Betsy Og

charttrader said:


> 32 to buy, 32 to sell = 64. That's 16% of 400 euro, which is a crazy outlay. Just doesn't make sense to buy such small amounts.


 

yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe you allow diversification over time, go €1,500 on one stock, different stock each time (say each year), spread sectors etc. etc. so after 5 or 6 years you have something approaching a spread.

the 2nd €32 would be expected to be a long way down the line but doesnt take from your point.


----------



## Supergirl

fran1496 said:


> I use Sharewatch all the time and find them very efficient.I buy irish shares on an execution only basis.Commission is 0.3% and minimum trade is €30.I can access my portfolio at any time on the iNTERNET. I




Frank: do you still trade with Share watch? Any advice?


----------



## paddytt

Which is the cheapest Irish broker for a non-resident on a one-off trade?  Sharewatch quote €50 / trade.

thanks

TT


----------



## kraggy

Just saw that Sharewatch.ie have decreased their charges to 14.95. 

So, can someone confirm for me that if I want to buy shares on a small scale, that the only costs would be as follows:

buying = 14.95 + Stamp Duty
selling =  14.95 + Stamp Duty

Thanks.

K.


----------



## smiley

kraggy..there is no stamp when you sell.

Its €14.95 per euro trade for the exchanges they list on their website.


----------



## Ciex19

Redmayne Bentley(UK firm) in Cork has exact same rates as Fexco but do not have account opening charges and they have no maintenance fees. I fnd them very good since joining them from Goodbodys whos minimum commission was €100. They are open to discuss shares and give general opinions of certain hares no matter what type of client you are. Its a small company at the moment with 4brokers but I hear they are happy to meet clients around munster for personal meetings free of charge and they are holding seminars next month throughout munster again all free of charge( all this info is received from their free weekly email i receive, with regard markets and share tips) I must admit a very good service for me whos a small client €2,000-€6,000. Not sure if they do online.


----------



## Ciex19

Redmayne Bentley(UK firm) in Cork has exact same rates as Fexco but do not have account opening charges and they have no maintenance fees. I fnd them very good since joining them from Goodbodys whos minimum commission was €100. They are open to discuss shares and give general opinions of certain hares no matter what type of client you are. Its a small company at the moment with 4brokers but I hear they are happy to meet clients around munster for personal meetings free of charge and they are holding seminars next month throughout munster again all free of charge( all this info is received from their free weekly email i receive, with regard markets and share tips) I must admit a very good service for me whos a small client €2,000-€6,000. Not sure if they do online.


----------



## ballyb100

*re sharewatch.ie*

Hi all,
At €14.95 per trade it seems cheap. When one buys the shares what happens? Are they put into a nominee account or does one get the share certificate?  They say there is no account charge.
Just wondering about dividends or a dividend re-invetment plan when there is a nominee account. 
Any light you can shed would be appreciated.


----------



## horusd

ballyb100 said:


> Hi all,
> At €14.95 per trade it seems cheap. When one buys the shares what happens? Are they put into a nominee account or does one get the share certificate? They say there is no account charge.
> Just wondering about dividends or a dividend re-invetment plan when there is a nominee account.
> Any light you can shed would be appreciated.


 

Looks like they offer a nominee account & they have some tie-up with ODL securities for the trading platform. But they list a number on their website -  give em a ring and ask.  I use TD Waterhouse. At €20 they are dearer, but they do offer a lower rate to frequent traders of €15.00.  They also offer dividend re-investment, but at a price.


----------



## robbinghudd

*How/where to sell small shareholdings?*

I have a small number of shares in First Active, Vodafone and Irish Life - what's the quickest and most efficient way to turn them into cash? Thanks.


----------



## Ciex19

*Redmayne Bentley Stockbrokers*

I have found Redmayne Bentley stockbrokers to be the cheapest stockbrokers in Ireland, they have no account set up fees, no maintenace fees for having an account. Of course some of the online stuff is cheaper but I find the aservice in Redmayne and the advice they give quite good.


----------



## boconnor

*Share Dealing*

How do merrion rate, cost wise, i want to open a share accounts for my 2 grandchildren, and lodge money to the account for next 20 years or so, an amount of 3500 euro each per year.. I have my pension with Merrion as it is.


----------



## hoff

horusd said:


> Looks like they offer a nominee account & they have some tie-up with ODL securities for the trading platform. But they list a number on their website -  give em a ring and ask.  I use TD Waterhouse. At €20 they are dearer, but they do offer a lower rate to frequent traders of €15.00.  They also offer dividend re-investment, but at a price.



Do td waterhouse charge a mgmt fee?


----------



## jarmstrong

hoff said:


> Do td waterhouse charge a mgmt fee?


Account Management Fee
€15.00 (+VAT) per quarter will be charged on all inactive accounts.
This fee will be calculated on inactive TD Trading Accounts, in arrears, on the last full weekend of March, June, September and December ("Quarter Dates"). An inactive TD Trading Account is defined as an account that, at the close of business on the relevant Quarter Date, has had no trades executed on it since the previous Quarter Date, and has a cash and / or Portfolio balance of €5,000 or less. Portfolio valuation will be based on the closing mid price on the Quarter Date.


tddirectinvesting.ie/getting-started/rates-and-charges/


----------



## windo77

*Criteria for Choosing a Stockbroker*

Am I be correct in saying that the criteria for choosing a stockbroker are:


Charges (for lodging or withdrawing money, for buying and selling shares, maintenance fees ...);
The minimum amount that must be held in the account;
Whether or not they issue issue share certificates; and
How easy they are to deal with.
Are there other criteria that I should consider?

Am I correct in saying that a share certificate will allow me to trade in those shares if I move from my original stockbroker?

Thanks,
Windo.


----------



## DK123

Can any of these stockbrokers operate a stop loss system?


----------



## developerweb

good info for every Stockbroker, Thanks for posting 








development-website.com


----------

