# The Cheapest Irish Stockbroker



## qazxswedc (24 Feb 2009)

If selling shares, not only will you bear the brunt of any fall in their value, you cough up for stockbroker charges, which must also be paid when buying shares. Therefore, be careful when choosing your broker as some charge substantially more than others.

"Buy shares online if you can as it's the cheapest option," said Peter O'Reilly, managing director of Kildare financial advisers, the Finance Business. "However, you do have to know what you want. If you want advice from a stockbroker you will pay commission at the top rate."

Goodbody Stockbrokers, Davy and National Irish Bank (NIB) offer accounts which allow you to buy and sell shares online. To open a share-dealing account with NIB, you must also open a current account with the bank. You pay 0.75 per cent commission on any shares bought or sold, and there is a minimum commission of €20. Unlike the online accounts offered by Goodbody and Davy, there is no annual fee on the NIB account.

Davy's online account carries an annual fee of €80 while Goodbody charges €26. If you trade up to €25,000 worth of shares through Davy's account, you'll pay 0.75 per cent commission, 0.5 per cent commission on any balance, or a minimum commission of €25. However, if you trade shares more than 20 times a year through the account, the commission charged is 0.5 per cent on the first €25,000, 0.25 per cent on the balance, or a minimum commission of €15.

Don't make the mistake of buying or selling your shares through Davy over the phone. Otherwise, you'll be hit with a minimum commission of €100, or 1.65 per cent commission on the first €15,000 of shares, 1 per on the next €15,000, and 0.5 per cent on the balance. If you're selling €30,000 worth of shares through Davy's, you'll pay as much as three times the amount of commission (€397.50) over the phone than you would if you did so online (€137.50 commission for frequent traders).

If you're trading shares through Goodbody's online account, you pay 1.25 per cent commission for shares worth up to €25,000, 0.5 per cent on the balance, or a minimum commission of €32. The charge if you trade over the phone is usually slightly less.

If you're trading a small amount of shares, avoid stockbrokers with high minimum commissions-- mainly NCB, Bloxham and Dolmen Stockbrokers. NCB has a minimum commission of €100, Bloxham's is €75 on Irish shares, and Dolmen charges at least €55.

Even if you're trading a large amount of shares, the commission charged by these brokers is usually a lot higher than available online. If selling €20,000 worth of Irish shares, for example, Dolmen and NCB charge 1.5 per cent commission, while Bloxham charges 1.65 per cent commission on the first €13,000 worth of shares, and 1 per cent on the remaining €7,000. Campbell O'Connor charges 1.5 per cent commission on the first €8,888 worth of shares, 0.55 per cent on shares between €8,889 and €19,046, and 0.5 per cent on the balance. The minimum commission with Campbell O'Connor is €25.40. If you're a small investor and don't want to deal online, you might consider Fexco. Its commission rate is 1.25 per cent on trades up to €9,000, and 0.35 per cent on any balance. Fexco Stockbrokers' minimum commission is €25.

Another charge to bear in mind when buying shares is stamp duty. You pay 1 per cent stamp duty when you buy Irish shares, and 0.5 per cent stamp duty on British shares. You don't pay stamp duty when selling your shares but you will usually be hit with capital gains tax of 20 per cent on any profit made.

To see which broker offers best value for your money, try comparing how many shares you would get for your money.

Say you bought €10,000 worth of AIB shares last Friday, based on the share price of €14.80 on that day. The most shares you could have bought -- 665 -- was through Davy's online account (as long as you traded more than 20 times a year through the account). At 664, NIB was next in line for the best value, followed by Goodbody's online account and Fexco at 660. Campbell O'Connor, NCB and Dolmen would have offered you 659 shares. At 618 shares, the least value was offered by Bloxham, and the phone service of Davy's.

If you're a frequent trader, you should be able to negotiate a lower commission with your stockbroker. So just as it pays to shop around, it also pays not to be shy.

Qazxswedc


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## TomOC (24 Feb 2009)

Well done on all this great info.  Great to have it all together.  
For NIB online account there is a 40 euro annual charge which is currently being waived for the first year.


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## Turbury (26 Feb 2009)

This is very good info qazxswedc, what about the data on the on-line platforms for these brokers - how live is it? and can you deal all shares all the time? 

I have a sharewatch account and quite frankly its pathetic, prices are days out off date and quite often the shares I want to trade are "not available for on-line trading" 

Thinking of changing to another broker soon.


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## cpt_boom (5 Mar 2009)

TomOC said:


> For NIB online account there is a 40 euro annual charge which is currently being waived for the first year.



I have NIB trading account since mid '07 and haven't yet been charged an annual fee. Where does it say this is only temporary?


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## TomOC (5 Mar 2009)

cpt_boom said:


> I have NIB trading account since mid '07 and haven't yet been charged an annual fee. Where does it say this is only temporary?


 
I could not find any details online but after checking booklet "Clear and Simple Personal fees & charges explained" on page 9 it details a custody account annual charge of 40 euro per annum payable quarterly in arrears.  

However it seems cpt that they are not charging this as if they were you would have been charged twice or 3 times at this stage for 10 euro.  Hopefully not charging this at all.  I was told in branch that theres a 40 euro annual charge which is waived for the first year.  Only oppened about a month ago.  I have not got around to using this account yet though.


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## tradeheronot (16 Mar 2009)

I made the mistake of buying my first stock over the phone with Davy which cost me €100. Also there was a minimum spend of €5000 (if I remember correctly). 

I'd like to buy shares in four companies, not all Irish and but only want to invest around €3000 a piece for then moment. Is it possible to trade with UK or American companies at lower per transaction fees? Any recommendations?

Thanks.


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## Tentman (19 Mar 2009)

Wonderful Summary, OP. In my book Sharewatch are by far and away the worst online broker. Actually it is too painful for me to list the blunders they have made on my account. And their Customer Services, online at least, have never replied to any query I raised. A Big Zero from me !!


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## Berba (20 Mar 2009)

I trade with Davy regularly online and find them 100%, also charges aren't too over the top compared to others. Customer service is top notch also, qurey emails are replied to within a short space of time.


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## ACBooks (24 Mar 2009)

Great information qazxswedc - first shares succesfully (they're going up!) traded with NIB online ... They are trying to sting me for the €40 annual fee so any success overcoming this would be appreciated


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## lamb (24 Mar 2009)

Only problem i found with NIB is getting the money back in to your account to made another trade.

In my experience it can take 3/4 working days which is a long time if you need to take some quick decisions in the current market


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## mossieee06 (24 Mar 2009)

has anybody used goodbodys online?? any good?? i think aib internet banking buy through goodbodys brokers.


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## TomOC (24 Mar 2009)

TomOC said:


> Well done on all this great info. Great to have it all together.
> For NIB online account there is a 40 euro annual charge which is currently being waived for the first year.


 


cpt_boom said:


> I have NIB trading account since mid '07 and haven't yet been charged an annual fee. Where does it say this is only temporary?


 


TomOC said:


> I could not find any details online but after checking booklet "Clear and Simple Personal fees & charges explained" on page 9 it details a custody account annual charge of 40 euro per annum payable quarterly in arrears.
> 
> However it seems cpt that they are not charging this as if they were you would have been charged twice or 3 times at this stage for 10 euro. Hopefully not charging this at all. I was told in branch that theres a 40 euro annual charge which is waived for the first year. Only oppened about a month ago. I have not got around to using this account yet though.


 


ACBooks said:


> Great information qazxswedc - first shares succesfully (they're going up!) traded with NIB online ... They are trying to sting me for the €40 annual fee so any success overcoming this would be appreciated


 
Hey ACBooks, how long do you have this account open, after how long do they start charging this?  Can you setup a new account and close old by any chance and get away without paying few for a while?  Is NIB account easy to use, I set it up a month and a half back, but managed only to lock myself out of account at early registration stage with digipass type thing!


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## twofor1 (24 Mar 2009)

I have a NIB trading account for 18 months and have never paid any annual charge.

  I was told when I opened it that this was included in free banking, which I have.


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## croker (25 Mar 2009)

> has anybody used goodbodys online?? any good?? i think aib internet banking buy through goodbodys brokers.


Yes I have used them. It's handy to have it available inside the internet banking login, but the website interface is quite bad , you'll especially notice this if you've used any of the good US brokers - it's like going back to the early days of the internet. 
Most times when i searched for a stock quote the stock was found but in a couple of cases the search couldnt find the stock and i had to ring them up.
The fees are ridiculous, again especially if you're used to the US brokers. But i dont particularly blame them because the US brokers have huge volume compared with the Irish brokers.


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## gocall01 (25 Mar 2009)

croker said:


> Yes I have used them. It's handy to have it available inside the internet banking login, but the website interface is quite bad , you'll especially notice this if you've used any of the good US brokers - it's like going back to the early days of the internet.
> Most times when i searched for a stock quote the stock was found but in a couple of cases the search couldnt find the stock and i had to ring them up.
> The fees are ridiculous, again especially if you're used to the US brokers. But i dont particularly blame them because the US brokers have huge volume compared with the Irish brokers.


 
I second all this.
I am currently attempting to get through all the jargon/figures and possibly change to an off-shore online broker.

Has anyone experience of using TD Waterhouse online trading?
Very interested in hearing peoples experiences.


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## ACBooks (4 Apr 2009)

Tom - answers to your q's ........

how long do you have this account open - 2 weeks
after how long do they start charging this? - no idea but will fight any attempt to charge me €40! 
Can you setup a new account and close old by any chance and get away without paying few for a while? - I like your 'new ireland' thinking
Is NIB account easy to use, I set it up a month and a half back, but managed only to lock myself out of account at early registration stage with digipass type thing! - it's pretty easy - I got a little stuck (also with digipass!) but phone helpdesk and they talked me through - overall relatively painless


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## LDFerguson (6 Apr 2009)

Oilgeezer - I note that in all eight of your posts on Askaboutmoney, you recommend this UK website.  Have you any connection with the site?


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## Calico (7 Apr 2009)

There is an article comparing stockbrokers in this month's Consumer Choice magazine for anyone interested.


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## Imjuststupid (9 Apr 2009)

Great information qazxswedc


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## Calico (19 Jun 2009)

deleted post


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## Brendan Burgess (30 Apr 2012)

Any update on this? 

A few people want to buy shares in Irish Life and Permanent plc to attend the AGM. What is the best option? At this stage, it has to be a fast option as well to make sure that they get registered in time to attend the AGM.

I suspect that Sharewatch might be the best option.



No annual fee and €14.95 cost of deal. 

Brendan


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## RichInSpirit (30 Apr 2012)

I heard a radio ad this morning for SAM SomerVille Advisory Services who offer a share dealing service through a third party broker as well as CFD'S and spread betting. 

0.2% commission on share trades advertised on their website.


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## monagt (2 Apr 2014)

> No annual fee and €14.95 cost of deal.



***£25 per month will be charged on all accounts who trade less than three times per month***
AND
Ireland, UK, US, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, France, Switzerland. From €17.95 (min) or 0.3%

AND

Government Stamp Duty (applied on all purchases of Irish & UK shares).
Irish Shares: 1% - UK Shares: 0.5% 
PTM Levy: This is a levy by the Panel Of Takeovers on all share purchases and sales(applies to Irish & UK shares). 
Irish shares: Amounts greater than €12,500 €1.25. 
UK Shares: Amounts greater than Stg£10,000 Stg£1.00. 
Taxes may change

Kinda Expensive!


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## mercman (2 Apr 2014)

monagt said:


> Kinda Expensive!



I would dearly love to know where you might be able to trade cheaper.


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## Rory Gillen (5 Apr 2014)

It is my experience that TD Waterhouse offers a very poor customer service. To get a query sorted, one has to call their UK call centre: I have often been hanging on the line 30 minutes. Their dealing charges are low but their (hidden) fx charges are unfairly high. For example, if you buy a UK share and want to pay for it from Euro, the conversion could cost you 0.5% but up to 2% for smaller deal sizes.


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## west_bound (9 Apr 2014)

Rory Gillen said:


> It is my experience that TD Waterhouse offers a very poor customer service. To get a query sorted, one has to call their UK call centre: I have often been hanging on the line 30 minutes. Their dealing charges are low but their (hidden) fx charges are unfairly high. For example, if you buy a UK share and want to pay for it from Euro, the conversion could cost you 0.5% but up to 2% for smaller deal sizes.



I left TD in the past week having been with them for three years

 very cheap for trades but overall , awful service , if you owned a sterling denominated - London market stock , you always appeared to be in the red regardless of the reality 

 on two occasions , I sold stocks which I was paid for twice , the first time I made use of the lend of free capital and gained to the tune of a few grand , when it happened a second time , I decided that it was only a matter of time when a malfunctioning system would bite me in the ass and I couldn't be sure my complaint would be competently dealt with


 moved to saxo , not as cheap but still far cheaper than the major irish brokers


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