Sharedealing – all you need to know
Buy and sell shares using our InvestDirect service. Keep ahead with our research tools and explore the markets.
Frequently asked questions
- Why should I apply for InvestDirect?
- How much does it cost?
- Can I transfer my existing shares to InvestDirect?
- How long does it take to set-up an account?
- Is the price quoted fixed when placing a deal?
- How will my stocks and shares be held?
Why should I apply for HSBC InvestDirect?
We offer two online sharedealing services to cater for most investment needs.
InvestDirect and InvestDirect Plus are execution only sharedealing services where you can deal online or by telephone in a range of UK investments, including shares and gilts. InvestDirect Plus offers further benefits over and above those provided by HSBC InvestDirect - including dealing in US shares and the option of a Trading Reserve facility. This is an overdraft facility secured against the eligible investments in your account (other than those in your ISA). With our Trading Reserve facility you're not limited to just buying investments. You can use it for any purpose you wish. We expect you to deposit at least £10,000 of eligible shares into your Investment Account, and suggest that you deposit these with us before submitting your Trading Reserve application. The Trading Reserve is subject to a variable credit limit of up to 50% of the value of eligible shares held in your Investment Account.
Both InvestDirect and InvestDirect Plus offer a host of comprehensive research tools, which will help you to stay up to date with market news, information and consensus opinions on most UK listed companies.
We offer a Stocks and Shares ISA, which has no initial charge or annual management fee, unlike many of our competitors. You can invest up to £10,200 in the 2010/2011 tax year. Our Stock and Shares ISA is self select so you decide which shares to buy and sell and any growth is free of capital gains tax liability.
It costs you nothing to register and you can keep all your investments in one place.
The value of shares and the income from them can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed - you may not get back the amount you originally invested. This may also happen as a result of changes in the rate of exchange where overseas securities are held. Stocks and shares should be considered as a medium to long term investment, ie at least 5 years.
How much does it cost?
You can trade online in both services for a flat fee of £12.95 (£12.95 inside an ISA) or with InvestDirect Plus take advantage of our competitive Frequent Trader Tariff of just £7.95. See full details of our rates and fees (PDF).
InvestDirect is very competitively priced. We do not charge you for opening, closing or transferring shares to your account, nor do we charge any inactivity or management fees. However, there is a charge for transferring stock out of your account, either to another broker or directly to you in certificate form. Please refer to our rates and fees for further information.
Can I transfer my existing shares to HSBC InvestDirect?
Yes – whether you have share certificates at home or held with another broker, transferring to us is straightforward. Just print off the forms from our website and send them to us. You can also speak to our Customer Service Team who'll be happy to assist.
How long does it take to set up an account?
Applying online is easy and your account will be set up within three working days. You can also apply by telephone and speak to our Customer Services team, who will take your details and send documentation for you to read and sign.
To apply for HSBC InvestDirect you must be 18 years or over and a UK resident with an HSBC current account.
Is the price quoted fixed when placing a deal?
A "fixed price quote" is available on most UK shares, but only when the market is open. A "fixed price quote" may not be available an all orders, particularly large share quantity orders. If you wish to buy or sell a large quantity of shares you should not split your order into a number of smaller orders which may then be executed with a "fixed price quote". This practice is in breach of stock market conduct and may result in your executed orders being cancelled
If we are unable to offer a "fixed price quote", the quote will be labelled "@ best' with a message "The price at which your order is executed may differ from the indication price". The price you will receive for this will be based on the market price available at the time of the deal and may differ from the "@ best" price shown.
The "fixed price quote" system automatically compares share prices from a number of market makers to ensure that the "fixed price quote" offered to you is the best price available from any of these market makers for your order size at the time you are trading your shares. The price will be shown with the label "fixed price quote" together with a countdown giving you 15 seconds to confirm the order.
Fixed price quotes are not guaranteed. This is because the prices are sourced from third party market makers who may withdraw the price (for example, if there has been market volatility in the 15 second countdown). However, in most cases you will receive the price you accepted. If your "fixed price quote" is withdrawn, we will contact you as soon as possible.
How will my stocks and shares be held?
We will open an Investment Account for you in which your stocks and shares will be held electronically. These will be registered in the name of our nominee company. You remain the beneficial owner of the shares.
Nominee accounts make sharedealing easy because the responsibility for looking after all the administration associated with your investments falls upon us. This means we will ensure that your dividends are collected and dealt with according to your instructions.
As you will not be registered with the company's Registrar, you will not receive any correspondence or shareholder benefits from the company in which you hold shares, such as voting rights. However, we will inform you of any corporate actions where we receive due notification from the company. Instructions for which can be given online, by letter or by telephone. For further information regarding our nominee accounts please refer to the HSBC InvestDirect and HSBC InvestDirect Plus Terms and Conditions.
† Lines open 7.30am to 9.30pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm Saturdays. To help us continually improve our service, and in the interests of security, we may monitor and/or record your telephone calls with us.
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