Sharewatch - FX commissions??

Wudyaquit

I recently lost some money on TD Waterhouse due to an error selling a canadian security, as I then had to buy it straight back and pay 3.5% in total of FX fees (they charge 1.75% on every FX trade they put through). I e-mailed Sharewatch to see how much they charge for FX and they've told me nothing - no set commission, no percentage, nothing.
Is this correct, or do they hide the charge some other way? Am I missing something?
They charge €10 more than TDW a trade alright, but as long as the trade is greater than €570 it's always going to be cheaper on Sharewatch to trade - am I missing something here, as there seems to be a consensus that TD Waterhouse is cheaper but this would suggest that unless you're trading in a currency you've already got a balance in, Sharewatch is substantially cheaper....??????

poodles

Wudyaquit wrote: »

I recently lost some money on TD Waterhouse due to an error selling a canadian security, as I then had to buy it straight back and pay 3.5% in total of FX fees (they charge 1.75% on every FX trade they put through). I e-mailed Sharewatch to see how much they charge for FX and they've told me nothing - no set commission, no percentage, nothing.
Is this correct, or do they hide the charge some other way? Am I missing something?
They charge €10 more than TDW a trade alright, but as long as the trade is greater than €570 it's always going to be cheaper on Sharewatch to trade - am I missing something here, as there seems to be a consensus that TD Waterhouse is cheaper but this would suggest that unless you're trading in a currency you've already got a balance in, Sharewatch is substantially cheaper....??????

The 1.75% rate is over the base price - only banks and institutions will get this rate - if you walked into a bank on the main street they would probably charge you around 1% (plus a commission charge)

I've emailed them before to say its excessive but they basically said tough luck.
If you weren't in a rush for buying the shares I'd recommend you do the FX conversion (Say if your buying UK stocks) to GBP and lodge the money direct to your TD Waterhouse account via Ulster Bank IBAN Transfer.
The more funds your going to deposit the more you will save (if its the case that you'll be dealing with companies on ftse / aim)



"but as long as the trade is greater than €570 it's always going to be cheaper on Sharewatch to trade"

What do you mean by this? What are Sharewatch's charges?
I pay a flat fee of €15 per trade with TD.

Wudyaquit

Thanks for the reply

poodles wrote: »

"but as long as the trade is greater than €570 it's always going to be cheaper on Sharewatch to trade"

What do you mean by this? What are Sharewatch's charges?
I pay a flat fee of €15 per trade with TD.

What I meant was at 570 the 1.75% would come to a tenner, (TD waterhouse is €10 cheaper per trade), so that the 2 systems would be the same, with sharewatch being cheaper for any trade over that amount.

Having looked at sharewatch again, however, I see that they're also charging €15 per trade, with €30 to transfer out a line of stock - (don't know what that means.)
I can't believe they're giving the FX trade for free as part of the trade though. I think I might be missing something, but maybe not. TDW is a complete ripoff comparatively if this is the case. €700 commission on a €20,000 trade. Reckon I might move to Sharewatch, even with the bad reports I've read on here. The inconvenience might just be worth it.

Thanks again.

turbobaby

Completely agree with you on this.

I lashed €25k into TD Waterhouse last August and have lost a little over €1,000 in FX commission, as my investments are nearly all in GBP / USD. I have traded more than the €25k in the last 6 months.

Lesson learned for the future. As pointed out above I would in future FX with a 3rd party and then transfer into TD.

As also mentioned above, this only works if you're in no rush to buy. Thankfully I got in at the right time just before markets rose so the 3rd party alternative would have meant purchasing my shares at a higher price so I'm not too miffed, and now being all the wiser for it.

poodles

turbobaby wrote: »

Completely agree with you on this.

I lashed €25k into TD Waterhouse last August and have lost a little over €1,000 in FX commission, as my investments are nearly all in GBP / USD. I have traded more than the €25k in the last 6 months.

Lesson learned for the future. As pointed out above I would in future FX with a 3rd party and then transfer into TD.

As also mentioned above, this only works if you're in no rush to buy. Thankfully I got in at the right time just before markets rose so the 3rd party alternative would have meant purchasing my shares at a higher price so I'm not too miffed, and now being all the wiser for it.

Once you have your shares bought in say, GBP - with TD you can select to settle the transaction in euros or GBP - so if you keep it in GBP if you intend to buy another UK stock then you wont loose out