Equiniti acquired the Selftrade assets in June 2014 and said at the time that it would be investing in a "sophisticated" new investment platform with "more content tools and information" plus mobile phone access, that would be developed in line with customer feedback.
However, having experienced the new service, some IC readers say they will be voting with their feet. One says: "I am shocked at how Equiniti has butchered the Selftrade platform, putting in its place something that looks like it has been bashed together on a ZX Spectrum as part of a project for an O Level in computer studies, circa 1984."
Another says: "Equiniti have had months to prepare for today there can be no excuse for this fiasco. It is too important to just say 'teething problems' when they are responsible for our money."
Another says: "Although I did not really explore the Equiniti service to begin with, it does not really seem up to the job. The response times are getting slower and I am not sure it is worth staying with them."
Other Selftrade customers that we spoke to reported no problems. "The site was down the weekend of the transfer, as expected, but since then I've been able to view my portfolio without any problems," says an IC reader.
A message on the Selftrade website this week says: "We are experiencing a high volume of calls, secure messages and emails. Waiting times for calls and responding to secure messages and emails are taking longer than we would want. We are taking action to improve our service to you as quickly as we can. If you have already contacted us your query will be dealt with as soon as possible. If you were experiencing difficulty in accessing your account this should now be rectified. Please try again and if you still have problems please call. We appreciate your patience at this time."
Amy Madden, marketing director at Equiniti says: "Firstly we apologise to Selftrade customers who have experienced shortcomings with our service levels.
"We have experienced some technical issues, which is not unusual with a transfer of this size, and these have mostly been dealt with. Customers who were not seeing a confirmation of a sale appear, will now do so. There are a small number of customers where the value of holdings do not display correctly. The underlying information we hold for customers in our records is correct and we are working to ensure this appears as it should in customer portfolios.
"We expect the website to be more efficient now that we have addressed most of the technical considerations and we will continue to optimise performance. The new website was fully tested with customers at all stages – concept design (focus groups and depth interviews) and usability testing (with customers) – which showed positive results to the new website. We continue to make improvements based on customer feedback.
"Customers initially experienced longer than usual waiting times due to high enquiry volumes and we are sorry we could not always respond as quickly as we would want. We have taken on additional staff to help over this period and they are continuing to work systematically to respond to customer enquiries."
Equiniti has committed to maintain Selftrade's pricing structure for 12 months from 26 January and will also waive transfer out fees for the same period for customers who wish to leave. Selftrade previously charged £15 per line of stock transferred to another provider.
Selftrade was previously owned by Societe Generale-owned French broker Boursorama, which announced in May 2014 that it was exiting the UK and transferring its 200,000 investor accounts to Equiniti. The Equiniti business helps other companies with services such as share registration and company administration.
Prior to the sale, many Selftrade investors were angered by an "intrusive" questionnaire that the firm issued to its customers as it sought to meet money laundering regulations. A letter sent in April 2014 by the execution-only stockbroker asked customers to supply personal and financial details, including the source of their wealth.
IC VIEW: The new Selftrade website does look clunky and there are lots of unanswered questions from customers on the site. If you are not happy, then you can transfer out from Selftrade for free. However, you first need to find out what is better cost and service for your particular portfolio. Investors will have to look at their trading patterns and calculate which platform is best value based on their personal circumstances. A platform that is good value for a frequent trader may not be good value for someone who drip feeds via a regular savings plan. You might also want to make sure that your new platform provider doesn’t have excessive costs for transferring out. Platforms that allow free in specie transfers out include TD Direct Investing and Fidelity. If you wish to re-register your holdings with another fund platform then you need to fill out a transfer form from the new platform, who will then contact Selftrade. |
Q&A: Should I split my investments between platforms?
One IC reader who has substantial assets says he wants clarification about the compensation available if a broker goes out of business before moving his money away from Selftrade. "I am looking for other brokers to split my holdings between," he says.
The maximum amount covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (www.fscs.org.uk) is £50,000 for investments and £85,000 for deposits (per person, per firm). The FSCS can pay only when an authorised firm is in default, which means when it has gone out of business.
The vast majority of Isa providers/stockbrokers/platforms hold the assets of savers ring-fenced in a nominee account, which works a bit like a trust. In the event of an insolvency, these assets would not be available to its creditors, nor to those of the nominee company if it were to fail, and that should ensure that you receive the full value of your investments.
In theory, it should not be necessary to split your Isas between providers just to make sure your investments are covered. But it might still be a good idea to do so. For instance, it could take a long time to extract assets from a failed nominee company, during which time the value of those holdings could decline. Also, nominee accounts are pooled. If there is a shortfall, due to fraud or incompetence, you may not get all your assets back.
Platform comparison for £200,000 in stocks and shares Isa
| Investment type | Number held | Initial Sum | Monthly investments | Annual trades |
| Funds | 5 | £100,000 | £0 | 2 |
| Shares | 10 | £100,000 | £0 | 2 |
Investment period: 10 years
Average annual return (before charges): 7 per cent
Platforms ranked by estimated total investment value after charges
| Platform | Total Value | Cost impact | Net Annual Cost | In specie transfer out charges |
| iWeb | £392,945 | £483 | 0.01% | £375 |
| Halifax Sharedealing | £392,164 | £1,264 | 0.03% | £375 |
| Interactive Investor | £391,987 | £1,441 | 0.04% | £225 |
| Alliance Trust Savings | £391,268 | £2,160 | 0.06% | £120 |
| AJ Bell YouInvest | £389,888 | £3,540 | 0.10% | £375 |
| Trustnet Direct | £389,692 | £3,736 | 0.10% | £225 |
| Charles Stanley Direct | £386,247 | £7,181 | 0.20% | £150 |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | £384,088 | £9,340 | 0.26% | £405 |
| Clubfinance | £384,003 | £9,425 | 0.26% | £150 |
| Close Brothers | £383,246 | £10,182 | 0.28% | £0 |
Source: www.comparefundplatforms.com
Notes: Barclays Stockbrokers, James Hay and TD Direct Investing are not yet available in the comparison service but data is coming soon.
