Talk to any Yorkshireman or woman and they will be immensely proud of their birthright.
But not everyone will be aware of the number of brilliant companies in their county, or on Teesside and Tyneside, let alone invest in any of them.
As any proud Yorkshireman like Compo on the Last Of The Summer Wine TV show might say, “Where there’s dirt, there’s brass,” and the region is ripe with business opportunities.
Northern Powers: Yorkshire and North East investment trust to seek profits in Last of the Summer wine region
Northern stars include Hull-based sausage maker Cranswick, Tyneside-based baker Greggs and software giant Sage.
To encourage locals to back their local businesses, a city financier is setting up a fund aimed at private investors that focuses exclusively on companies based in Yorkshire and the North East.
Simon Hooper, former chief operating officer of Hosking Partners, is from the Midlands but his wife is from the Beverley area near Hull.
Hooper, 44, says spending time there with her made him realize it’s “the most wonderful county.”
It is raising £20m to set up the Yorkshire and North East Investment Trust, which is likely to open to investors in the next 12 months and later join the London Stock Exchange.
“It’s all very well to own Google or Amazon stock, but they’re too far away from you,” Hooper said. “Apart from having an iPhone in your pocket, you can’t relate to them. When they’re close, you can. People will feel proud to own shares of local companies.”
The trust will work like any other. It will start with a pool of money that will be used to invest in a number of companies. Private investors, as well as large institutions such as pension funds, will be able to buy shares in the trust.
This gives them a small stake in local companies, but spreads the risk so they don’t have to invest a lot of money in a particular stock, which could end badly if that company’s share price plummets.
As well as shares, the trust can also buy bonds from local lenders such as Skipton Building Society.
Hooper says he acted after seeing two scandals in which ordinary people lost out. He worries that many have been put off from entering the stock market for good.
The first event was the collapse in 2019 of the £3.7bn Woodford Equity Income Fund, run by leading stockpicker Neil Woodford. Some 300,000 people lost money when the fund was frozen and millions of pounds are still owed in compensation.
The second was the rise and fall of a Yorkshire company, Sirius Minerals, which was acquired by Anglo American in early 2020 when it was on the brink of collapse. Sirius began developing a huge potash mine beneath the North York Moors national park and at its peak had more than 80,000 retail investors, many of them local.
Some lost their life savings when the company’s share price plummeted and Anglo bought it at a bargain price.
Hooper said: “There are some brilliant companies in Yorkshire and the North East. We have the ability to help them grow.”
He said having a strong private shareholder base can make companies less vulnerable to foreign takeovers, which have become common, adding: “It hurts when another London-listed company gets acquired, and part of our mission is to try to avoid that as much as possible.”
Compare the best DIY investment platforms and stocks and shares ISAs
Investing online is easy, cheap and you can do it from your computer, tablet or phone at a time and place that suits you best.
When it comes to choosing a DIY investment platform, stocks and shares ISA or general investment account, the variety of options can seem overwhelming.
Each provider has a slightly different offering, charging more or less to trade or hold shares and providing access to a different range of shares, funds and investment trusts.
When evaluating which one is right for you, it’s important to consider the service they offer, along with administrative charges and trading fees, plus any other additional costs.
To help you compare the best investment accounts, we’ve analyzed the facts and put together a comprehensive guide to choosing the best and most affordable investment account for you.
We’ve highlighted the main players in the table below, but we encourage you to do your own research and consider the points in our comprehensive guide linked here.
>> This is Money’s complete guide to the best investment platforms and ISAs
The platforms below are independently selected by This is Money’s specialist journalists. If you open an account using links marked with an asterisk, This is Money will earn an affiliate commission. We do not allow this to affect our editorial independence.
| Administrative position | Charge notes | Operations with funds | Standard Shares, Trusts and ETF Trading | Regular investment | Reinvestment of dividends | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Bell* | 0.25% | Maximum £3.50 per month for shares, trusts and ETFs. | £1.50 | £5 | £1.50 | £1.50 per offer | More details |
| Best investment* | 0.40% (0.2% for already prepared portfolios) | Account fee is reduced to 0.2% for investments already made | Free | £4.95 | Free for backgrounds | Free for income funds | More details |
| Charles Stanley live* | 0.35% | No platform fee applies to shares if a trade is made in that month and the annual maximum is £240 | Free | £11.50 | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Fidelity* | 0.35% on funds | £7.50 per month up to £25,000 or 0.35% with a regular savings plan. | Free | £7.50 | Free Funds £1.50 Shares, Trusts ETFs | £1.50 | More details |
| Hargreaves Lansdown* | 0.45% | With a limit of £45 for shares, trusts and ETFs | Free | £11.95 | £1.50 | 1% (£1 minimum, £10 maximum) | More details |
| Interactive Investor* | £4.99 a month below £50,000, £11.99 above, extra £10 for Sipp | Free trading worth £3.99 per month (does not apply to £4.99 plan) | £3.99 | £3.99 | Free | 0.99 £ | More details |
| iWeb | One-off fee of £100 (waived until December 2024) | £5 | £5 | n/a | 2%, maximum £5 | More details | |
| Accounts that have some limits but attractive offers | |||||||
| Etoro* Without investment funds or Sipp | Free | The investment account offers shares and ETFs. Beware of high-risk CFDs. | Not available | Free | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Trade 212* | Free | The investment account offers shares and ETFs. Beware of high-risk CFDs. | Not available | Free | n/a | Free | More details |
| Free trade* Without investment funds | Basic account free, Standard with Isa £4.99, Plus £9.99 | Freetrade Plus with more investments and Sipp costs £9.99/month including ISA fee | Without funds | Free | n/a | n/a | More details |
| Vanguard Only Vanguard’s own products | 0.15% | Vanguard Funds Only | Free | Only free Vanguard ETFs | Free | n/a | More details |
| (Source: ThisisMoney.co.uk July 2024. The administrative % fee may be charged monthly or quarterly. | |||||||