How to transfer investment portfolios to Trading 212

Everyone wants a cheap broker. Especially you – that's probably why you're here.

And following Vanguard's announcement earlier this year that they're now charging a minimum £4-per-month fee to all UK investors (with the exception of junior accounts), more people than usual are searching for an alternative.

One of those options could be Trading 212.

Here's a quick guide to transferring your portfolio over to the platform, and one or two issues you need to carefully consider before going ahead.

Transfer options

There are two main ways to transfer your investments from one broker to another.

A portfolio or 'in specie' transfer allows an investor to transfer their investment assets – such as stocks, ETFs and index funds held in a stocks & shares ISA – to another provider without having to sell any of their positions. It transfers everything over in one bundle. You can only transfer whole shares; fractional parts of a share will have to be sold and transferred as cash.

Not all brokers offer in specie transfers – you can check out our broker guides, or compare brokers, to find out if yours does.

Cash transfers mean the existing broker sells their positions and transfers the value to their new broker, or an investor sells those investments themselves before initiating a cash transfer.

And whatever you do – don't withdraw the money yourself and transfer it that way. It will lose its tax-free status.

How to transfer to Trading 212

To transfer your investments or cash to Trading 212 from any broker (including Vanguard), follow these instructions:

• Sign up to Trading 212 via our affiliate link to get a free fractional share worth up to £100 (capital at risk, terms apply). Use promo code 'FIN' if you deposited and didn't receive your share
• Make sure you're in the correct account type you wish to transfer into, e.g. you're in the stocks & shares ISA if you're looking to transfer your ISA investments from elsewhere
• When logged in, select 'Portfolio Transfers' from the menu
• Choose 'Incoming', then click 'Get started'

• Select the provider you're transferring from. If your provider is not listed then transfers aren't supported at this time

• Add the necessary account details from your existing provider
• Select "Stocks & shares" or "cash" depending on what type of ISA you're transferring
• If you're transferring from a stocks & shares ISA, choose whether you want a stocks and cash (in specie) transfer, or just a cash transfer

• If you're doing a cash transfer, you'll need to confirm that you're happy for your existing broker to sell any current shares or funds you hold

• If you're transferring stocks or shares, select whether you want a full or partial transfer of assets from this year and previous years
• Search for the assets you're transferring. If your asset isn't listed, though, it will need to be sold and transferred in cash
• Once all your assets are added, along with number of shares and average purchase prices*, click 'Next'
• Review and sign the electronic transfer request form, then confirm
• Sit back and let Trading 212 do the work. The transfer should be completed within 30 days. Until it's complete, you'll see a 'contacting provider' notice on your dashboard.

*Average purchase price is only set for your own personal profit and loss tracking. If you use 'Specify price' then you can set the previous average price you paid for your asset – and your profit or loss will track from that – or you can use 'Current price on arrival' and your profit and loss will track based on the price of the asset at the time of the transfer's completion.

Important things to know

There are some caveats you need to be aware of when transferring:

• You can only transfer investments from accounts that belong to you
• You can only transfer whole shares; fractional share transfers are not possible. The fractional parts must be sold and transferred as cash
• If you hold stocks or ETFs with your current broker that aren’t currently available in Trading 212’s offering, they cannot be transferred
• You can’t transfer your SIPP to Trading 212 – they don't offer one at the time of writing
• Once you confirm your transfer, the process is irreversible and can't be cancelled
• You can't manage your investment positions until the transfer is complete, which may take some time and values may change
• For cash transfers, that money will remain uninvested (i.e. not earning potential interest) during the transition.

We've delved into all this – and some of the finer points you need to consider when transferring your investment portfolio – in a bit more detail over on our YouTube channel. Check out the video below:

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