EQI
EQi is a big established player
Whose parent company looks after a lot of the shares held by those who get issued shares through work.
What we say
Holly's View
Holly has accounts with all the providers on our website and independently reviews all of them.
The website has been improving and the service is interesting for relatively confident investors who want a mix of funds and shares. The pension is outsourced to a third-party so internal knowledge could be less for some more complex queries. Pricing is broadly decent for larger portfolios but very hard to get your head around.
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Overall Summary
Best Buy 2021
Low-cost ISA
Low-cost Pension
Ease of use
Halifax charge a set £36 yearly admin fee for their Stocks & Shares ISA, making it a cheaper alternative for both medium and larger portfolios than pretty much anyone else. Annual costs of a pension of more than £50,000 are £180 plus transaction fees. The website lacks sophistication and user-friendliness, feeling quite old-school and stuffy.
They do offer 3 ready-made funds, varying in risk – however these funds were launched in September 2019 and hence lack any meaningful track record. There is also a shortlist of 96 funds available, produced by global research house Morningstar. The site also supports trading UK, US and European equities.
Trading fees are £9.50 per trade, falling to £2 a trade if you set up a regular trading plan.
Mobile & Apps
EQi have an iOS app but their app is not available on Android devices. We have not been able to test this app yet but we understand it allows users to research and buy investments as well as add money to existing investments.
Behind the scenes
We repeatedly run into a brick wall with Selftrade. We had an account with them over 10 years ago & routinely stumble when trying to access our account. Slow and frustrating. Hard to make a definitive call on whether this was bad luck for them. Or representative.
Investment Choice
Products
Stocks and Shares ISA
Lifetime ISA
Investment Account
Pension
Investments available
Funds from other groups
Stocks and shares
Investment help
Pick your own funds
Pick your own shares
The 'Geeky' Details
Provider details
EQi continues to move towards more user-friendly content for the less experienced investor with appealing imagery and tools to make complicated information digestible. You pick your own investments from the mountain of funds and shares available. Currently, if you're not sure about what you're doing or what you need, it's a complex, text-heavy site to navigate.
Overall, EQi is relatively pricey for small portfolios but becomes more competitive as the pot size grows. However, the charging structure is quite complicated to get your head around and needs a bit of brain power.
With a £17.49 quarterly custody charge (that can be offset), fund fees of 0.3%, falling to 0.25% after £50,000 and a £10.99 dealing commission on shares, it’s not simple! It is worth noting that making two share trades within a quarter or holding around £20k in funds would result in the quarterly custody fee being offset completely.
EQi outsource the admin and trustee services of your SIPP to a third-party company called Gaudi. Gaudi charges a flat annual management fee of £118.80. For investors who want to access their pension, there is also an annual £180 drawdown charge. It is also worth noting that there is a £90 charge for transferring out a pension.
Important Facts & Figures
Provider Size:
A sizeable platform, administering billions. Part of FTSE 100 listed company Lloyds Banking Group.
Minimum amounts:
£0 minimum investment
EQi