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Freetrade ReviewCharles Stanley Direct Review
Written by Elizabeth Anderson
Edited by Jeff Anberg
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis, Joey Shadeck
Your capital is at risk.
Charles Stanley Direct is an online investment platform where you can invest in a wide range of products, including stocks and ETFs, using various accounts like tax-advantaged ISAs and SIPPs.
Charles Stanley Direct fees are more expensive than similar platforms, and a fee shake-up in August 2024 reinforced this when minimum and maximum platform fees were increased. However, you are given £50 worth of credit every six months to bring down the overall trading cost.
-
Minimum Deposit:
£0 -
ISA:
Yes -
SIPP:
Yes
Charles Stanley Direct pros & cons
Pros
- Wide range of investment options and accounts.
- Offers a flexible stocks and shares ISA.
- Can contact customer support by phone.
- Free £100 trading credit per year.
Cons
- High stock trading fee at £10.
- Fund trade fee of £4.
- High annual platform fees for those with small amounts invested (minimum £60 annual charge).
Overall summary
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| Charges & Fees |
|
| Investment Choices |
|
| Mobile App |
|
| Website |
|
| Ease of Use |
|
| Education |
|
Charges and Fees
Like many other UK investment platforms, Charles Stanley Direct charges a percentage fee to hold your investments on its platform (also known as a custody or management fee).
The charge is 0.30% annually on the value of investments held across all accounts. However, there is a minimum platform fee of £60 a year and a maximum charge of £600.
This £60 minimum amount means you have to hold investments worth at least £20,000 on the platform for Charles Stanley Direct to be worth it for you. For amounts smaller than this, a platform such as Bestinvest, AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, or Fidelity may be better value. Those brokers charge platform fees of between 0.25% and 0.45% with no minimum amount. Some brokers, such as CMC Invest, eToro, or XTB don’t charge any custody fees at all.
Percentage fees are generally better than fixed fees for those with a smaller investment portfolio. If you have amounts over £70,000 then a flat-fee broker such as Interactive Investor may be worth considering (or even a no-fee broker, although these typically offer fewer investment options and accounts).
Like many other traditional investment platforms, Charles Stanley Direct charges trading fees for buying and selling shares and ETFs. Charles Stanley Direct’s stock trading fees are among the highest of the 22 investment platforms we tested, costing you £10 every time you buy and sell shares, ETFs, or investment trusts. Only Hargreaves Lansdown charges higher, at £11.95. Some other platforms, such as Trading 212, eToro, and XTB, charge £0 to trade stocks.
As of 1 August 2024, Charles Stanley Direct also charges £4 per fund trade (previously it was free to trade funds). This is unusual as most investment platforms offer free fund trading. However, there are no trading charges on automated monthly investment into funds and there are no platform or trading charges when you invest into one of Charles Stanley's ready-made funds.
Off-setting these fees slightly, you’ll receive £50 worth of trading credits every six months, starting from 1 October 2024. No minimum account value is required. This £100 credit goes a long way in bringing down trading costs. It is equivalent to 10 stock trades per year or 25 fund trades.
Scenario pricing: When calculating annual share dealing costs, trading frequency and account balance are the two most important factors to consider. Assuming a £30,000 portfolio in a traditional, taxable share dealing account, here are five scenarios of how much Charles Stanley Direct would cost based on trade frequency:
- 5 trades per year = £57.50
- 12 trades per year = £138
- 36 trades per year = £414
- 120 trades per year = £1,380
- 3 fund trades per year = £90 - £102
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £0 - £10 |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £10 |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £10 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £60 - £600 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £600 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £600 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £600 |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | £25 |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | £25 |
| ETFs - Fee | £10 |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £10 |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 minimum |
What type of trader are you?
New to the world of investing? See my picks for the best UK trading platforms for beginners. More experienced traders should check out my guide to the best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders. If you're looking to trade shares on the go, read my guide to the best UK stock trading apps.
Mobile trading apps
The Charles Stanley Direct mobile app is very basic. You can see an overview of your account value, search investments by company name to trade, and see a pie chart showing the breakdown of your portfolio. The other features beyond these are very limited and can't keep up with the best stock trading apps.
The insights tab currently has nothing on it. A message says this section is under development and “hopes to be ready soon.” The app also doesn’t offer any ways to get inspiration for investing ideas. You can’t search for investments by sector or by preferences, making it difficult to find, for example, companies offering the highest dividend yield. When you tap on your chosen stock, there is limited financial data and no chart tools. You cannot compare various stocks on a chart or add any technical indicators.
When I tested the app in mid-July, there was a glitch preventing me from finding any investments at all. I called the helpline (the in-app chat support wasn’t working) and someone answered quickly to explain there was an issue with the app that day and they hoped to get it resolved within the next few hours. It’s good to see there is prompt customer service, and when I tried again 24 hours later the issue was resolved, but these sort of bugs may be deal breakers for active traders.
Website
The Charles Stanley Direct website is very easy to use, although it is not as slick as other newer platforms such as eToro or Interactive Brokers.
When logging in to your account, you can see the value of your portfolio and the range of accounts offered by Charles Stanley. You can search for investments using a company’s stock ticker or by entering the company’s name. From there you can add an investment to your watchlist, make a purchase, or bring up more information about the company or fund.
I liked that key financial information is clearly laid out, covering how much you’ll pay per trade as well as financial data about the company or fund. The chart tools are easy to use, although fairly limited. You can compare a stock to another stock, or to a wider sector or index.
Like with the app, there isn’t much to inspire you when trying to discover or research new investments on the Charles Stanley Direct website. You are likely to already have a good idea of what you want to invest in, rather than being inspired to find something new. Webull, eToro, or CMC Invest, by comparison, make it easy to view investments by sector or by values important to you such as ESG.
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes |
| iPhone App | Yes |
| Android App | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 14 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 1 |
| Charting - Notes | No |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes |
Investment Choices
Charles Stanley offers a wide range of investments, giving you the option of UK and US stocks as well as ETFs and mutual funds. In total, there are 18,824 investments to choose from, including 12,668 stocks and 6,156 funds.
One good point about Charles Stanley Direct is that it offers a flexible stocks and shares ISA. This means you can withdraw and replace money without worrying about losing any ISA allowance, as long as the money is put back in within the same tax year. Not many investment ISA providers offer flexible ISAs, so this is a great feature from Charles Stanley Direct. Many rivals, including Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor, don’t offer them.
Charles Stanley Direct offers a cash savings platform, allowing you to see interest rates offered by a range of banks and providers on your cash savings. An increasing number of investment platforms are also offering savings platforms, recognising that investors want the best return on their cash savings while keeping their money in one place. Other platforms offering cash savings platforms include Webull and Hargreaves Lansdown.
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes |
| CFD Trading | No |
| ETFs | Yes |
| Funds | Yes |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes |
| Investment Trusts | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No |
| Crypto Trading | No |
| Advisor Services | Yes |
Education
Charles Stanley Direct has a great range of educational material through its insights page, and include discussions about how government policy and global events could impact your investments. There are also a number of useful calculators, such as a pension contribution calculator and pension drawdown calculator.
However, one downside is that this is currently only available on the website and not the mobile app. There is limited educational material on the app, which I think could be improved to take it closer in line with competitors like Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor, Fidelity, or AJ Bell.
| Feature |
Charles Stanley Direct
|
|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes |
| Client Webinars | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes |
Are you new to investing?
We thoroughly tested 17 top U.K. brokerages to find the best choices for beginner investors. Read more in our guide.
Final Thoughts
Charles Stanley Direct is an investment platform that may suit you if you don’t trade stocks extensively as the £10 per trade fee is high if you go beyond the £100 worth of annual credits. Funds are free to buy if you invest each month, and if you opt for one of Charles Stanley’s own funds you won’t pay trading or platform charges. The flexible investment ISA will also appeal to some savers.
However, I don't see much to justify selecting Charles Stanley Direct over platforms such as Bestinvest or AJ Bell. These have similar investment choices, offer lower fees, and provide an overall better user experience on the website and mobile app.
About Charles Stanley Direct
Charles Stanley, established in 1792, is a wealth manager with a long history in the UK. Its Charles Stanley Direct platform, which launched in 2013, allows customers to manage and select their own investments. Charles Stanley offers a range of accounts, including rental investment accounts, ISAs, SIPPs, and junior investment ISAs. Charles Stanley has been owned by Raymond James Wealth Management since January 2022.
FAQs
What kind of customer support does Charles Stanley Direct have?
There is a secure messaging system in the app, although this wasn’t working when I tested it. You can also call Charles Stanley Direct on 0131 550 1234. Lines are open 0730 to 1700 Monday to Friday and when I called with a question they answered quickly.
Does Charles Stanley Direct offer interest on cash?
No, Charles Stanley Direct does not directly pay interest on cash held on the platform. However, through its Cash Savings platform, you can hold money with a bank offering market-leading interest rates on easy access, fixed term, or notice accounts.
What types of accounts does Charles Stanley Direct offer?
Charles Stanley Direct offers a wide range of accounts, including ISAs and SIPPs, meaning you can invest in a tax-efficient way. Charles Stanley Direct also offers junior ISAs (although not junior SIPPs).
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Methodology
For the UK.StockBrokers.com Annual Review, we assessed, rated, and ranked 17 U.K. share dealing platforms over a 10-week time period. Each broker’s platforms and features were exhaustively tested by hand and graded on 53 different variables. In total, over 25,000 words of research were produced.
We thoroughly tested and compared features of prime interest to everyday investors, including but not limited to:
- Investment choices, such as whether the broker offers trading of shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, and CFDs; and offers SIPP and ISA accounts.
- The broker’s charges and fees for investing.
- Functionality and design of mobile apps and website platform, and a fluid experience moving between app and web.
- Usability of tools such as charting and watch lists.
- Market research, such as screening, news and analysis.
- Educational resources including tutorials, online courses, videos, webinars and articles.
Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Our lead researcher and writer, Elizabeth Anderson, has more than a decade’s experience as a financial journalist and market researcher. Elizabeth’s expertise is backed by a team of veteran fellow traders, data auditors, editors and project managers who work to ensure that UK.StockBrokers.com reviews and guides are the most unbiased and complete in the industry. Read more about our team.
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About the Editorial Team
Elizabeth Anderson, lead writer and researcher, has been a financial journalist for more than a decade. In addition to her work with UK.StockBrokers.com, she has written extensively for major publications including BBC, The Times and Bloomberg. A keen investor herself, she is passionate about helping people understand finance and investing.
Jeff Anberg is a Staff Editor at UK.StockBrokers.com. Along with years of experience in media distribution at a global newsroom, Jeff has a versatile knowledge base encompassing the technology and financial markets. He is a long-time active investor and engages in research on emerging markets like cryptocurrency. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature with a minor in Philosophy from San Francisco State University.
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for UK.StockBrokers.com and ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.
Joey Shadeck is a Content Strategist and Research Analyst for UK.StockBrokers.com. He holds dual degrees in Finance and Marketing from Oakland University, and has been an active trader and investor for close to ten years. An industry veteran, Joey obtains and verifies data, conducts research, and analyzes and validates our content.