Investing - Share Dealing - Placing a Deal
With The Motley Fool Share Dealing Account you can to invest in seven of the world’s largest international markets - London Stock Exchange, New York (NYSE, NASDAQ & AMEX), Frankfurt (Xetra), Milan (MTA), Euronext (Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels) - all through a single £ sterling denominated account.
Please note that currently for our other account types you are only able to invest in the UK market.
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The normal opening hours of the stock markets are:
During the change between Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time our opening hours may not match those of international markets.
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We charge a flat rate of £10 per deal for UK stocks and £17.50 per deal for international stocks. You can buy shares into The Motley Fool ShareBuilder, The Motley Fool Self-Select ISA or The Motley Fool Share Dealing SIPP by creating a regular investment plan. We charge £1.50 per planned purchase into The Motley Fool ShareBuilder and £5 per planned purchase into The Motley Fool Self-Select ISA and The Motley Fool Share Dealing SIPP if you use this facility. Please see the 'Regular Investment Plan' section for more details.
For a detailed list of our dealing and administration charges, please visit our charges information page.
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For UK and US markets there is no minimum or maximum consideration size, but you must have sufficient cleared funds to place any purchase orders. In certain market conditions, UK market makers may not be prepared to accept trades in larger sizes. On all of the European markets, there is no minimum but there is a maximum consideration size of 10,000 Euros.
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To buy shares you will need to sign in and select 'Dealing' from the left hand menu followed by 'Deal Now' from the sub menu. If you have more than one account and you want to change the account you would like to deal on, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed >>' drop down list and click 'Go'. Select the buy radio button. Enter the company name or company code of the security you wish to purchase in the appropriate fields and click the corresponding button.
If more than one security matches your search a list will be displayed for you to select the security you wish to buy. The latest indicative price for the security will be displayed and you will need to enter the amount for the trade. Depending on the security and the market on which it is traded, you will be given the option to deal real-time or place an order. You could also decide to set a TradePlan where applicable (please see the 'TradePlan' section for more information). On completion of the process you will be given a reference number, which you will need, should you wish to contact us.
You can also buy shares into The Motley Fool ShareBuilder, The Motley Fool Self-Select ISA or The Motley Fool Share Dealing SIPP by creating an investment plan. Please see the 'Regular Investment Plan' section for more details.
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To sell shares you will need to sign in and select 'Dealing' from the left hand menu followed by 'Deal Now' from the sub menu. If you have more than one account and you want to change the account you would like to deal on, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed >>' drop down list and click 'Go'. Click the sell radio button. You will be presented with a list of securities currently held in your selected account. Select the security you would like to sell.
The latest indicative price for the security will be displayed and you will need to enter the amount for the trade. Depending on the security and the market on which it is traded, you will be given the option to deal real-time or place an order. You could also decide to set a TradePlan where applicable (please see the 'TradePlan' section for more information). On completion of the process you will be given a reference number, which you will need, should you wish to contact us.
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You can re-invest any sale proceeds as soon as the order has been executed and the funds have been released into your account. You can also sell shares as soon as the purchase is executed. However, sale proceeds cannot be withdrawn from your account until after settlement date. Please see the 'Fund and Withdraw' section to find out how to withdraw your proceeds.
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You will be notified by email when a trade has executed however, for security purposes the email will not contain any specific details. To view the contract note for a trade you will need to sign in and select 'Dealing' from the left hand menu followed by 'Dealing History' from the sub menu. If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed >>' drop down list and click 'Go'. A chronological list of the current month's deals will be displayed. Click on the reference hyperlink for the relevant trade to display the contact note. To view older trades, change the search period parameters and click on 'Submit'.
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You can deal real-time on CREST eligible UK investments during London Stock Exchange (LSE) market hours. A real-time price will be quoted and you will have 15 seconds to accept or decline the price. If the trade cannot be executed automatically for any reason it will be sent to our dealing team as a 'Negotiated Trade' order. If the market is closed, you can leave a 'Pending Execution' order which will be dealt at the best price available when the market re-opens. Please note that all orders are dealt in fair and due turn.
For CREST eligible UK investments you can also place a TradePlan order. TradePlan orders include 'Limit Orders', 'Stop Loss Orders', 'Target Setting', 'Range Trading' and 'Price Locking'. Please see the 'TradePlan' section for a detailed explanation of each tool.
For all international securities you will need to place an order which we will deal at the best price available. When we trade investments on a Recognised Investment Exchange we will execute the trade in the underlying market currency. This will be converted to sterling based on a wholesale exchange rate determined by us at the time of execution. We will not confirm the exact exchange rate prior to execution, but we will give you an indicative rate. You can place a limit order to protect yourself from variances in price.
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For CREST eligible UK investments, limits and stop losses have been incorporated into the TradePlan service offered by The Motley Fool Share Dealing Service. The service also includes 'Target Setting', 'Range Trading' and 'Price Locking'. Please see the 'TradePlan' section for a detailed explanation of each tool.
It costs £2 to set up a TradePlan on The Motley Fool Share Dealing Account and The Motley Fool ShareBuilder, but for all trades executed on that TradePlan we will reduce the dealing commission on that trade by £2. If you amend a TradePlan before it expires then another £2 charge will be made.
There is no charge to set up a TradePlan on The Motley Fool Self-Select ISA or The Motley Fool Share Dealing SIPP so there is no reduction in the commission on the trades executed.
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If you have placed a real-time deal then a bargain reference will be quoted and you will be able to view the contract note for the trade immediately. If you have placed an order then a transaction reference will be quoted when your order is placed. To review any open orders, you will need to sign in and select 'Dealing' from the left hand menu followed by 'Order Management' from the sub menu. Orders will be separated into 'International Markets', 'UK Markets' and 'Funds'.
To review any open TradePlan orders, you will need to sign in and select 'TradePlan' from the left hand menu followed by 'Current TradePlans' from the sub menu. All historical TradePlan orders will be displayed on the 'TradePlan History' screen.
All executed orders will be shown on the 'Trading History' screen.
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If you have placed a real-time deal or an order to trade in funds you will be unable to cancel or amend this transaction.
If you have placed an order for an international security you are able to cancel any unexecuted portion of the order. To do this you will need to sign in and select 'Dealing' from the left hand menu followed by 'Order Management' from the sub menu. If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed >>' drop down list and click 'Go'. Locate the order you want to cancel and click on the 'cross' icon at the end of the corresponding row.
If you place a 'Pending Execution' or 'Negotiated Trade' order and wish to cancel this order, we will endeavour to do this if you telephone us immediately. Please note this is not possible in the majority of cases.
To cancel or amend a TradePlan order, you will need to sign in and select 'TradePlan' from the left hand menu followed by 'Current TradePlans'. If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed >>' drop down list and click 'Go'. Locate the TradePlan you want to cancel or amend and click on the appropriate icon at the end of the corresponding row.
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A 'Pending Execution' order is where an instruction has been received but has not yet been dealt, for example an order placed outside normal market hours.
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We use an automated trading service (ATS) to execute our real-time online deals. Restrictions imposed by the ATS may mean that certain stocks or order sizes can not be traded automatically. If this is the case then you will be given the option to place a 'Negotiated Trade' order. The order will be forwarded electronically and securely to our dealing team. They will manually execute your order as soon as practically possible and at the best price available in the market at the time of dealing. The commission charge will be standard commission for this type of deal.
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Unsettled bargains can be:
- A nominee purchase, which has not yet reached the settlement date.
- A nominee purchase where the payment has not been received.
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The executed price is the price paid, in pence, per share excluding all dealing charges.
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When you buy investments, you have to pay a form of tax called Stamp Duty or Stamp Duty Reserve Tax. This is 0.5% of the value of the investments you buy (1% on Irish stocks and 0% on Exchange Traded Funds). Please see the Exchange Traded Funds' section for more information about Exchange Traded Funds.
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The PTM Levy is a flat rate charge of £1.00 paid on all LSE trades over £10,000 in UK registered companies, collected by the Panel of Take-overs and Mergers, (PTM), who oversee all take-overs and mergers within the UK.
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When issued stocks are subject to London Stock Exchange Rule 7050 and subsequently trades are being taken on a When Issued Basis. This means that the issued stock has not yet qualified for a full listing on the London Stock Exchange. If the stock is not admitted or fails to qualify for the official list, every transaction effected under this rule is void.
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This term is used to describe the average size of trades in that particular stock. The Normal Market Size is fixed by the London Stock Exchange based on transaction volumes and sizes over a certain period of time, and is subject to review.
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The Motley Fool Share Dealing Service only offers a nominee account. This means you will need to transfer your UK paper share certificates into a share dealing account before you can sell your shares. Please see the 'Transferring Investments' section for more details.
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If you have more than one type of account, you will be asked to set a default account. This account will be automatically selected for you when you enter the The Motley Fool Share Dealing Service, giving you quicker access to your preferred account. To change this account sign in and select 'Account Settings' from the left hand menu followed by 'Default Account'.
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Risk Warning
The value of your investments and the income from them can go down as well as up. You may not get back the full amount you have invested. If you're in any doubt about the suitability of an ISA, or whether to buy or sell shares, you should consult an appropriate Financial Adviser.
The Motley Fool Share Dealing Service is provided by Halifax Share Dealing Limited which is part of the HBOS Group. Registered in England No.3195646. Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 2RG. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, a Member of the London Stock Exchange and an HM Revenue and Customs approved PEP and ISA Manager.
The Motley Fool Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Halifax Share Dealing Limited.
