Trading charges - International shares
£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.
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) |
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 |