My Isa has £24,000 in shares, trusts and ETFs. What is the cheapest investment platform?

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I have £24,000 in my shares and Isa invested shares in a mix of shares, investment trusts and a global ETF.

I regularly invest monthly in the Global ETF and add to my other holdings as needed, usually trading about twice a month, but sometimes more frequently.

I don’t have any investment funds, just these publicly traded investments. What would be the cheapest investment platform for me in terms of the cost of holding investments and buying and selling?

Helen Kirrane from This is Money responds: The rise of online brokers and DIY investing has brought about a revolution in buying shares, investment trusts and funds.

Investors can now make huge savings compared to the old days when they used their stockbroker, financial advisor or went directly to a fund manager.

Online investment accounts – and now app-based investment services – have reduced the cost of buying and holding stocks, funds and trusts, with some even now offering commission-free trading and fee-free basic accounts.

We asked experts about the best platform options to keep your investment fees low.

Hollie McKay, founder and CEO of comparison site Boring Money, responds: If your main objective is price then these three options would be the most economical:

• Trade 212*which would be free for the investments you described
• Free trade*which would cost around £60 a year (a little more if you pay monthly)
• CMC invest which would cost £120 a year

We have assumed 30 ad hoc stock transactions over the year when assessing costs.

These three options will back stocks, investment trusts and ETFs. Trading 212 also won our 2024 Best Buy awards and is a very good all-rounder in my opinion.

But all three are decent low-cost options, with good apps, for those who like trading and are on the safer end of the investor spectrum.

If you’ve been tempted by an established, more mainstream brand, then trading rates will be what you need to consider. Generally, most platforms charge much less for regular investments, so if you could do less ad hoc trading and add more regular trading, your costs would typically be lower.

How Investment Platforms Compare for Stock Trading

Helen Kirrane from This is Money responds: There can be a substantial difference in the costs of trading stocks and also the cost of holding investments on different platforms.

We calculate the numbers based on you trading on an ad hoc basis, when you want, and not as regular monthly investments, which are often much cheaper.

If you had to keep your investments with Hargreaves Lansdown*There is an annual account charge capped at £45 per year for holding shares, trusts and ETFs.

But while funds trading is free, share trading charges are £11.95 per transaction for shares, investment trusts and ETFs.

Given that you trade approximately twice a month, you would pay £286.80 over the course of a year if you did these as ad hoc trades. Add the £45 annual charge and your total costs at Hargreaves Lansdown would be £331.80 per year.

Interactive investor*charges £4.99 per month for holdings under £50,000, which equates to £59.88 per year. Trading fees for shares, investment trusts and ETFs are £3.99. Assuming you are trading twice a month over the course of the year, this would cost £95.76 in trading fees to give a total annual cost of £155.64.

Trade 212*This is likely the cheapest option for you, as there are no account fees for the investments you own and no fees for buying or selling stocks. It’s free to add money via bank transfer, but above £2,000 cumulatively, deposits via cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and others are charged 0.7 per cent.

Free trade*There are also no share trading fees, but there is a fee of £5.99 per month for the Standard account with an Isa, totaling £71.88 per year. This reduces to £59.88 if you pay annually.

Web There are no account fees, but there is a one-off account opening fee of £100. However, this will not apply until June 30 of this year. Standard trading of shares, trusts and ETFs costs £5 per trade. Therefore, iWeb would cost £120 a year for two trades a month if you sign up before June 30.