Who is iWeb?
iWeb is a low-cost online share dealing platform. It started life as IMIWeb UK Limited, a London based execution-only brokerage, part of Italy's Sanpaolo IMI banking group. It was acquired in 2003 by HBOS plc which was subsequently acquired by Lloyds TSB in 2009. Today, iWeb is operated by Halifax Share Dealing, part of the Lloyds Banking Group.
iWeb products
iWeb offers three main types of account including a Share Dealing Account, Stocks and Shares ISA and a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). iWeb allows customers to invest in UK and international shares, funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), investment trusts, bonds and gilts.
iWeb Stocks and Shares ISA
Investors can contribute up to £20,000 in an iWeb Stocks and Shares ISA, assuming they are not using up any of their allowance elsewhere. iWeb charges a one-off account opening fee of £100 when you open a Stocks and Shares ISA and the cost includes access to the iWeb Share Dealing Account. Customers can choose to invest in a wide variety of investments including shares, funds, ETFs and investment trusts.
iWeb Share Dealing Account
Customers can choose to invest in over 5,000 shares, 600 ETFs and almost 2,750 funds with an iWeb Share Dealing Account. iWeb charges a one-off account opening fee of £100 when you open a Share Dealing Account and users will automatically be given access to an iWeb Stocks and Shares ISA as part of the cost. Investors are charged a flat fee of £5 per trade and there are no ongoing account fees or administration charges. It is easy to buy and sell shares through the iWeb Share Dealing Account, however, some investors may be disappointed by the lack of a mobile app.
iWeb Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
Investors can contribute up to 100% of their earnings each year, subject to the annual allowance of £60,000. iWeb's SIPP is administered by AJ Bell and unlike its Stocks and Shares ISA and Share Dealing Account, there is no charge to open an iWeb SIPP account. iWeb charges a quarterly SIPP fee of either £22.50 for SIPPs worth less than £50,000 or £45.00 for SIPPs worth £50,000+.
How do you open an iWeb Share Dealing Account?
Opening an account with iWeb takes around 10 minutes. You'll first need to agree to the terms and conditions which explains that you'll be responsible for your own investment decisions as well as providing a list of the things you'll need to hand in order to open an account. You'll then need to provide all of your personal information including your name, address, occupation and residency. Next, you'll need to provide your national insurance number and complete your debit card details.
Upon completion, your account will be verified and you'll be granted access to a Stocks and Shares ISA, as well as a Share Dealing Account. At this point, you are free to deposit funds and invest your money as you wish. There are no ongoing fees or administration charges with iWeb, however, you will be charged £5 per trade when buying shares.
The £100 account opening charge will be taken within around 10 working days from your account being opened. Take care to ensure that you register a working debit card because in the event that iWeb is unable to collect the account opening fee, it will instead collect the charge from any new funds deposited into your share dealing account or ISA.
How much does iWeb share dealing cost
iWeb charges a one-off account opening fee of £100 and is the only online share dealing broker to do so. It also charges £5 per online trade as well as fund charges of between 0.25% and 1.50% for those investing in funds. We summarise all of iWeb's fees and charges below.
iWeb account administration charges
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
| Account opening charge | £100 (only charged on the first account you open - excludes SIPP) |
| Voiding an ISA | £25 |
| Repair of an ISA | £25 |
| Same day payment (CHAPS) | £25 |
| Paper copy of an account statement | £12.50 |
| Sell out commission charge (if iWeb has to sell to cover fees) | £10 |
| Electronic stock transfer | Free (Some providers do not allow stock transfers - iWeb can sell your holdings at £5 per trade upon receipt of the request) |
The £100 account opening charge is taken within 10 working days of opening an iWeb account. The money is taken from the debit card you register your Share Dealing Account or ISA with.
iWeb dealing charges
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
| Online trades | £5 per trade |
| Automated online trades (TradePlans) | £2 per trade (iWeb allows users to set automatic limits to make the most of share price movements) |
| Panel of takeovers and mergers (Trades over £10k only) | £1 |
| Dividend reinvestment | 2.00% of dividend (Max £5) |
| Foreign currency (FX) charge - International trades only | 1.50% |
| Stamp Duty (UK stock purchases only) | 0.50% |
| Spanish financial transaction tax | 0.20% (Certain Spanish shares only) |
iWeb fund charges
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
| Ongoing charges | 0.25% to 1.50% (ongoing fund charges vary depending on the fund invested) |
| Transaction charge | 0.50% of the investment |
iWeb SIPP charges
| Fee Type | Fee Amount |
| SIPP charge (If you hold more than £50,000) | £45.00 (Charged per quarter) |
| SIPP charge (If you hold less than £50,000) | £22.50 (Charged per quarter) |
| Annuity purchase | £90.00 |
| Transfers in from another scheme | £60.00 per plan (Max charge £300) |
| Valuation request or ad hoc statement | £12.50 |
| Setup fee | No Charge - £100 for other account types |
| Transfer out to another registered scheme | No Charge |
The quarterly SIPP charge is payable in arrears at the end of March, June, September and December and applies for the lifetime of the SIPP
Is iWeb safe?
iWeb has two layers of consumer protection in the form of 'segregation of assets' as well as protection provided by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). iWeb states that customer assets are segregated from its own assets and so would be returned to you in the unlikely event that it was to cease trading. In the unlikely event of the segregation process failing, customers would be able to claim up to the value of £85,000 under the FSCS.
Does iWeb have a share dealing app?
No, iWeb does not have a share dealing app and so all trades need to be placed via its online share dealing platform.
iWeb Share Dealing Account customer reviews
iWeb Share Dealing Account is rated as 'Average' on independent review site Trustpilot with an average score of just 3.8 out of 5.0 from almost 350 reviews. Users that have posted good reviews like the simplicity, with many stating that they like the straightforward, uncomplicated website. Of the bad reviews, users cite issues with the time it takes to transfer to iWeb as well as poor customer service.
Pros and cons of iWeb Share Dealing Account
Pros
- Simple to use
- Easy setup process
- No annual account fees
Cons
- £100 account opening fee (Except for SIPP)
- Basic website
- Does not have an app
Alternatives to iWeb Share Dealing Account
iWeb is one of the cheapest execution-only share dealing platforms in the UK, however, the website is relatively basic and it has received criticism on independent review site Trustpilot for its lack of customer service. In the below table we list a number of alternative platforms that provide online share dealing, including the total cost when investing between £5,000 and £250,000. The table assumes a total of 20 trades per year (which includes 10 buy and 10 sell trades).
| Single Trade cost | Regular Investing cost | £5,000 | £10,000 | £20,000 | £50,000 | £100,000 | £250,000 | |
| AJ Bell | £9.95 | £1.50 | £212 | £224 | £229 | £229 | £229 | £229 |
| Charles Stanley | £11.50 | £254 | £265 | £300 | £405 | £470 | £470 | |
| Equiniti Shareview | £12.50 | £1.75 | £263 | £275 | £295 | £295 | £295 | £295 |
| Interactive Investor | £3.99 | £140 | £140 | £140 | £140 | £176 | £176 | |
| iWeb (including £100 account opening fee) | £5.00 | £200 | £200 | £200 | £200 | £200 | £200 | |
| Halifax Share Dealing | £12.50 | £2.00 | £263 | £263 | £263 | £263 | £263 | £263 |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | £11.95 | £262 | £284 | £284 | £284 | £284 | £284 | |
| X-O | £5.95 | £119 | £119 | £119 | £119 | £119 | £119 |
iWeb vs AJ Bell vs Interactive Investor vs Hargreaves Lansdown
iWeb provides a low-cost, online, execution-only share trading service. AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown do charge platform fees (unlike iWeb), but investors get a little more in return, including detailed reporting, additional insight and research, as well as a mobile app so that trades can be placed on the go. Those looking for a SIPP may want to consider Interactive Investor as it is now cheaper than iWeb for both small and larger pension pots. Interactive Investor's recent launch of 'Pension Essentials' means investors will pay only £71.88 per year for pension pots under £50,000.
iWeb vs X-O
X-O is a brand name of Jarvis Investment Management Ltd and it offers a very similar service to iWeb in terms of it being a low-cost, execution-only share trading platform. Both platforms offer similar products, however, X-O also offers a Junior ISA. X-O does not charge an account opening fee, however it charges £5.95 per trade compared to the £5 charged by iWeb. The SIPP provided by X-O has an annual fee of £99 plus VAT irrespective of how much is held in the account.
Summary
iWeb is a basic, no-frills, execution-only online trading platform that may be more suited to experienced investors who are comfortable making their own investment decisions. iWeb doesn't charge annual fees and so provides a relatively cheap way to invest in shares, funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and investment trusts. It does, however, charge a one-off account opening fee of £100 and its quarterly SIPP charges of between £90 and £180 are not the cheapest. Additionally, iWeb charges £5 per trade and so those focused solely on buying and trading shares may want to look at specialist share dealing apps such as Freetrade and Trading 212. Freetrade even offers a SIPP for just £11.99 a month and new customers are gifted a free share when they sign up, worth between £10 and £100.
