Best Trading Platform For Buying FTSE 100 Shares
Looking for a share trading app to trade the FTSE-100 that ticks all your boxes?
UK Share Trading Apps 2023
| Trading Platforms: | Features:* | Go To Site: |
 | DEGIRO are one of largest and cheapest brokers in Europe. Access to over 50 markets in 30 countries. Low commissions/fees. User-friendly, simple platform. Investing involves risk of loss. | See Deal » |
 | AJ Bell offers overseas trading in 24 international markets. Capital at risk. | See Deal » |
 | Interactive Investor are the UK's #1 flat fee platform. Over 350,000 customers. Capital at risk. | See Deal » |
 | SAXO Access over 30,000+ stocks across 60+ exchanges worldwide. Ultra competitive pricing. Benefit from extensive charting with 50+ technical indicators, integrated Trade Signals and innovative risk management tools. Investing involves risk of loss. | See Deal » |
 | Hargreaves Lansdown The UK's #1 broker. Price improvement service helps you get the best price for your shares. Capital at risk. | See Deal » |
 | IG Trade & invest with the world's leading online trading provider.** Trade over 17,000 markets with spread bets and CFDs and invest in thousands of global shares & ETFs. Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Capital at risk. | See Deal » |
*Please note that additional fees may be applied by platform/App providers for their services.
** No 1 For CFDs and spread betting, based on revenue excluding FX (published financial statements, October 2021).
Looking to buy FTSE 100 shares… then a trading platform is a great way to do this.
What the right platform is for you will depend on your requirements.
- Why use a trading platform to buy FTSE 100 shares?
- How do you pick a trading platform?
- How do you buy FTSE 100 shares using a platform?
How do you buy FTSE 100 shares using a trading platform
Our view: The next generation of online trading platform means you can get setup & buy UK shares in as little as 5 minutes!
- Select a share platform
- Open your share account – To do this you will need your bank details and national insurance number
- Fund your account – You will need to fund your a/c with a debit or credit card or bank transfer
- Search for the share using the FTSE 100 stock code – Type in the stock code into the search box
- Check out the latest info and price for the selected share – Some platforms offer free research and analysis
- Buy the share – Nice and easy!
Why use a trading platform to buy FTSE 100 shares?
You don’t have to buy and sell FTSE 100 shares using a share platform to manage your investments.
You could go down the old school route using a stockbroker directly to buy and sell investments.
This can involve lots of paperwork and waiting for the postman to send you paper statements which for some people may be perfectly adequate.
Your preference may be to deal with a real person to make things happen – whilst this can work it can be slow and cumbersome and potentially more expensive.
The good news is that with advances in technology, investors now have significant choice when buying UK and international shares.
Benefits of using a trading platform include:
- Lower trading costs
- Easy access to the UK and international stockmarkets
- 24/7 access to your investments
- You can hold all your tax efficient investments such as ISAs and SIPPs in one place: including lifetime ISAs, right to buy ISAs and junior ISAs
- Plus any other fund holdings or shares that you’re trading outside of a tax-free environment, from a general trading account
How do you pick a trading platform?
Trading platform services offered vary widely, and so do the costs.
5 things to consider:
1. Do you just want to trade FTSE 100 shares?
Not all investment platforms allow you to trade shares on all markets.
If your focus is on UK shares then there is an extensive choice of options.
If you want to invest further afield then you need to ensure the platform you choose is right for you.
2. Do you want to do a lot of trading?
Active investors will want to look for a platform that offers the lowest fees for volume trades.
If you are going to trade UK shares regularly most trading platforms will offer lower trading prices based on volume.
Some platforms such as eToro do not charge when you trade, but there may be fees incurred if you do not trade within a 12 month period.
3. What types of trading account are offered?
Some trading platforms offer as well as general trading accounts, ISA accounts and Self Invested Personal Pension Accounts which offer tax free trading benefits (no tax on dividends or capital gains tax on realised profit).
Trader accounts which offer ISA and SIPP accounts include IG, Interactive Investor, AJ Bell, and Hargreaves Lansdown
4. Trading just UK shares, or funds as well?
If you also interested in investing or trading in funds then this again may determine who you go with.
If you are interested in ETFs, Investment Trusts, Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs) or Unit Trusts then you will need to check with the platform provider what is available. E.g. Some platforms only offer a limited number of collectives such as OEICs.
Charging structured for funds held on the platform will vary. Over time the impact of such charges can be significant. Check the platform charging structure carefully.
5. How easy is this trading platform to use & what kind of features does it offer?
How easy is the platform to use to buy and sell UK shares?
Platform functionality is becoming the key battleground in persuading traders which platform to select.
Mobile app features are also key in offering traders alerts and buy/sell signals whilst on the move.
These are often the criteria that count most highly with users, so do some research and read the reviews.
Many investors are prepared to pay a bit more in fees for a platform that offers really useful apps and services.
Some platforms such as eToro offer customers the option of copying trades of successful traders. This can be an attractive option for new traders where you don’t have to decide when to buy or sell. For more info on what is copy trading and how does it work click here.
Other Trading Platforms To Consider:
You can also review what other platforms have to offer below to traders.
Buy & Sell FTSE 100 Shares
Capital is at risk.
- Buy & sell FTSE 100 shares from £5.95
- No charge if you trade only shares
- No 1 investment platform in UK for private investors
IMPORTANT:
No news, feature article or comment should be seen as a personal recommendation to invest. Prior to making any decision to invest, you should ensure that you are familiar with the risks associated with a particular plan. If you are at all unsure of the suitability of a particular product, both in respect of its objectives and its risk profile, you should seek independent financial advice.
The value of shares, ETFs and ETCs bought through a share dealing account, a stocks and shares ISA or a SIPP can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 67%-70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Professional clients can lose more than they deposit. All trading involves risk.
Tax treatment of ISAs depends on your individual circumstances and is based on current law which may be subject to change in the future. ISA transfer charges may apply, please check with your provider.
Tags