Buying and selling investments
You can buy and sell investments using your online account in a few simple steps:
- Select 'Find & Invest' from the menu and search for the instrument you wish to trade.
- Then select the 'Buy' button or 'Sell' button.
- Enter either the quantity of shares or cash amount you wish to buy or sell.
- Select 'Get quote' to get a quote for your order which is valid for 15 seconds.
- If you are happy with the price, select 'Place order' to confirm your trade.
Please note that you will need to get set up for international investing before you can trade US and other international shares.
Join one of our iimasterclass webinars for a live demonstration of trading within an ii account.
Each ‘Getting the most out of your account’ session will cover the different types of trade available and show you how they work. You can also ask questions and get live feedback from our presenters. Choose a date.
When you buy or sell an investment, you’ll usually pay a one-off trading fee. The amount depends on the type of investment and which price plan you're on. There are no trading charges when you invest monthly with our regular investing service.
If you expect to make lots of trades each month, you could save money by upgrading your price plan.
There are additional charges that may apply for international trading.
Before you can buy international shares, you need to sign and return the following forms:
- Exchange Agreements – this ensures you can get live prices for international markets.
- W-8BEN – this enables you to trade US shares.
You will also need to complete an Appropriateness Assessment Form in order to trade US shares or other complex instruments.
How to complete the online Exchange Agreements form
- Begin an international trade by finding an instrument with 'Find & Invest'
- Select 'Sign the exchange agreements'
- Open the Amalgamated Exchange Agreements form
- Read and complete the form carefully
- Scroll down to read the disclaimers, then select 'I agree' to confirm
How to complete a W-8BEN form to trade US shares
To invest in US shares within a trading account or ISA, you must complete a W-8BEN form.
You do not need to do this to trade US shares within a SIPP account.
You can access a W-8BEN form through your online account.
Select 'Profile', then 'Help & support', and go to 'Useful forms' (United States dealing form will be preselected)
Select the 'Go to W-8BEN online' button.
If you have previously completed a W-8BEN form online with ii, you will see your completed form listed on this page with the expiry date. You can renew this form by selecting 'View' next to the form and 'Refresh form' on the next page.
If you have not previously completed a w-8BEN online with us, you can select 'New form'.
You will be taken to our Form Chooser. You must complete the questions by choosing the options which apply to you.
When you have completed the form selection, you will be asked to complete identification details for yourself.
When you have completed the identification details you will be able to proceed to the W-8BEN form by selecting the 'W-8BEN' button.
When completing the W-8BEN form, most of the details will be prepopulated from your account details. Click next to proceed with the form.
If any of your details are incorrect, please ensure you update these under “Personal details and preferences” before completing this form. If the details in this form do not match those of your account, we will be unable to accept the form.When you reach section 5 you can digitally sign the form by completing the fields of this page and select 'Generate PDF'. This will open a PDF copy of your form in a new window for you to review.
Once you have reviewed the form, you can close the form and either select 'Submit' to submit the form or 'Back' to amend your entries.
You will find guidance on what to fill in each field on the right side of the page when you click into the field.
Once you have completed your W-8BEN form, you will be able to trade US shares.
It will remain valid for 3 years before you need to renew.
How to complete the Appropriateness Assessment Form
Appropriateness tests are required when purchasing complex instruments – including US shares.
It helps us to determine whether you have the appropriate experience and knowledge to understand the risks involved while trading.
The Appropriateness Assessment Form contains 10 yes or no questions. You can access it through your account.
- Select 'Profile', then 'Manage profile', and go to 'Details & preferences'
- Scroll down to the Account Information section. Select 'Appropriateness assessment form'.
- Read each question carefully and select Yes, No or Don’t know.
- When you have finished, click 'Submit Answers'.
- A message will then appear to notify if you have passed the assessment.
Your order list provides a list of your settled and pending orders.
To view your order list, select 'Portfolio', then 'Account', and go to 'Orders'.
Your orders will be broken down into separate sections for their market/territory. For example: UK Orders, US Orders, European Orders.
Order list columns
The order list columns provide information about your orders. For example, the date the order was placed, a description of the order, the order type and the expiry date.
Each order has a reference code. Click on the reference code for more order details.
At either end, there are columns showing the order Options and Status.
Order Status
Your order status will show as one of the following:
- Executed – the trade has been successfully placed with the market. Please note that these trades cannot be cancelled.
- Pending – an order which is awaiting execution. For example, a trade placed outside of market hours. Pending orders can be cancelled. Please note that fund orders will show as pending until a price confirmation is received - these orders cannot be cancelled past the cut-off point following your trade.
- Failed – an order that could not be executed. For example, a fill or kill order that could not be dealt at the limit price.
- Cancel Pending – an order awaiting cancellation. The order may have been in the process of being executed when you requested cancellation. It is not confirmed as cancelled until the status changes to Cancelled.
- Cancelled - a pending order has been successfully cancelled.
Order Options
If you can cancel or place a closing deal with your order it will be shown here.
- Select 'Cancel' to cancel the trade. Options to cancel and confirm will appear.
- Select 'Close' to place a closing deal. You will be directed to the Place an Order page with details of the order to close pre-filled on the trading page.
By closing a trade, you are placing an order for the opposite instruction of your original trade. Close a buy order by selling the shares. Close a selling order by buying them back.
Detail Level
Select Performance from the dropdown menu to rearrange the orders shown according to their performance. Select Limit to view your limit orders.
Download and Print
- Select 'Download' to download the order list as an Excel file.
- Select 'Print' to print the selected Order List.
- Trades of UK shares usually take the next two working days to settle.
- Trades of funds, investment trusts and ETFs usually take four working days to settle.
- To view your trades which have not yet been settled, select 'Portfolio', then 'Account', and go to 'Orders'.
You can cancel pending trades which have not yet been executed.
For example: trades which have been made outside of market hours or limit orders which are yet to be executed.
- To see your trades which have not yet been executed, select 'Portfolio', then 'Account', and go to 'Orders'.
- Orders which can be cancelled will have the word Cancel in the Options column.
- Select 'Options' to arrange your trades by whether you can cancel them.
- Select 'Cancel' for the trade that you wish to cancel.
- You will then be shown a detailed summary of the order.
- Select 'Cancel Trade' to confirm.
After you have requested cancellation, the order’s status will change to Cancel Pending.
The order may have been in the process of being executed when you requested cancellation. It is not confirmed as cancelled until the status changes to Cancelled.
If your trade is cancelled successfully, you will not be charged any trading fees for the order.
- Select 'Cash', then go to 'Convert currency'
- Choose the currencies you would like to convert from and to
- Enter either the amount you wish to exchange or receive
- Then select 'Preview Order' before you can Confirm
Foreign Exchange costs
The exchange rate for currency conversion is based on the bid/offer exchange rate to which we apply a charge at the time of execution. Find out more about our multi-currency service.
Find specific shares
- Use the quote bar at the bottom of the screen on your online account.
- Type the company’s name, symbol or SEDOL into the search bar.
- If you click on the name of the company, a quick price will appear on the right of the quote bar. Click on buy or sell to go to the trade now page.
Find specific funds
- Select UK Funds from the Market menu on the quote bar the bottom of the screen.
- Then start typing the name of the fund. Click on the fund you want, and the price will appear to the right as well the option to buy or sell.
Search for types of investment
You can search for investments using the research menu.
- Click Research and then shares, funds, investment trusts, ETFs or IPOs – depending on the type of investment you are searching for.
- Then search for investments by various categories including geography or industry sector.
- Click on any investment for in depth details.
If you are looking for investment ideas, you could start by looking at our experts' investment recommendations.
Using the Research menu on your online account, you can find out more about:
- Quick-start funds – low-cost funds chosen by our experts to help you get started.
- ii Super 60 – match your investments to your style and interests with our rated list of investments.
- ii ACE 40 – our selection of sustainable investments.
- Internationally listed ETF’s or funds
- Cryptocurrency
- Commodities
- Options
- Futures
- Over the Counter shares (OTCs)
- Contract for difference trades
- We do not facilitate spread betting
ADRs
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are supported within your trading account.
Unfortunately, you cannot trade them within an ISA or SIPP account.
Currencies we support
You can trade shares in the following currencies:
- GBP Sterling
- Euro
- US Dollar
- Australian Dollar
- Canadian Dollar
- Hong Kong Dollar
- Singapore Dollar
If you hold shares in your account in a currency we do not support, please call us to sell. Further purchases of such shares will not be available.
Please note that additional telephone trading fees apply.
Dual listings
Where a stock has multiple listings, we may restrict trading to the primary market.
International Crest (CDI) Stocks
Other UK brokers tend to trade international stocks through the London market and hold these as CDIs. At Interactive Investor, we trade directly on local international markets and hold the local version of the stock for you.
Where international stocks have been transferred to us, it may be that the stock is still held in CDI form.
We will be unable to purchase any further holding of the CDI version. Please call us if you wish to sell a CDI holding.
Dirty funds
We are unable to purchase any fund which has a trail commission attached (known as 'dirty funds').
If you happen to hold a ‘dirty fund’ in your account, please call us to sell.
Markets which are only available over the phone
The following markets are only available via telephone trades:
- UK NEX Exchange
- Stockholm Stock Exchange
- SIX Swiss Exchange
- Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE)
Please call us if you wish to trade on one of these markets.
Please note that additional telephone trading fees apply if you wish to trade on these markets.
Order types allow you to give instructions for how you want your trade to be settled.
You can trade at the current market price, or you can ask us to trade for you when prices reach a certain level.
For example, you could set a price at which you wish to sell specific shares. If the price is reached, your shares are sold. If not, the trade is cancelled.
You can choose your order type within the buy box when placing a trade. The order types available sit above the quantity/price input box.
The order types are:
Market
A standard trade. Buy or sell at the best current price.
Market orders give an immediate quote. This price remains valid for 15 seconds, during which you can confirm the trade.
If the market is closed, buy or sell at the best price when the market opens.
Limit
Buy or sell shares when they reach a certain price.
- Enter your chosen price next to Limit Price.
When buying, your shares will be purchased automatically when the share price drops to your limit price.
When selling, your shares will be sold automatically when the share price reaches your price limit.
- Enter the duration of how long to keep your limit order in place.
You set a time limit for how long the order remains valid. This can be up to 90 days for UK and North American shares, 25 days for European shares and day only orders for Asian exchanges.
If your limit price is not reached, or it is not possible to buy or sell the full number of shares at that price, the trade is cancelled.
Unexecuted limit orders will not be visible on your online account. Only executed trades will show.
UK Limit Publication
Limit orders are held in our limit minding system and not entered onto the market order book. As a result, untriggered orders are not published on the exchange and cannot be viewed by other market counterparties. Your order will remain in our system and will only be made visible to the market when your limit price is reached.
Fill or kill
Place an order to buy or sell at a certain price. If the price is available, the order will be executed (‘filled’). If your price cannot be met, your order will be cancelled (‘killed’).
- Enter your chosen price next to Limit Price.
Unlike limit orders, you cannot set a time limit for fill or kill orders. If the market is open, fill or kill orders are reviewed immediately. If the market is closed, the trade will be ‘filled’ or ‘killed’ in the next market session – depending on the available price.
Fill or kill orders are only available on the UK exchange.
Stop loss
Sell shares when the price drops to a certain price.
- Enter your chosen price next to Limit Price.
- Enter the duration of how long to keep your stop loss order in place.
Your shares will sell automatically if the limit price is reached.
Please be aware that the price may be considerably lower than the stop loss limit if the shares drop in price dramatically. This is because once your stop loss price is triggered the order becomes a 'market' order.
Important information
- We do not offer a guaranteed price function which means that the price you request for a limit or stop loss order may not be the price you receive. When the share price reaches your target price, your order is triggered and will be actioned in 'fair and due turn'. This means that the share is dealt as soon as possible at the best price that can be obtained after the trigger price is hit. In addition, market volatility can substantially influence the price we achieve for your order.
- It is not always possible to execute an order type at your specified price. This can depend on the variables of the instruction. For example, if a share price is particularly volatile, we may be unable to complete your instruction.
- If you want to set up an Order Type, you need to have sufficient funds to cover the cost of any purchases before you set up the order type. If you have insufficient funds, your order type may be cancelled.
- Order Types can only be placed on eligible UK quoted equities, so overseas stocks and funds are not eligible.