iWeb Pension Review

Iweb, as is generally known, works out as clearly the cheapest platform for a rarely traded larger portfolio. What is not so generally well known, is that it's level of customer service is right up there with some of it's more lauded rivals. Personally, I have never had to wait that long a time for a call to be answered, and if a problem (usually small) cannot be resolved there and then, I have to say I have been pleasantly impressed that an adviser has always got back to me with the answer. The site may not be the most beautiful or loaded, but it does what you want, and very cogently.

07/06/2021

My experience has been that buying / selling is online and easy. There is just one failure that they seem unable to address. That is getting dividend payments to your dividend account (history) with any consistency. Some get there the next business day after the stock / fund payment date, others a few days after the payment date, and sometimes a phone call is necessary to get the payment(s) to appear on the dividend history. However once the dividend is logged to you, it just takes one day to get to the cash account for xfer to a bank. A published dividend handling timetable is needed.

02/06/2021

On the plus side they are very cheap and if used for just trading shares then they are fine. The problem comes if there is any kind of problem and you need to contact someone. They don't have an email address, and the chat line is usually not available (and if it is available will often just disconnect). Contacting by phone is a nightmare; expect to be on hold for upwards of an hour before someone answers, and when they do they are sometimes unable to help as "their computer system is being too slow". Avoid.

26/04/2021

It's no frills - but you know that. It's backed by a large UK bank. It enables investments to be bought and sold with security and peace of mind. It works for me.

20/04/2021

Cheap fees. For experienced investors, ff you need hand held go elsewhere.

20/04/2021

As a novice, I found the iWeb platform after reading positive comments on Money Saving Expert. Backed by Lloyds Bank, there's an opening fee of £25 and then £5 per trade. It is easy to add/withdraw money and to buy/sell stocks and funds. Customer service has been good. I have set up a stocks and shares ISA: a portfolio of ten funds/ETFs. The site is simple to navigate and it maintains accurate records. Negative comments target the lack of recommended portfolios and research: why pay extra when this is free on so many other sites. I do extensive research elsewhere and use iWeb to simply trade.

11/04/2021

Basic functionality. There is an account opening charge but the dealing charges and reinvestment fees are very good value and will probably appeal to low numbers of transactions and/or passive investment. Limited range of investments but good for UK stocks and funds. No experience of customer service as I've kept expectations simple but had no problems yet (touch wood!).

24/03/2021

Suppose you pay for what you get. Today looking to establish where my inward SIPP transfer is 5 days after it was sent from another provider. No webchat available so had to call. Wait to me to speak to first operative 35 minutes. Then told would need to be put through to another team - wait time there minimum of 40 minutes!!!!! So basically they have my money and I can't get to speak to them about it. BE WARNED!!!!!

11/03/2021

I like iweb. It is very cheap and simple but it does everything I need ie shares ETFs and funds. It is backed by Lloyds bank which is reassuring. They have always responded promptly to my questions and fund purchases are usually made on the same day. There are more comprehensive platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown. But you pay for that especially if you buy funds. And in my experience they usually take longer than iweb to purchase funds and reply to questions.

03/03/2021

It's cheap and it doesn't bombard me with emails to sign up to some 'premium' share tipping service. I'm just looking to hold a few blueish chip stocks to beat the bank rate of 0.01%

22/02/2021

Great low cost product for the passive investor. Being low cost the website is no frills and there's no flash app, but I'm happy not to pay extra for these :-) Unlike the main review, I've never had a single access issue with the website. Also when trading shares I just use the quote facility to get a live share price which is fine for my needs. To date I have not needed to contact their customer service so can't comment on how effective this part of the business is. If you're looking to keep costs low and you're happy to select funds/shares with your own research then I'd recommend.

19/02/2021

I have been using it for about 2 years for ftse100 and ftse250 companies. I paid £25 fee to open account (this is now £100) and £5 fee per transaction. No other fees (eg. inactivity). Does exactly what it says on the tin for what I use it for. (The only other thing I have to pay is 0.5% stamp duty when buying shares which of course you will have to pay if using other platforms). It really is easy and cheap.

07/02/2021

Awful company. I've just withdrawn my money. They don't have online support to speak of, you have to wait for someone to decide to go online to help which rarely happened. I call them and they have a 10 minute wait time, unacceptable when dealing with shares in my opinion. No live share price on their site. The fees are low but at what overall price if I buy the shares when they've gone up? I will try Hargreaves Lansdown.

01/02/2021

The main plus for me is no monthly charges you just pay a £5 fee for each trade, this works for me because I don't buy and sell all the time just every couple of months. Also I find the web site is quick and easy to use - all the information I need is in one place. Setting a stop loss on holdings is a good tool - I do not get this option on the Fidelity International platform. On the down side: initially setting up my account with iWEB did take some time due to I.D. being approved. Overall I can recommend iWEB even to a novice like me

29/01/2021

I am a customer of iWeb. Their dealing price and no charge for keeping an account is probably the only strengths. A new £100 one-off price for opening an account is a big drawback. Now, let's look at what their weaknesses or minuses: 1. No multi currency trading account 2. Very narrow exposure to international markets -good for UK or only big cap stocks in EU or USA - you can't buy small cap stocks even in EU or US 3. No Junior ISA account service available 4. Limitations to Trading Plans for international markets 5. No foreign currency hegding option It's good for investing in UK shares.

18/01/2021

Terrible at reflecting true costs particularly with funds. When markets are open they regularly show funds as frozen.

24/11/2020

For ISAs this is a very good deal, and I can find no other ISA platform that offers a trailing stop loss. But the website is very limited compared, for example, with that of Hargreaves. And I have to say iWeb's admin systems are a shambles. A month after requesting an ISA transfer from Nationwide, NW have not received a request from iWeb, while iWeb have just sent me a form for signature relating to another NW ISA that was successfully transferred 10 days ago.

18/11/2020

Iweb forgot two years ago to charge £180 annual fees (£45 quarterly admin. fees have been ok). Two lots of annual fees this year and with 'drip' auto purchase of new 'accumulated' shares (as reinvested quarterly dividends), my SIPP account has a negative cash balance now! Iweb blame Barclays bank for poor timing of cash transactions on my account. A nightmare of 9No. month delay, 'wet' signed copies of original documents 'lost in the post' and so resent, both parties blaming each other, and neither one keeping me informed (my 'phone bill skyrocketed). The Reviewer is Pre-retirement age.

13/11/2020

iWeb slightly ponderous as the pension admin is by AJ Bell but accessed initially through iWeb. Both parties are v helpful The Reviewer is Post-retirement age.

13/11/2020

Website works well for buying/ selling etc. It’s not great if you want to do research but the cost is brilliant so so low. I research on other sites and then transact on iWeb.

23/10/2020

Uncomplicated efficient website and service

19/10/2020

Takes a bit of getting used to, I have called the customer help line only 2 or 3 times when stuck and they have always answered quickly and resolved the issues - even if the fault was mine.

18/10/2020

Simple to use very competitive prices. The office always helpful.

16/10/2020

Low cost but not all funds are available

16/10/2020

occasionally makes mistakes

16/10/2020

A very cost effective and simple to operate SIPP platform The Reviewer is Post-retirement age.

16/10/2020

Easy to navigate

16/10/2020

What’s not exciting about buying investment trust shares for your ISA in real time knowing the charges are absolutely rock bottom? Excellent simple crystal clear website using plain English. Helpful staff if you need to phone, reasonably quick to answer. Do your free financial research elsewhere, e.g. Trustnet (but sadly no longer Money Observer website which iweb’s rival Interactive Investor have killed off). Printing off dividend income from non-ISA investments to show your accountant is also very straightforward.

10/10/2020

Great website, simple to use and affordable however transferring in another ISA has been most painful and i can only describe iWeb as incompetent. 3 months of chasing every few days and they still can't get a valuation, you can't speak to anyone in transfers and no one contacts you to give you an update even with multiple promises. Complaints are the same nothing happens and no one resolves your issues. Open an account direct with them but don't bother trying to give them more business.

02/10/2020

Excellent value with a fair website. I have transferred high cost ISAs from other providers into iweb and they accept practically all holdings and then once in Iweb I can switch to better investments. My only concern with iWeb is how they are sustainable as there is so few charges?

27/09/2020

Instead of a quote got "We no longer allow investment in this stock". I was trying to buy an investment trust! Iweb appears to be staffed by school leavers trying to reduce their workload by using conservative wording of KIDs to justify deleting the stock from their list. Expert advice says that Iweb is for investors who know what they are doing. However Iweb says it is only for those who do not know what they are doing and who need to be protected from any risk.

03/09/2020

Cheap and easy to use with good telephone support. I use other websites for research, e.g. Morningstar, and save money. I can’t understand why the site is described as boring! If you want to pay higher charges go elsewhere, if you want entertainment go to Disney. Plenty of independent and free research is available on the www.

22/07/2020

Low cost dealing at a price. Pretty limited research facility. I use Stockopedia for share screening. iWeb could take a lesson here to add value.

18/05/2020

Unflashy and basic but if you want cheap, transparent trading it's the one. It's easy to use once you get used to it and communication has up to now been very good. Little research advice but that can be obtained at all sorts of other places anyway so why pay extra for it. No proper app, but perfectly easy to trade on your phone Despite thinking of spreading risk over several providers, I've decided I won't go anywhere else. Lastly, the "best of" lists don't often recommend iWeb. This is wrong, and saying "I don't like it" is fine but be prepared to pay more for one you do like.

07/03/2020

Very good cheap dealing. Love it.

16/02/2020

I have had an account with iWeb for over 10 years, and it has consistently been one of the best value sites available. Easy to use and good communication.

28/01/2020

Well, haven't much to compare it with, but it seemed the cheapest at the time and for someone who just wants to look for index funds, that was the major criterion for me, although it does have company/fund information too :)

23/01/2020

I have held this account for years and it has consistently been the best value I can find on the market. Does everything I want.

13/01/2020

IWeb is cheap and basic. They only charge £5 per trade. Vanguard is £7.50 and interactive investor about £10 (with fees refunded if you trade at least twice a month. AJ Bell trades are about £7.50 each. IWeb is slow and SIPP contributions take several months from April 6th to be completed with HMRC 25% allowance (£720 to boost £2880 sum to £3600 maximum for non tax payers). No debit card payments was available last year either, to fund annual allowable SIPP contribution. My IWeb SIPP is transferring to Vanguard this year, if they accept it with only a 25% tax free amount already withdrawn.

03/01/2020

I think your assessment is somewhat unfair. I have six figure ISAs which cost almost nothing to operate - I buy once a year, simple low cost trackers (iWeb offer all the Vanguard, Blackrock, L&G index trackers, all a low cost index investor would need). Their service is fine too, you can contact them by live webchat or by phone. They produce tax certificates for unsheltered accounts promptly - the quickest of my three brokers. The website is as easy to use as any other IME. They aren’t cost effective for small accounts, or if you want to trade every month.

12/12/2019

2 other members of my family use iweb for ISAs and I use it for an ISA and SIPP. The ISA ongoing charge is free and ideal if you don't trade often. Although the website is basic, you can download funds to a spreadsheet to keep track. The SIPP is controlled by AJ Bell and charges are reasonable and compare favourably to others. I recommend iweb.

22/11/2019

The website is very basic. No flashy graphics and no hard sell pop up adverts, but it does what it is supposed to do. It's a simple and cheap service that works well. A single £25 fee is required to open your account, but there are no further platform running costs (no annual percentage charges). There is a trading fee of £5 per trade, so if you only make one purchase per year (for example, 20K filling your ISA quota) it's an annual cost of £5, which is hard to beat.

01/08/2019

I transferred my wife and my portfolio from Hargreaves Lansdown to iWeb, saving £1500 per annum. We tend to make our own decisions, so iWeb are great. The range of UTs are a bit limited, not as many as HL. However for SIPPs stick with HL when you look at drawing your SIPP. I think they work out cheaper.

21/07/2019

Charges suck the life out of your savings. Their low charges are ideal. What could be better??

30/06/2019

Cheapest platform around. Very easy to deal and only £5 per trade. No charges for ISA account except £25 initial fee. Very happy with site, easy to use. Wide range of exchanges and funds. If you don’t want advice, or to pay for it, what more could you need?

03/04/2019

Very good value for money, especially for large portfolios. The website is simple with no frills and easy to use, but fund research capabilities are limited. I have found other brokers' fancy websites a nightmare to use and much prefer iWeb. There is plenty of readily available information on funds from the providers themselves and sources such as Morningstar. Call centre staff have also been helpful. Recommended.

08/03/2019

Fantastic if you know what you want to do. Minimising costs is my aim and this platform is great for that whilst letting me invest as I wish to.

02/03/2019

Well, we're always told to consider charges, so if your interest is equities and you know what you want, then this could suit you. Yes it's basic, but if you don't need a helping hand, why pay more?

17/02/2019

It’s a winner on price and the website is improving, but very poor customer service when you phone up, and very limited on funds (they don’t have some of the big well known funds).

16/02/2019

I've been using IWeb for 4 years and it's very good value if you want the flexibility to deal in low-cost tracker funds, as well as shares and ETFs for a large portfolio, without paying a big percentage-based platform fee. Very occasionally there are problems with the website but frankly it's rare. A couple of niggles: >Unlike Hargreaves and A J Bell you don't get invited to participate in IPOs. >You can't deal in Retail Bonds using the site, but you can deal by phone for no extra cost...and I've always found the dealers efficient and helpful.

13/01/2019

It is extremely good value. There is no platform fee and trades are only £5 each. Website is fairly basic but more than adequate

19/12/2018

Easily the cheapest platform for large ISA portfolios. The best part is zero charges if you've stopped dealing, and are just leaving your pot untouched.

04/12/2018

No comment.

10/11/2018

Very basic service at low cost i.e. £5/share purchase trade. Confirmation documents are easy to download and file in user friendly format. IWeb is owned by Halifax which is part of Lloyds bank group, so backed by a large banking institution. Website links are poor, daily share price changes are not easily viewable phones. Phones are not always answered promptly. IWeb does not do SIPP accounts itself (they are subcontracted to AJ Bell), so lack of expertise here. I was encouraged to become a customer by their cost/value for money.

07/11/2018

Awful platform to navigate for beginners and absolutely no frills! But great for investors with large portfolios who know what they are doing. The platform charges are unrivalled because, after the initial £25 opening charge there aren’t any, its free! Dealing charges are also very cheap at £5 across the board, you don’t even have to trade a minimum number of times to get this rate.

30/09/2018

The range of funds is limited, with many well known funds not being available. Even a fund they listed in their tools could not be bought once. Often fund trades fail and you have to phone them up. They do answer, at least. One month fund trades took almost a week to complete. Avoid.

06/06/2018

It's £5 a deal. Always works for me. Love it.

03/05/2018

Excellent cost wise, you get used to the website with practice, and if more research is needed there is lots available online.

21/04/2018

Very cheap to buy and hold funds. Not great on user-friendly website or fund research, but if you are an experienced investor I think they are excellent value for money.

30/01/2018

Provides a dealing service suitable for my needs. Clearer information pages on individual stocks.

30/01/2018

Cheap, I think.

30/01/2018

Good value. The website is very basic.

30/01/2018

Very cheap, no recurrent fee, great value for long-term hold portfolio. Website is basic so maybe not for beginners but it's now my preferred platform.

26/09/2017

It is possible to combine low cost and great service.

26/09/2017

I like the low charges.

04/07/2017

Very helpful when I transferred from Alliance Trust Savings in Feb 2014. Good basic web site, perfectly adequate for someone investing in Investment Trusts (and bonds & shares on the main markets). A low cost way of spreading my investments accross more than provider. They don't provide access to open offers & have withdrawn support for LSE special funds market, which have both constrained my investment choices. Very basic, good within the limits of what it provides. Low cost (only paid �25 to join). Does provide some investment information but I stick with other sites that I am used to (Interactive Investor, Trustnet etc.)

04/07/2017

Basic service and value for money. Would prefer better research and access to extra services like level 2 share prices. I think it is the cheapest in the market

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04/07/2017

Happy with both

04/07/2017

Had low opening charge when I started with them.

04/07/2017

Very cheap to hold shares and ISAs, no running charges. Website is not user-friendly - definitely 'cheap and cheerful' but okay for a confident/experienced investor Cheaper than the others but much more limited range of services.

04/07/2017