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Share dealing
Opening and Accessing your Account
Opening and Accessing your Account
Opening your Account
To open an account, complete the online registration from the Share Dealing section of our website. Please make sure you have the following details to hand:
- Your debit or switch card and sort code and account number of your bank account.
- Your National Insurance Number.
- Your address details for the last three years.
If we can't verify your identity electronically, we may also need copies of certain documents to satisfy anti-money laundering rules.
We will then send you a temporary password through the post and full instructions on how to complete registration. When you have funded your account you'll be ready to trade.
Please note that you must be 18 years of age or over and be resident in the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man (unless that person is a Crown employee serving overseas or is married to a person who performs such duties). Accounts can be registered in joint or sole names.
Accessing your Account
When you sign in to the online service you will be taken to 'My accounts'. To access Share Dealing, click on the hyperlink under the Share Dealing header, or select a page from the 'Take me to' dropdown and click 'Go'. If you would like to set Share Dealing as your homepage, instead of 'My accounts', click the 'I would like this to be my first page after logging on' checkbox on the Share Dealing 'Welcome' page.
If you have more than one type of share dealing account, you will be asked to set a default account. This will be automatically selected for you when you enter Share Dealing, giving you quicker access to your preferred account. You can change this at any time by going to 'Account Management' then 'Account Settings' and selecting 'Default Account'.
Buying Shares
To buy shares select 'Dealing' from the left hand menu from within Share Dealing. If you want to change the account you would like to deal on, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed' drop down menu and click 'Go'. Select the 'buy' radio button and the security you wish to purchase by entering the company name or company code in the appropriate fields.
If more than one security matches your search a list will be displayed for you to select the security you wish to buy. The latest indicative price for the security will be displayed and you will need to enter the amount for the trade. Depending on the security and the market on which it is traded, you will be given the option to deal real-time or place an order. You could also decide to set a TradePlan where available. On completion of your purchase you will be given a reference number that you will need to quote if you contact us regarding your transaction.
You can also buy shares into your ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account by creating an investment plan. Please see the 'Your Investment Plan' section.
Selling Shares
To sell shares select 'Dealing' from the left hand menu from within Share Dealing and click the 'sell' radio button. You’ll then be presented with a list of securities currently held in your selected account. Select the security you would like to sell. The latest indicative price for the security will be displayed and you will need to enter the amount for the trade. Depending on the security and the market on which it is traded, you will be given the option to deal real-time or place an order. You could also decide to set a TradePlan where available. On completion of the process you will be given a reference number that you will need to quote if you contact us regarding your transaction.
You can re-invest any sale proceeds as soon as the order has been executed and the funds have been released into your account. You can also sell shares as soon as the purchase is executed. However, sale proceeds cannot be withdrawn from your account until after settlement date. Please see the 'Fund and Withdraw' section to find out how to withdraw your proceeds.
Click here to find details of our dealing charges
Cancelling and Amending Deals
If you have placed a real-time deal or an order to trade in funds you will be unable to cancel or amend this transaction.
If you have placed an order for an international security you are able to cancel any unexecuted portion of the order. To do this you will need to go to the 'Order Management' page, and click the cross icon on the corresponding order row.
If you place a pending execution or negotiated trade order and wish to cancel this order, we will endeavour to do this if you telephone us immediately. Please note this is not possible in the majority of cases.
To cancel or amend a TradePlan order, please see the 'TradePlan' section.
Dealing History
To review any executed orders, choose the 'Dealing' section from the left hand menu, followed by 'Dealing History'. A chronological list of the current month's deals on your account will be displayed. You can change the date to view older trades.
Contract Notes
All contract notes are available to view online by selecting the reference hyperlink on the 'Dealing History' page.
If you currently receive contract notes through the post and would rather be notified by email when a trade has executed, go to the 'Account Management' section from the left hand menu and select 'Account Settings', then 'Contract Notes'.
Funding your Account
To transfer funds into your account you need choose ‘Account Management’ from the left hand menu and select 'Fund & Withdraw'. If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed' drop down menu and click 'Go'.
You need to select the “Transfer funds into my account” option, enter the amount you wish to transfer and click 'Continue'. You can fund your account using your preferred payment method; this will be either the debit card details you have already provided us with or Direct Debit instruction set up on the account. You can also fund your account using a Halifax bank account or Bank of Scotland account. We’ll seek payment authorisation from your bank on the day we accept your instructions.
You can also fund your ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account through 'Regular Subscriptions'.
Clearance Timescales
Funding your account using a debit card means the funds are usually available immediately however, for Halifax ShareBuilder accounts, funds will be available within three working days. Funding accounts via Direct Debit means the funds are usually available within five working days. Transfers in from a Halifax bank account or Bank of Scotland account using the roll number of the account are usually credited the next working day for all accounts.
Withdrawing from your Account
To withdraw funds from your account you need to go to ‘Account Management’ from the left hand menu and select 'Fund & Withdraw'. If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed' drop down menu and click 'Go'.
You need to select “Transfer funds out of my account”, enter the amount you wish to transfer out and click 'Continue'.
Proceeds should be received into your nominated bank account, three working days after your withdrawal request. Please note that sale proceeds cannot be withdrawn from your account until after the settlement date of the trade but they can be reinvested.
Setting up your First Regular Subscription
To set your first regular subscription into your ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu. For ISA accounts, click 'Create subscription plan' and for Halifax ShareBuilder accounts, click 'Fund Account'.
For both account types, you will then need to choose how much you want to transfer into your account, how often you wish the transfer to occur and when you want the transfer to take place.
Please ensure that cleared funds are available in your bank account for debiting on the date you have specified. If funds are not available, then the transfer may fail.
Changing your Regular Subscriptions
To change your regular subscription into your ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu and click ‘Amend’ in the subscription plan area.
If you subscribe to your ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account by Direct Debit, you can make changes to your payment up until midnight three working days before the next payment date.
If you subscribe by debit card you can make changes to your payment up until midnight one working day before the next payment date.
Suspending your Regular Subscription
To suspend your regular subscription into your ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu and click ‘Suspend’ in the subscription plan area. Check the details on the next screen and click ‘Suspend Now’.
Suspensions should be made at least two working days prior to the next subscription date.
Please note that suspending your regular subscription plan will not automatically suspend any investment plan you may have set up on your account.
Reactivating your Regular Subscription
To restart your subscription plan, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu and click 'Reactivate' located in the subscription plan area.
Please note that reactivating your subscription plan will not automatically reactivate any investment plan you may have set up on your account.
One- Off Payments
To make one-off payments into your ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account, please see the 'Fund & Withdraw' section.
You can set up an investment plan to instruct us to buy certain shares for you every month into an ISA or Halifax ShareBuilder account.
Setting Up Your Investment Plan
To set up your first investment plan, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu and click 'Create Investment Plan'.
You will then need to choose how often you wish to invest, and what date to invest on. For an ISA account, you will also need to decide on the type of investment you would like to make. This can be a fixed amount of money per investment or a percentage of available funds within you account at the time of investment.
You will then need to add investments to your investment plan.
Amending your Investment Plan
To change your investment plan, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu and click 'Amend' in the investment plan area.
You can change your investment plan up until midnight the day before your shares are due to be purchased.
Adding Investments to your Investment Plan
To add an investment to your investment plan, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu. For ISA accounts, click 'Add Investment' and for Halifax ShareBuilder accounts, click 'Choose Shares'.
Select the security you wish to add by entering the investment name or company code in the appropriate fields. If more than one security matches your search a list will be displayed for you to select the security you wish to add. You will then need to enter the value you wish to invest.
If you’re having difficulty finding the security you wish to add to your investment plan, try inputting the first couple of letters of the investment name and click 'Search'. If this doesn’t bring up your chosen security then it may not be eligible for investment into your account.
The security will now have been added to your investment plan. You may need to increase your monthly subscription payment to ensure you have sufficient funds in your account on the planned investment date.
Removing Investments from your Investment Plan
To remove an investment from your investment plan, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu. Locate the security you no longer wish to invest in and click 'Remove'.
Suspending Your Investment Plan
To suspend your investment plan, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu and click ‘Suspend’ in the investment plan area. Check the details on the next screen and click ‘Suspend Now’.
Suspensions should be made at least one working day prior to the next investment date. When your plan is suspended no further shares will be purchased for you through your investment plan until you re-activate the plan.
Suspending your investment plan will not automatically suspend your regular subscription to the account.
Reactivating your Investment Plan
To restart your investment plan, select 'Regular Investments' from the left hand menu and click 'Reactivate' located in the investment plan area.
Please note that reactivating your investment plan will not automatically reactivate any regular subscription plan you may have set up on your account.
Transferring into your ISA/ PEP
You can transfer your existing ISA into a Halifax Share Dealing Self-Select ISA. All you need to do is complete the Transfer Form named 'Move your ISA to Halifax Share Dealing' on the “Transferring to us” page and return it to us.
You cannot transfer shares directly into your ISA account. Therefore to put any other shares you own into your ISA we must sell them first and use the money raised to re-invest in your ISA. Please note that this sale may trigger a gain for Capital Gains Tax purposes.
In order to transfer shares from certain employee share schemes directly into your Halifax Share Dealing ISA please contact us.
You can transfer your existing PEPs, no matter which year they were opened, into a Halifax Share Dealing Self-Select PEP. By integrating your PEPs into one account you could benefit from lower annual management charges. Please contact us for a transfer form.
You can set a TradePlan during the process of placing a trade in CREST eligible UK investments. After entering the amount for the trade click 'Set TradePlan'. If you want to buy shares you can choose between using a Limit Order or Range Trade. If you want to sell shares you can choose from 5 TradePlans: Limit Order, Range Trading, Stop Loss Order, Target Setting, and Price Locking.
A TradePlan order will be executed as soon as practically possible if the price has been achieved. You can set a time limit of 30, 60 or 90 days or choose a specific date for your TradePlan to expire.
To amend or cancel your TradePlan select ‘TradePlans’ from the left hand menu, then 'Current TradePlans'. The ‘Amend’ and ‘Cancel’ buttons at the end of each row will amend or cancel the corresponding TradePlan order.
Viewing your Portfolio
To view your portfolio, select 'Statements & Valuation' from the left hand menu, then select 'Valuation'. If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed' drop down menu and click 'Go'. The valuation displays the full details of your holdings for the account selected, including the current market value and the profit/loss for each security. There are also icons to take you to 'Dealing' and 'Charts, News & Prices'.
Your Account Balance
You can check the cash balance in your account on the 'Cash Statement' screen within the 'Statement & Valuation' menu. Alternatively, this may be viewed in the account header on most screens.
Your Statements
There are several statements online, which are all available under the 'Statements & Valuation' menu – Cash Statement, Income Statement, Dividends Received and Tax Certificates. If you have more than one account, select the appropriate account from the 'Change account to be viewed' drop down menu and click 'Go'. Please note 'Income Statements' are only available for PEP, ISA & Halifax ShareBuilder accounts.
Dividend Handling
You can choose how you would like your dividends to be handled by going to ‘Account Management’ and selecting 'Account Settings'. Select 'Dividend Handling' and choose whether you would like to re-invest your dividends, hold them in your account or pay them to your bank account. These options are explained on the 'Dividend Handling' page.
From Another Broker’s Nominee Account into your Share Dealing or Halifax ShareBuilder Account
To transfer investments from another broker into your account, select 'Account Management' from the left hand menu, and then select 'Transfer Forms'. Click the option “Transfer your shares from another stockbroker”. Please note there must be no change in beneficial ownership, i.e. the account names should match.
Simply complete the online form, print it out, sign and return it to us. We will then contact the other broker and arrange to electronically transfer your stock.
Please note that this process can take a few weeks and the timescale is largely dependent on the other broker and the registrars of each stock held. You will be able to trade these stocks with us as soon as the full transfer has taken place.
Transferring Paper Certificates into your Share Dealing or Halifax ShareBuilder Account
To transfer paper share certificates into your account, select 'Account Management' from the left hand menu, and then select 'Transfer Forms'. Click the option 'Deposit your paper share certificates'. We can only transfer UK investments into your account and there must be no change in beneficial ownership, i.e. the account name should match the name on the certificate details.
Simply print out the forms, complete the relevant information, sign and return to us together with the relevant share certificates. There is no charge for this service.
The transfer process will normally take 10 working days from the day we receive your certificates. You will not be able to trade these stocks until the full transfer has taken place.
Within our Research Centre section you can view the world indices, the latest news headlines and keep track of the FTSE 100 top 10 risers and fallers. You can also view individual companies share prices, performance and news.
Viewing Company Information
To view company information online, select 'Research Centre' from the left hand menu, and then select 'Charts, News and Prices'. Enter the security you wish to view by entering the company name or company code in the appropriate fields. If more than one security matches your search a list will be displayed for you to select the security you wish to view. Delayed price information, an interactive charting tool, dividend announcements and company news will be displayed where available. The 'Historical Accounts' section in the company details box will display the Revenue, Pre-tax profit or loss, Net income, Net current assets and Total share capital reserves of the company selected.
Share Prices – Our Quick Quote System
If you would like to find out up to date share prices you can use our Quick Quote service. This can be accessed from the 'Welcome' page or when a security is selected within the 'Dealing' section. The Market Quotes box on the bottom right hand corner of the Welcome page is the easiest way to obtain quotes. Enter the security you wish to view by entering the company name or company code in the appropriate fields. If more than one security matches your search a list will be displayed for you to select the security you wish to view. During market hours the buy and sell price and the time of the quote are displayed. Outside market hours, the quote is the last closing price.
Amending your Details
To amend your email address log onto our online service, then select 'Share Dealing/Halifax ShareBuilder'. At the bottom right hand corner of the 'Welcome' page, your current email address will be displayed. If this is incorrect, select the link to update it.
If you would like to change any other personal details, including address or banking information please contact us.
Forgotten your sign in details/ access suspended
If you forget your details or become locked out you can get back online by simply selecting 'Forgotten sign in details/ access suspended' from the sign in page. We will collect some additional information from you and then provide you with a username reminder or new temporary password to get you back online. If we have your email address we may be able to get you back online even quicker by emailing your new password rather than sending it by post.
Third Party Authorisation
To authorise someone else to deal on your account please contact us and we'll issue a third party authorisation form.