There has been a lot of coverage in the weekend press
and on the BBC Radio 4 Moneybox programme about Selftrade's
intrusive questionnaire sent to clients. Any clues or views?

skinny, I looked at the 'up to £1000' transfer offer by HL
and note that it is based on the total sum being transferred
and not per stock. Would not help someone transferring, say,
30 stocks with reasonable or modest values, as most brokers
impose exit charges per stock transferred.

HL Offer

midknight - I mentioned it in the context of the thread - obviously individuals must evaluate 'offers' in light of their own circumstances.

I'm not sure what other provider's charge on Probate valuation, so I don't know how (un)competitive the HL charge of £30 +VAT per stock (min £100 +VAT, max £500 +VAT) is.

Seems the reason for the demise of Selftrade, according to the FT, is that the parent company, Boursorama, is pulling out of the UK.

International Investor article on ST

Interesting article midknight.
(One of the questions on the form they supplied was 'what is your total net worth?'
Yeah, like we are really going to answer that one!)

"(1) Equiniti has run its own platform since 2012, when it took over investment systems developer Peterevans. I believe that prior to taking everything in-house, Equiniti used the same SGSS solution that provides the front-end (trading) for Selftrade, which was developed by Societe Generale, Boursorama’s controlling shareholder. As it happens, the back end (trade settlement) of Selftrade’s current service also runs on the Peterevans system, which may have something to do with why Equiniti was the leading contender for the Selftrade business. Tangled, but that’s par for the course given the slightly convoluted history of Selftrade (formerly known as Squaregain and prior to that Comdirect), which at one point was part-owned by Lloyds TSB, which also used to own Equiniti …"

Musical chairs or what?

HC: re article, Equiniti not my type of outfit either.

Tough titties MN, just have to wait for the next change of ownership then I suspect, what a shower.

I am still investigating my options. I only need execution only service, so Equiniti are pretty much on a par with Selftrade. I wonder if a few of the dealing houses might be offering a few tempting offers to lure us onto their trading platforms over the next few months.

HC: A J Bell (formerly Sippdeal) may suit you. No admin charges
for shares. Low dealing charges. Transfer charges paid.
Mentioned over the weekend in this article. See last paragraph:

Telegraph

Selftrade signs agreement with Equiniti

On 2 May 2014, we announced that Selftrade had entered into exclusive discussions to transfer the customer portfolio to Equiniti.

We are pleased to tell you that these discussions have been successful and we have now signed an agreement with Equiniti, with a view to completing the transfer by the end of 2014, subject to regulatory approval.

Equiniti was chosen as the best purchaser for our customers and they met with our main goal of finding a buyer who would be able to make the transfer as seamless as possible for you. We have worked closely with Equiniti for a number of years and believe that they are best placed to achieve this. Equiniti has already confirmed that you will continue to receive the same competitive pricing you get now and they will also be improving your customer service experience and the facilities Selftrade currently offers with newer technology.

As a Selftrade customer you already have a relationship with Equiniti – it provides the technology platform on which Selftrade is built. In addition, Equiniti provide financial custody and settlement services for Selftrade. They work with around 50% of the FTSE 100, supporting 18 million shareholders and 7.4 million pension scheme members.

Mark Taylor, the Managing Director of Equiniti's Investment Services division, has committed that "as well as maintaining the pricing for Selftrade's customers and waiving any transfer fees for 12 months, Equiniti will look to combine the strengths of Equiniti and Selftrade to develop a sophisticated product and investment platform which reflects the needs of the customer".

More

I think ST should offer a free transfer NOW to those wishing to
leave, as they will probably leave anyway after the recent fiasco.
It would also save them a lot of administrative work, though I
don't credit them with foresight!

I am hearing that they have started another round of requests for personal information.

They have made it even worse this time around by demanding "certified" documentation, the time and costs of such to be borne by the customer.

Oh, and the threat of blocking accounts again. Notice of this given? Just a week!!!

Are you sure? It's not long to the transfer to Equiniti, so I can't see them going through too many unnecessary hoops. I'm with Selftrade and have not had any further requests..........yet.

Which is why I find it rather odd.

55011 - AFAIK only customers living abroad are now asked to provide such
documentation, which, because of money laundering regulations, is understandable.
I haven't heard of UK customers being subjected again to the ludicrous questionnaires
etc which were discarded after the hallabaloo last time.
Also, it seems ST customers will be able to transfer out to another broker free of exit
charges if they do so within 12 months of the Equiniti takeover. Apparently all ST
personnel will be retained so it might be business as usual, though I wouldn't be surprised
if Equi introduce new rules and charges eventually.

HC - since I last posted here, I did look into what AJ Bell offers, but left it alone.

midknight

What put you off AJB?

55011 - Their customer service did not inspire.

ONE OF THE BEST BROKER COMPANY AT ONE TIME
FOR TWO YEARS THEY WANTED DETAILS,REFUSED,AS ALL DETAILS WERE GIVEN ,STILL SENDING LETTERS.THEY WERE TAKING MONEY,BUT FREEZED THE ACCOUNT
NOW LOUSY COMPANY,WE CLOSED OUR ACCOUNTS WITH THEM

I binned the letter.