Halifax share dealing review

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Our verdict

Our verdict

Halifax’s share dealing platform isn’t quite as detailed or attractive as some of the newer platforms on offer, such as Trading 212 and Freetrade. It’s got a transparent fee structure, but it is pretty pricey for individual trades at £9.50 per trade, and the admin fee also eats into your profits.

Its ready made portfolios are a better deal and do offer a lower ongoing charge than other “robo-advisors” but there are only three portfolios on offer.

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Pros

• Access to UK and international shares
• Check your performance and sign up in the mobile banking app
• Transparent fee structure

Cons

• Can be expensive
• Not as detailed or user friendly as it could be
• 90 day wait to close an account or transfer your account

★★★★★

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Capital at risk

Halifax is known mostly for its banking offering. It’s a household name for customers across the UK, but it actually has a share dealing service on offer too. Halifax set up its share dealing brokerage in 1997, when it floated on the stock market. It has since grown to offer a much more comprehensive range of shares to its retail customers.

Halifax was the first in the UK to offer a regular share investment plan, known as ‘ShareBuilder’ and has since expanded into more products. To find out more information about whether Halifax is the right investment platform for you, read below.

What is Halifax share dealing?

You don’t have to have a Halifax bank account to open a Halifax share dealing account, but it can be accessed through its banking app, which makes it easier if you do have both a Halifax bank account and a Halifax share dealing account.

Halifax’s main aim is to give you the right tools to help you make your own educated decisions. Its website is optimised for the user experience and makes investing quick and easy.

What products does Halifax share dealing offer?

You can invest in several different products with Halifax share dealing, including:

• Share dealing account. This is Halifax’s general investment account, with no tax advantages.
• Stocks and shares ISA. This account lets you invest within your annual ISA allowance.
• Self invested personal pension (SIPP). This account lets you save up for retirement. It has tax advantages, which we’ll cover further down.

Halifax share dealing account

The general investment account is Halifax’s most basic account. Here are some of its features:

• Choose from a range of investment options, including shares, funds and ETFs
• Search for investments with its screener
• Suitable for you if you’ve used your ISA allowance for the year

There aren’t any tax advantages to trading with a general investment account, like there are with a stocks and shares ISA, which we cover in a mo. If you make more than £6,000 in each tax year then you have to pay capital gains tax on the portion over this amount.

Halifax stocks and shares ISA

The Halifax stocks and shares ISA lets you use your annual ISA allowance. You can use up to the annual allowance in each tax year. The allowance is £20,000 in the 2023/2024, which means you can invest up to £20,000 without paying capital gains tax on your profits.

Other than the tax benefits, the regular share dealing account and stocks and shares ISA are pretty much the same, including the features and the fees.

Halifax ShareBuilder

This account lets you gradually build up your portfolio using a scheduled monthly investment plan. You must invest a minimum of £20 per month, but you only pay £2 in commission for each scheduled investment.

You can trade UK shares, ETFs or investment trusts with the ShareBuilder account.

Halifax self invested personal pension (SIPP)

This account lets you save up for your retirement with tax benefits. Self invested personal pensions are a type of personal pension that give you more control over what you invest in.

You can’t withdraw your pension until you turn 55. You can transfer existing pensions over to your Halifax SIPP and consolidate them all in the same place.

You can invest in shares, ETFs and more than 2,500 funds with the Halifax SIPP.

Ready-made options

There are two accounts that let you invest in ready made portfolios – the investment account and the investment ISA.

With both of these accounts you can choose between three portfolios with different risk profiles. There’s an ongoing charge and service fee with this account, which we detail below.

Here are the portfolios (and before you ask, we don’t know what happened to 1, 3 and 5:

What are the features of Halifax share dealing?

• Set up a regular investment plan. You can invest a minimum of £20 per month and pay only £2 in dealing commission per trade.
• Invest in shares, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and investment trusts. you can use the screener to find investments.
• No platform fees. You don’t pay to hold shares.
• Choose ready made funds. If you don’t want to choose your own investments you can pick a ready made portfolio.
• Transparent pricing. The pricing structure is pretty clear and easy to understand.
• Access to the Halifax ‘Marketwatch’. Use a range of tools and up to date market research to find out what is happening and where)

What can you invest in with Halifax share dealing?

Here are some of the things that you can invest in with Halifax. We’ve explained the types of investment in more detail below.

• Funds

  Funds give you exposure to professionally managed portfolios. This lets you diversify across different investment types, sectors and countries. The Halifax Funds centre provides detailed analytics and an intuitive platform to invest from.

  • Choose from over 2,000 fund managers
  • Choice over management and risk level of fund
  • Free analysis and updates from Halifax Marketwatch

• Shares

  Shares are little pieces of companies. With Halifax you can invest in both UK and international markets.

  • Tips and reports provided through Halifax Marketwatch
  • Can set up a monthly regular investment plan
  • No inactivity charge

• Exchange traded funds

  Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a type of fund that are simply pooled investments which are traded like stocks and shares.

  • Tax efficient due to the economies of scale
  • Help you diversify and spread the risk
  • Fees are traditionally lower than regular funds

• Bonds

  These are issued by companies in order to raise money, these are essentially loans made to the companies by investors who are hoping for greater returns.

  • Slow, steady and predictable returns
  • Higher return on investment than leaving it in the bank
  • A safer option than shares

Halifax share dealing fees

Halifax changed its fees on April 1 2021, introducing an administration fee of £36 per year, and dropping its ISA fee. This can make it expensive for those who don’t trade often, or want to hold the shares they already own for a long period of time.

Halifax ready made portfolio fees

Ready made portfolios have some additional fees:

Is Halifax share dealing safe?

Halifax has been managing funds for 20 years and is a trusted and well-known bank across the UK. It’s received several accolades over the years crediting the services it provides within the investment industry.

Halifax is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means the money it holds in your investment ISA or share dealing account is covered up to £85,000 if it were to go bust.

Halifax is also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is bound by its rules and regulations in the conduct of our investment business.

Halifax share dealing customer reviews

Finder commissioned a survey of 750 people who invest in stocks and shares for the Finder Share Dealing Customer Satisfaction Awards 2021. Halifax customers found that its share dealing service was easy to use, has good access to research and friendly customer service.

Some of the negative customer reviews said that it was expensive.

Still not sure? Compare all platforms with our comparison table.