Charles Stanley Direct

Online investing rates and charges

This page outlines our new rates and charges, providing you with examples to help you understand how you could be charged.

Client examples

Key charges

0.30% Platform charge
£4 Online fund trading charge
£10 Online share trading charge

Key benefits

Receive £50 worth of trading credits every six months, no minimum account value required.

Pay no platform or trading charges when you invest into Charles Stanley Multi-Asset Funds.

Pay no trading charges on Automated Monthly Investment into Funds.

Trading credits will be made available upon account opening and thereafter every six months, in April and October. No platform or trading fees applies to our four Multi-Asset Funds, and excludes both the Monthly High Income and Equity Funds.

Detailed Online Investing rates and charges

Summary of charges

Our Online Investing service allows investors to trade and hold a wide range of investments. Whether you choose to trade in shares or funds, in the UK or internationally, we aim to provide you with value for money.

Value for money

No account opening charges.
All account holders receive £50 worth of trading credits every six months, in April and October. No minimum account value is required.
No platform or trading fees are charged when you buy and hold any of our Charles Stanley Multi-Asset Funds*.
No charge on monthly investment instructions into any Funds (Unit Trusts and OEICs).
No Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) wrapper fee if you hold at least £30,000 of assets with us in any accounts, saving £100 + VAT per year.
Access to some of the best interest rates available through our Cash Savings platform.

Your charges explained

There are two main components to our charges:

Platform charge: this is what we charges for using our services.
Trading charges: charged only when you trade.

Other charges apply only in certain situations, like transferring in a certificate.

What you pay will therefore largely be determined by the value of your account(s) and how often you trade. You will pay different rates depending on whether your trades are placed through online (website/app) or by phone.

*This only includes the four Multi-Asset Funds, and excludes both the Monthly High Income and Equity Funds.

Investments that can be bought and sold

Asset type	Investments that can be traded online	Investments that can be traded by phone
Shares (UK and International)	Yes	Yes
International shares that aren’t available for online trading	-	Yes
Funds (OEICs and Unit Trusts)	Yes	Yes
Investment Trusts	Yes	Yes
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)	Yes	Yes
Exchange Traded Commodities	Yes	Yes
UK and overseas bonds	-	Yes
Permanent Interest Bearing Shares (PIBs)	-	Yes
Gilts	-	Yes

Open your online account in minutes and start to build your portfolio from over 12,500 UK and International Shares, Funds, ETFs and Investment Trusts that you can trade online, over the phone and via the App.

Platform charge

0.30% per annum on the value of all investments held across all accounts.
Minimum £60 and maximum £600 per year (which equates to a minimum of £5 and a maximum of £50 per month*).
No platform fee is charged on our Charles Stanley Multi-Asset Funds*.
Joint accounts are charged separately and are therefore not grouped with other accounts.

Charges are taken every six months at the beginning of April and October for the previous six months. Any part months are charged proportionately. Our charges are based on the value of your holdings at the end of each month.

Platform charge examples

The value you hold in your accounts	Platform charge (annual)
£20,000 or below	£60 (minimum)
£50,000	£150
£100,000	£300
£200,000 or above	£600 (maximum)

*Averaged over the course of a year. Charges for individual months may differ slightly based on specific duration.

The more you invest, the more you save, as the charges above apply for all your accounts together (except joint accounts), not per account.

Trading charges - UK shares and investments

UK investments include Shares, Funds, Investment Trusts, ETFs, ETCs, Bonds and Gilts.

£100 in trading credits per year

All account holders receive £50 worth of trading credits every six months, in April and October, or (from 1st October, 2024), as soon as you open your first account. No minimum account value is required. This balance will be applied at the time you trade. Unused trading credits expire at the end of each six-month period. Joint accounts receive their own trading credits of £50 in October and April of each year, or upon account opening from 1st October, 2024.

Investment	Online trading charges	Phone trading charges
UK shares, ETFs, ETCs, Investment Trusts	£10 per trade	1% of the value of the trade (minimum £25 and maximum £100)
UK Bonds and UK Gilts	n/a only available by phone	1% of the value of the trade (minimum £25 and maximum £100)
Funds (OEICs and Unit Trusts)	£4 per trade	£25 per trade
Monthly Investment Instructions (OEICs and Unit Trusts)	Free	n/a only available online
Charles Stanley Multi-Asset Funds*	Free	Free

Useful information

Individual online purchases (excluding funds) are subject to a maximum value of £50,000; all purchases over this value must be placed over the phone and therefore subject to the phone trading charges.
Stamp duty reserve tax is applied on UK share purchases (excluding AIM) at 0.5% and 1% on Irish shares.
The Panel of Takeovers and Mergers charge £1.50 on UK trades over £10,000.

*This only includes the four Multi-Asset Funds, and excludes both the Monthly High Income and Equity Funds.

Trading charges - International shares

£100 in trading credits per year

Crest Depository Interests (CDIs)

CDIs can be traded online. They are UK investments issued by CREST that represent international investments. They provide investors with the convenience of trading the shares of international companies in sterling and through the same arrangements as UK and Irish shares.

There are two main costs for trading CDI international shares trades, the trading charge and the international charge.

Non-Crest Depository Interests (CDIs)

These are international shares that can’t be traded online. This is because CDIs are not available for all international shares. Where an investment is not available as a CDI, you may be able to trade it over the phone; there is a minimum trade value of £2,000.

Non-CDI international shares trades include a trading charge, foreign exchange charges and movement charges. This is because these trades are dealt in the primary market and require a foreign currency conversion, furthermore, there are charges to move it into overseas custody when you invest and out of it when you sell.

Investment	Online trading charges	Phone trading charges
International shares CDIs	£10 per trade + international charge	1% of the value of the trade (Minimum £25 and maximum £100 per trade) + international charge
International shares non-CDIs	Not available	1% of the value of the trade (Minimum £50 and maximum £500 per trade) + foreign exchange charge + £20 movement fee (Europe/Canada/US) or + £50 movement fee (other overseas markets) + £30 overseas custody annual charge (any part months are charged proportionately)

Investment

Online trading charges

Phone trading charges

International shares CDIs

£10 per trade

+ international charge

1% of the value of the trade
(Minimum £25 and maximum £100 per trade)
+ international charge

International shares non-CDIs

Not available

1% of the value of the trade

(Minimum £50 and maximum £500 per trade)

+ foreign exchange charge

+ £20 movement fee (Europe/Canada/US) or + £50 movement fee (other overseas markets)

+ £30 overseas custody annual charge (any part months are charged proportionately)

International and Foreign exchange charges

Trade value	International charge/ Foreign exchange charges
£0 - £9,999	1.00%
£10,000 - £49,999	0.75%
£50,000 - £499,999	0.50%
£500,000 - £999,999	0.30%
£1,000,000 or more	0.15%

Overseas movement charge

Only applied to non-CDI trades.
Applied to all movements in and out of overseas custody including purchases and sales for non-CDI international shares.

Overseas custody charge

Only applied to non-CDI trades.
Charged annually at the end of the six-month charging period alongside your platform charge. Any part months are charged proportionately.

Useful information

You might also have to pay additional charges to third parties, exchange charges, and financial trading taxes.
Online CDI purchases are subject to a maximum value of £50,000; all purchases over this value must be placed over the phone and therefore subject to those charges.

Example of online CDI charges in practice

Trade value	Online trading charge	International charge	Total charges
£1,000	£10	£10	£20
£25,000	£10	£187.50	£197.50
£50,000 (max)	£10	£250	£260

Example of phone CDI charges in practice

Trade value	Phone trading charge	International charge	Total charges
£1,000	£25	£10	£35
£25,000	£100	£187.50	£287.50
£50,000	£100	£250	£350
£100,000	£100	£500	£600

Example of phone non-CDI (Europe/Canada/US) charges in practice

Full year example

Trade value	Phone trading charge	Foreign exchange charge	Movement charge	Custody fee	Total charges
£2,000	£50	£20	£20	£30	£120
£25,000	£250	£187.50	£20	£30	£488
£50,000	£500	£250	£20	£30	£800
£100,000	£500	£500	£20	£30	£1,050

Transaction charges - SIPP

The SIPP charges outlined below will be charged by EBS Pensions Limited, who are the operator and administrator of the Charles Stanley Direct SIPP.

Transaction charges	Cost
Set up of your SIPP account	Free
Annual administration charge	£100 + VAT or Free if you hold over £30,000 across your accounts
Transfer in from another pension provider	Free
Refund of excess contributions	£75 + VAT
Small lump sums (including payroll)	£150 + VAT
Transfer out to a UK registered pension scheme	£125 + VAT + Cost of stock withdrawal
Transfer out to an overseas registered pension scheme	£250 + VAT + Cost of stock withdrawal – £10 per holding
Annuity purchase	£150 + VAT Free if purchased through Charles Stanley
Pensions sharing on divorce	Time cost only
Arranging death benefits	Time cost only

SIPP drawdown charge	Cost
Each benefit crystallisation event	£150 + VAT
Capped drawdown review	£100 + VAT
Annual payroll fee	£50 + VAT
Alter regular payment amount or frequency	£10 + VAT
Irregular income payment	£25 + VAT
Charge for full fund withdrawal within two years of opening a SIPP account. Please note, if you are transferring out to another provider, this charge does not apply.	£200 + VAT

Useful information

Where applied, VAT is charged at the standard UK rate.
Time cost is charged £200 + VAT per hour.
Payroll: The charge for arranging regular payments.
Excess contributions: Contributions made in excess of your annual allowance.
Small Lump Sums: payable only if you are over 55, your SIPP is worth less than £10,000 and you haven’t taken more than two Small Lump Sums already.
Annuity purchase: Converting your savings to an annuity, giving you a guaranteed income for life.
Drawdown: Withdrawing money from your SIPP.
Crystallisation events: A withdrawal from your SIPP under which you receive a tax-free lump sum.
Capped drawdown: No longer available to new clients, this arrangement caps the amount you can withdraw from your SIPP.

Transaction charges - Miscellaneous

Transaction charges	Cost
Transferring any investments out of your account	£10 per holding
BACS payment	Free
CHAPS payment	£25
Cheque payment	£10
Returned cheques	£50
One-off valuation or statement	£5 + VAT
Posted annual reports	£10 per company
Transferring in a share certificate	£50 per holding
CREST personal membership (subject to agreement)	£420 + VAT per annum Any part months are charged proportionately.

Useful information

BACs payments take two to three working days.
CHAPs payments are same-day payments.

Cash held in your account(s)

We do not charge a platform fee on cash held within your investment accounts.

Cash deposit interest rates for cash held in your account(s)

Find out details on our interest rates and how we manage your cash.

Cash saving accounts

Charles Stanley Direct's Cash Savings platform provides clients with access to some of the best interest rates available through a secure cash savings platform, powered by Bondsmith, to allow you to deposit funds into a holding account in your own name.

Bondsmith retains 0.1% of the interest you receive as a charge for providing the service. This is already reflected in the rates of interest advertised on the platform and you receive the full amount as quoted.

Charles Stanley does not receive any compensation from Bondsmith for providing this access to you.

Coaching and support services

Charles Stanley Direct offers complimentary services that you might be interested in; you will find an overview of the charges for these services below.

Financial coaching

Do you have a tricky financial question to solve, or would you simply value our support to help you understand the options available to you?

Free: 15 minutes.
£150 (incl. VAT) per 1 hour session on the topic of your choice.

Financial plans

Whatever you want to achieve in life, there are common aspects of our finances that we all should check are in order. For a fixed fee, a Charles Stanley Direct Financial Plan will help you understand your current situation and give you a clear action plan tailored to meet your needs.

£900 (incl. VAT) per plan.

Investment review

Make sure your investments are working for you. Get a better insight into how you are managing your investments with our Investment Review service.

£300 + VAT.

Loyalty Programme

Client examples

How our charges work in practice

To help you understand our charges, we have created some examples. The costs we have outlined are the costs for the Charles Stanley Direct services only. They do not include underlying investment provider charges, stamp duty, or other Government levies that you could be charged depending on the investments you choose.

New investor Sophie

Sophie has an ISA worth £1,400.
She invests monthly using the monthly investment service into the Charles Stanley Multi-Asset Growth Fund.
This is her only holding.

Our automated monthly investing service into funds are free of charge and in any case we don't levy platform or trading fees when you invest in our range of Charles Stanley Multi-Asset Funds*.

*This only includes the four Multi-Asset Funds, and excludes both the Monthly High Income and Equity Funds.

Fund and share trader Mohammed

Mohammed has an ISA worth £24,000.

He currently holds investments in both shares and funds.

Over the past year, he has placed ten investments into his chosen funds using the automated monthly investing service; in addition, he has also placed five additional online trades in funds.

He has not placed any trades in shares.

Automated monthly investments into funds are free of charge and he has been able to use his £50 trading credit (provided in October and April of each year) to cover the costs of the additional fund trades. He has been charged a platform fee on the value of his holdings.

Regular monthly investor Elizabeth

Elizabeth has a SIPP, ISA and Junior ISA, collectively worth £38,000.

She invests solely into funds through the automated monthly investing service.

Automated monthly investments into funds are free of charge. She has been charged a platform fee on the value of her holdings. Her SIPP is worth £13,000 but, because she holds at least £30,000 across all her accounts, she does not pay the SIPP wrapper fee of £100 + VAT.

Active fund investor Richard

Richard has an ISA and Investment account, collectively worth £1.56m.

He invests solely into funds and has traded online 17 times over the past year. All his trades were placed within one six-month period, from April to the end of September.

Richard has been charged a platform fee on his holdings, which is capped at £50 a month for both his accounts. He received two £50 trading credits, in April and October. Because he placed all 17 trades in one six-month period, his trading charges were offset by only one of his two trading credits.

Active share trader Sofia

Sofia has an Investment account worth £105,000.

She invests solely into shares.

Over the past year, she has placed 59 online trades.

Sofia has been charged a platform fee on her holdings. She received two £50 trading credits, in April and October. Because she trades regularly throughout the year, her trading charges were offset by both of her trading credits.

Buy and hold investor John

John has an ISA worth £501,000.

He currently holds investments in both shares and funds.

He has not traded over the past year.

John has been charged a platform fee on his holdings, which is capped at £50 a month.

Infrequent share trader Wei

Wei has an ISA worth £5,000.

He invests solely into shares.

Over the past year, he has placed 6 online trades, all within one six-month period, from October to the end of March.

Wei has been charged the minimum platform fee of £5 a month on his holdings. He received two £50 trading credits, in April and October. Because he placed all six trades in one six-month period, his trading charges were offset by only one of his two trading credits.

International share trader Jasmin

Jasmin has an Investment account worth £46,000.

She holds only international shares, which she trades through the website.

She has traded at regular intervals seven times over the past year.

Each of her trades were worth less than £10,000. The collective value of her trades was £29,000.

Jasmin has been charged a platform fee on her holdings. Her trading charges were covered in full by the two £50 trading credits, provided in April and October. She also paid an International Charge while trading, which is 1% on trades valued up to £10,000.

Need help understanding the changes?

We are here to help you understand these updates and how they affect your account.

Illustration of charges

This document provides you with costs and charges information regarding our charges and, where relevant, the costs within an investment product. It is not marketing material. The information is required by regulation and you are advised to read it so you can make an informed decision about whether to invest.

Contact our Digital Client Services team

If you need any further clarification, would like to provide feedback, or have any other comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the team.

Email:info@cs-d.co.uk
Call: 0131 550 1234
Available Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm