N.B.: The Share Centre is now part of Interactive Investor as of July 2020.
Who is The Share Centre?
The Share Centre* is an online trading platform that operates a fixed-fee model, offering a wide range of shares, investment trusts, funds, bonds, ETFs and gilts. The Share Centre has been providing stockbroking services to DIY investors since 1990 and has around 300,000 accounts under its administration.
What services and products are offered by The Share Centre?
Share account
- Invest in shares, funds, investment trusts, bonds, gilts and ETFs
- No annual limit
- Income tax and capital gains tax may be payable on profits
- Fixed monthly fee of £2 per month and commission fees starting at £7.50 per deal
DIY ISAs
- The Share Centre* offers two DIY ISAs - a Stocks and Shares ISA and a Junior ISA
- Invest in shares, funds, investment trusts, bonds, gilts and ETFs
- Investments limited to £4,368 for a Junior ISA and £20,000 for a Stocks and Shares ISA per annum
- No income tax or capital gains tax to pay on profits
- Fixed monthly fee of £5 per month and commission fees starting at £7.50 per deal
Ready-made ISAs
- The Share Centre offers three ready-made ISAs - a Stocks and Shares ISA, a Lifetime ISA and a Junior ISA
- Invest in a choice of 3 ready-made portfolios depending on your attitude to risk. You can choose cautious (low risk), balanced (medium risk) or adventurous (high risk)
- Investments limited to £4,000 for a Lifetime ISA, £4,368 for a Junior ISA and £20,000 for a Stocks and Shares ISA per annum
- No income tax or capital gains tax to pay on profits
- No monthly admin fee
- Annual management and ongoing charges of between 1.56% to 1.68%
SIPP
- Invest in shares, funds, investment trusts, bonds, gilts and ETFs
- No annual limit
- Income tax and capital gains tax may be payable on profits
- Fixed monthly fee of £15 per month and commission fees starting at £7.50 per deal
Other products and services
Child trust fund
- As child trust funds are no longer available, The Share Centre allows you to transfer an existing child trust fund to either a stakeholder or non stakeholder account (explained below)
- Choice of stakeholder account (where experts manage your money for you) or a non stakeholder account (where you are in control of choosing, buying and selling your child's investments)
- Investments limited to £4,368 per annum
- No income tax or capital gains tax to pay on profits
- Annual admin fee of 1.5% for a stakeholder account or 0.6% for non stakeholder
Junior investment account
- Invest in shares, funds, investment trusts, bonds, gilts and ETFs
- Allows you to share risk and investment decisions with your friends and family
(minimum of 3 people) by forming an investment club - No annual limit
- Income tax and capital gains tax may be payable on profits
- Fixed monthly fee of £2 per month
The Share Centre commission fees explained
The Standard Dealing Account
The Share Centre's standard dealing account charges a commission fee of £7.50 per transaction or 1% if the value of the trade is more than £750. This account is good for those who are likely to trade smaller sums and for those who trade less frequently.
The Frequent Dealing Account
The Share Centre's Frequent dealing account charges a commission fee of £7.50 per transaction for all trades. There is however an additional quarterly fee of £24. This account is good for those who trade larger sums and for those who trade regularly.
The Share Centre v Interactive Investor
Below we have compared the costs of The Share Centre with one of its competitors, Interactive Investor. We have chosen Interactive Investor as it runs a similar fixed-fee model and offers reduced fees for regular traders. To find out more about Interactive Investor, check out our independent Interactive Investor review.
For the purposes of this comparison, we have assumed 10 trades (which consists of 20 deals, as a trade consists of a buy and a sell) and have compared The Share Centre's standard dealing account with Interactive Investor's Fund's Fan plan.
The Share Centre Share account v Interactive Investor Trading account
| £20,000 investment | The Share Centre | Interactive Investor |
| Monthly Charge | £2.00 | £13.99 |
| Trading Cost | £7.50 | £0.00* |
| Total Annual Cost | £174.00 | £167.88 |
* Interactive Investor's 'Funds fan' service plan includes 2 free trades per month
The Share Centre Stocks and Shares ISA v Interactive Investor Stocks and Shares ISA
| £20,000 investment | The Share Centre | Interactive Investor |
| Monthly Charge | £5.00 | £13.99 |
| Trading Cost | £7.50 | £0.00* |
| Total Annual Cost | £210.00 | £167.88 |
* Interactive Investor's 'Funds fan' service plan includes 2 free trades per month
The Share Centre SIPP v Interactive Investor SIPP
| £20,000 investment | The Share Centre | Interactive Investor |
| Monthly Charge | £15.00 | £13.99 |
| Trading Cost | £7.50 | £0.00* |
| Monthly Admin Fee | £0.00 | £10.00 |
| Total Annual Cost | £330.00 | £287.88 |
* Interactive Investor's 'Funds fan' service plan includes 2 free trades per month
The Share Centre customer reviews
The Share Centre has attracted just under 1,000 reviews on independent review platform Trustpilot. It scores an average of 4.2 out of 5 with many reviewers commenting that the service is efficient and trustworthy. Negative reviews often mention 'expensive' or 'excessive fees'. We have posted a selection of reviews below.
Share Centre are friendly, efficient & helpful. The staff are normally well informed and, if not, will research & revert - Andy
They have excessive charges.....I have now moved elsewhere. - Ian
They manage a large portfolio very well at a reasonable cost. No complaints. Would recommend for small and large investors - Christopher
Summary
If you are an experienced investor who regularly trades and are simply looking for a 'no frills' platform to conduct your online share dealing (where you pick the investments yourself) then The Share Centre* is a viable option. It becomes expensive if you want to buy one of its ready-made portfolios. In this instance have a look at our robo-adviser best buy table for better and cheaper alternatives.
If you'd still rather make your own investment decisions but trade less frequently on a fixed-fee user-friendly platform then you may be better off looking at an alternative such as Interactive Investor.
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