UKH

Bit of an odd question for a climbing forum but UKC is often good for getting answers to odd questions.

I am trying to find out whether a certain unit trust is available on the Barclays Smart Investor platform but I haven't found any way of doing so on their site when I am not a member.

The trust is:   L&G US Index I Acc        ISIN: GB00B0CNGT73

If anyone has access and could check that for me it would be appreciated. 

thanks

Sounds like the kind of thing you could get an answer to by just phoning Barclays. Sure you'd have to be transferred a couple of times to get to the right dept but shouldn't be too much of a drag.

Yes it is. Hope this helps.

Brilliant, thanks for checking that for me.

I assume you have an account with them? If so how do you find them? Any problems or issues?

Henwardian, yes I could have phoned and may have to with another couple of questions but thought I may get a quick answer here.

Very early days and I only put a paltry sum in. In my experience, I like the way you can choose the level of risk you'd like someone else to trade at on your behalf. It looks straightforward, ie clean, simple interface, although I wouldn't know how to invest in a specific unit trust as (I think) you want to. Perhaps there's someone on here with more acumen who'll be able to help.

I would look at a vanguard us index as the costs are likely to be a lot lower .lower costs means more to you in the long run.  

I agree with neilh, look to lower your fees as much as possible. Extra fees make a huge difference to your returns over a few years. 

With this in mind, is there a particular reason for wanting to go with Barclays? They'll charge you £6 per trade, and they'll charge you 0.25% of the invested funds every year.

You could own the exact same fund with a different broker and pay little or no fees.

For example, trading 212 would charge you £0 per trade and 0% annual fee. And they'll pay you 5.2% interest on any uninvested funds in the account.

They also currently have an offer where they'll pay 1% cashback on ISA deposits until the end of the month (the cashback gets paid into a separate GIA but you could move it across to your ISA after a year).

The above is not an endorsement of 212, I just used them as an example of one of the brokers who are a lot cheaper than Barclays.

​​​​​​When comparing fees, it is important to consider all of the different fees, how much you are investing, and how frequently you plan to buy/sell. You need to consider: 

- The fund fee. A higher fund fee typically means worse returns for you. Don't assume it will mean that they will invest shatter

- Any annual account fee. This may be a fixed fee, or it may be a percentage of your account holdings. If you're investing small amounts, fixed fee accounts will be very expensive. If you're investing large amounts, percentage fees will be very expensive. 

- Trading fees. If you're investing £20k at once, you may not be too worried about a £6 fee. But if you're paying in £100 a month and trading every month, you've lost 6% before you even begin. Some brokers will allow you one free trade per month to help regular investors.

Too late to edit:

I meant to say smarter, not shatter.