One very important element to the service provided by online stockbrokers is the ability to manage your
share portfolio online. Obviously, you will need to be able to see a list of the shares you have bought, how many shares in each company you have, and how much each share is worth.
An extra service provided by some brokers is the
‘watchlist’. A watchlist is simply a list of shares that you are following – but have not yet bought. Once you think that one of those shares has become worth buying then you can then take action.
An added feature of some portfolios and watchlists are
share price alerts. If you have a share in your portfolio and you want to sell it when it has made you a certain level of profit then you can set an alert on your portfolio.
If the share price hits that level you will receive an email or text message to your mobile phone to remind you to go straight to your trading account and sell your shares. The same is true if you are waiting for a share price to fall to a certain point before either buying in or getting out. You can see how useful share price alerts can be – especially if you do not have time to monitor your shares as often as you would like.
When comparing online stockbrokers another important factor is whether they allow you to set up a
Self-Select ISA trading account. A Self-Select ISA is a ‘wrapper’ that goes around your trading account and allows up to £7,000 of qualifying investments to be placed within it and to remain tax-free. If you have not yet already used up your yearly ISA allowance, a self-Select ISA could help ensure that any gains you make remain free of Capital Gains Tax.
See our Self-Select ISA best buy recommendations
