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Charles Stanley Direct investment platform review
A wide range of investments are on offer, especially bonds
Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an investment platform before committing to any financial products.
Does Charles Stanley Direct offer the best stocks and shares Isa?
Charles Stanley Direct
A good choice of assets (rated 63% by us) didn't make up for below-average scores for fees (48%) and from customers (63%).
If you're thinking of using Charles Stanley Direct to take an income from your pension in a drawdown plan, read our comparison of pension drawdown plans and charges.
This fee covers 'Market Maker' fees on the following tiered basis for all overseas trades.
1% on trades worth £0 - £9,999
0.75% on £10,000 - £49,999
0.5% on £50,000 - £499,999
0.3% on £500,000 - £999,999
0.15% on over £1 million
Charles Stanley Direct pays 1.5% interest on uninvested cash up to £100,000 and 1.9% on amounts over £100,000.
Charles Stanley Direct charge a £10 exit fee per holding.
'A mixed bag when it comes to fees'
Megan Thomas, Which? investments writer, says:
Charles Stanley Direct offers one of the widest ranges of investments of any stocks and shares Isa provider, with more than 15,000 assets to choose from. It also offers more bonds than any other platform by far, 1,000 compared to the next-largest selection of 258.
For regular traders though, the high cost of trading will sting at £10 per share and £4 per fund – the highest of any platform in our survey.
But, if you don't trade often, you may well not pay these, as Charles Stanley Direct offers a recurring six-monthly £50 credit for trades.
It's consistently middle of the pack on fees relative to other providers, but its fee structure means you'll get a little-worse value if you have £50,000-£100,000 invested.
Customers weren't impressed by what they got for their money with Charles Stanley Direct, though, and it got just two stars for value for money.
Charles Stanley Direct is one of the very few platforms that still charges an exit fee – £10 per holding – which we think is an outdated practice that traps consumers.
What do customers say about Charles Stanley Direct?
Charles Stanley Direct customers scored it 63%, the fifth-lowest score of any platform in our survey.
Comments from Charles Stanley Direct customers who took part in our survey include:
'If I need to contact them, the replies are almost immediate. They treat you seriously despite being a small investor. Replies are personal and precise.'
'I like that they offer a wide range of investments, but although their overall costs are still not the highest, since I opened my Isa with them, they have raised the percentage charge on investments and no longer offer an unlimited number of free transactions.'
'Their fees were lower than Hargreaves Lansdown initially, but there has been an increase recently, which I am not happy about, and I am thinking of changing to another provider.'
Visit Charles Stanley Direct to find out more about its accounts, services and investment options.
Charles Stanley Direct customer scores in more detail
Aspect of service
Star rating
Customer service
★★★★☆
Ease of use
★★★★☆
Information on investments
★★☆☆☆
Value for money
★★☆☆☆
These results are based on a January 2026 online survey of 3,053 adults – members of the Which? Connect panel and members of the public – who told us about 4,146 experiences with stocks and shares Isas. Charles Stanley Direct results based on a sample size of 56.
Is Charles Stanley Direct safe?
Charles Stanley Direct is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
If Charles Stanley Direct went bust and its other arrangements to protect your money failed, the FSCS will cover up to £85,000 of investments per person, per platform. You can claim for free online at www.fscs.org.uk: there's no reason to use a claims management company.
Our overall score is based on a combination of customer score, fees score, and assets score.
We don't analyse the performance of investments listed by investment platforms, as different investors will opt for different investments.
Customer score and ratings
We surveyed 3,053 investors – members of the Which? Connect panel and of the public – who gave 4,146 reviews of stocks and shares Isas in January 2026.
Each platform must get at least 30 responses to receive a customer score, which is based on overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.
The customer score makes up 60% of the overall score.
We also ask investors to rate their current platform for customer service, ease of use, information on investments, and value for money.
Fees score
The fees score uses snapshots of account and transaction fees at £5,000, £10,000, £25,000, £50,000, £100,000, £250,000, and £500,000. The fees assume four purchases and four sales in a year, spaced out in across months.
Fees are weighted higher closer to £50,000 as this is close to the average portfolio size, according to HMRC data.
The scores are assigned relative to the cheapest platform which would receive a score of 100%.
The fees score makes up 30% of the overall score.
Assets score
The assets score adds together all of the assets available within a stocks and shares Isa and assigns a score relative to the maximum out of the providers which receives 100%.
The assets score makes up 10% of the overall score.
To be considered to be a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP), the platform needs to have an overall score of 70% or higher.
Companies that reach this score are excluded if they're among the top 25% of the most expensive platforms across our scenarios, based on our fees analysis. Platforms are not eligible for WRP status if they receive a two-star rating or lower in any of our categories.
We also apply statistical tests that place the platforms into ‘bands’. Only the platforms in the highest two bands – the ones that really stand out – can be a WRP.
We will not give Which? Recommended Provider status to platforms that offer CFD trading.
To be eligible for our Great Value recommendation, platforms must be in our top three customer score bands and among the 25% least expensive in the asset categories they offer (any combination of funds, shares, or ETFs).
