Referral Links

Here I present a list of links to services that I use. They are selected without (conscious) fear or favour and some of them don’t even pay me a kick back! Many of the links also give you a discount or cashback that is not normally available.

Shareholder information etc.

sharesoc.org – You can join for free and still access many of their services, company visits etc, but if you are a serious investor you might want to support them with a paid-for subscription.

melloevents.com – If you possibly can then you owe yourself to attend at least one. Tickets are cheap at the price, although like most shows you should be looking for a discount code of 30-40% off the face value when booking in good time.

stockopedia.com – I would encourage anybody who is not sure about whether a Stockopedia subscription for share data and tools can be justified to compare the annual cost to how much they spent on dealing commission, dealing spreads, stamp duty and custody charges over the last year. The cost won’t be justifiable to everyone, but I put off subscribing for too long and now wouldn’t want to be without it.

research-tree.com – A real public service, set up to give private investors access to investment research only available to institutional investors. You get 10% off using the link. There is also a free service which brings together some freely available research and RNS email notifications.

primarybid.com – Allows individual investors to access certain placings that are normally only available to institutions. A word of warning though – many (but by no means all) of the companies that use them are of low quality – always do your research first. There is no reason not to register.

Household

giffgaff.com – Consistently the cheapest mobile network and very flexible e.g. allowing you to change / renew bundles early if you run out of data. You may get cheaper offers elsewhere but they soon run out / become less competitive. One caveat is that they piggyback on the O2 network which is generally considered slightly inferior to EE. I’m tethered using giffgaff.com as I write this. Use the link for a free credit to your account (typically £10 but currently £5).

americanexpress.co.uk – Consistently the highest cashback credit card for UK spending. Others have come and gone. The disadvantage is that charges are high for overseas spending and of course not everybody accepts them. Use the link for £25 extra cashback.

tandem.com – Not as good as Amex for UK cashback, but more widely accepted with fee-free spending and cashback abroad.

transferwise.com – Easiest and cheapest way to transfer money overseas. Get a free international transfer with this link.

Octopus Energy – Innovators in smart electricity tariffs, enabling massive savings for some people. For those still using gas they’ll offset carbon emissions cheaply. Better service ratings and more financially stable than most competitors. Use the link for a £50 credit.

easirent – I live in a city so ditched my car a while back. These guys offer amazingly cheap car rental, even for larger vehicles, choice of diesel or petrol, one way bookings, full-full fuel policy etc. You can buy annual zero excess insurance elsewhere.

Stockbrokers

When time permits I hope to post a review of various stockbrokers / online share dealing accounts as online comparison tools generally only cover cost and very basic features. For the moment I will just highlight the best / worst features of each. I have several accounts mainly to limit the impact of one failing or having technical issues. None of them pay referral fees / give special discounts to referred customers.

idealing.com – Are unusual in that they will execute limit orders first thing in the morning, often at surprisingly good prices. Dealer access when you need it at no premium. Site is quick, login is easy and idle timeout is relatively long. Basic service, but direct order book access is offered. A private company so harder to do due diligence on their finances.

hl.co.uk – Pass on shareholder perks without charge and generally automatically. Nice website, but have a stated policy of being understaffed causing delays in receiving some payments.

youinvest.com – SIPP is fairly good value. Regular traders get a big discount automatically. Poor customer service, no telephone access to a dealer.

ig.com – Spreadbetting / CFDs. Unfortunately they’ve chosen to throw away their leadership position as the most trustworthy provider to pursue short-term profits.

Note

Each of the service I listed are ones that I use myself and accordingly I believe they are valuable and/or the best/cheapest available of their type. I may of course be wrong and certainly welcome feedback. Always check if a better deal is available elsewhere.