Halifax is to offer customers the opportunity to purchase stocks in pound-based amounts through an alliance with US online brokerage Sharebuilder.
The Halifax Sharebuilder programme will be available over the UK bank's retail Web site. With a minimum investment of £20 per month, customers will be able to purchase stocks in pound-based amounts at a cost of just £1.50 per transaction. Customers using the system can choose from virtually all UK listed companies, and create a monthly investing plan through ShareBuilder's automatic pound-cost averaging method.
Sue Concannon, managing director, Halifax Share Dealing, says the Sharebuilder solution gives customers a completely new way to affordably purchase shares in listed companies. "Halifax ShareBuilder represents an important step toward changing the way we think about investing and personal finance in the U.K," she says.
In the US, "ShareBuilders" typically invest the same dollar amount each month in a selection of securities, regardless of the share price of the stock. They choose from over 4000 stocks, index funds and closed-end bond funds, selecting the dollar amount they wish to invest and the frequency (one-time, weekly or monthly). Recurring investments can be funded automatically by payroll deduction, by direct debit from current or savings accounts, or separately by cheque or funds transfer.
According to Salomon Smith Barney research, ShareBuilder has been the fastest growing online brokerage in the United States for five consecutive quarters ending Q1 2002. The company issued a statement today in which it claims to have won over a half million brokerage accounts.
Halifax owns a minority interest in Netstock Corporation, parent company of ShareBuilder.