PEP and ISA again

[4777]

Hi, I am looking for some suggestions/comments here. I have seen some posts somehow on this topic, but they date back to 2003, so I give it a try.

I trade futures and FX . I do not like shares and even less investment funds. In the past I have opened those PEP and ISA and put money in investment funds and forgotten about them.
I am looking back at them now as I am considering opening a Child Trust Fund account (uhmmm)

Investing in funds and stuff like that is, in my opinion, a waste of time (when not a waste of money). For a trader, it is even worse: it is painful!!

Now, I was wondering whether to cash in and close out and also forget about tax free money for my children, (I know, I know, but I am not too keen on Spread betting either) or whether there is a way to keep these accounts and make them work a bit better.

Apart from high fees, the main problem I see is that the range of eligible instruments is very limited. The only decent proposition (if one does not wish to trade UK shares, which I think what is meant by "Crest settled shares" ) is a range of ETFs. Unfortunatley, they seem to be rather different from the Amex ETFs that I know. Volme and liquidity seem alarmingly low, I am not sure how well they track what they are supposed to track and how open to manipulation they are.

So, anybody there cares to comment?
thanks

 

[4777]

...obviously not.
I am surprised nobody has an opinion on this. Perhaps it is the wrong board? I have actually found rather strange that ISA stuff was put together with property investment and things like that.
Regards

 

[peto]

How about a self-select ISA? There is a negligable annual charge and then you are just paying the normal rate for share dealing (£10 a lot or so with e-dealing.com). If you don't like u.k. you can hold u.s. shares or funds in it, or euro ones. Open one for every member of the family.

 

[4777]

Thank you very much, peto

Perhaps it was not clear from my message, apologies for that, but I would consider nothing else than a Self-select ISA/CTF/PEP. In fact, I am trying to find a way to use these accounts to trade (obviously long-ish term) instruments that I know and like.
I know for sure that I cannot trade futures and FX on those accounts. Until your post I was quite sure I could not use US or European stocks and ETFs either. In my homework I have found that eligible shares are limited to those that “settle via Crest”. I enter unfamiliar territory here, but I assumed that this meant UK shares.
Is there a way to understand if non-UK shares settle via Crest and therefore are eligible?
I have not found any UK broker that offers the possibility to trade US stocks and US ETFs via a PEP/ISA/CFT. Does anybody know any, by any chance?
Easier: can non-UK shares/ETFs be traded in a UK PEP/ISA/CTF account and which broker offers this possibility? Peto, are you sure about that e-dealing.com site?
Also, every time that I click on an ETF link on any UK broker website, I am re-directed to the I-share.net/LSE range of products. Anybody has any experience of these?
Thank you again and best regards

 

[peto]

https://www.idealing.com/index.jsp

Sorry got the name wrong for iDealing which is odd because I have an isa account and am holding etfs for PAAS GFI and HMY, all listed in the us.

pete

 

[frugi]

I think TDWaterhouse offers international stocks and ETFs for trading within an ISA, but it's been ages since I used them.

http://www.tdwaterhouse.co.uk/productsandservices/isa.cfm
http://www.tdwaterhouse.co.uk/productsandservices/invest/index.cfm

It looks like international stocks are now allowed by the tax man.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/isa/bullletin25.htm
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/fid/rse.htm

 

[4777]

Thank you all very much.
It looks like I have done a very poor homework! Back to research, then.
I have also found that Squaregain, formerly Comdirect, offers a CTF account, which the two brokers you have kindly pointed out do not seem to do. I may have a look at them, if I can go through their lousy website.
Any further comment higly appreciated.
Thank you and best regards

 

[vfx]

ISA / Forex?

Is Forex trading permitted also now? In addition to EFT Stocks Etc.