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London Stock Exchange Brokers 2024

Written By

Jemma Grist

Written By

Jemma Grist

Jemma is a writer, editor and fact-checker focused on retail trading and investing. Jemma brings a unique perspective to the forex, stock, and cryptocurrency markets and works across several investment websites as a researcher and broker analyst.

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Edited By

James Barra

Edited By

James Barra

James is an investment writer with a background in financial services. As a former management consultant, he has worked on major operational transformation programmes at prominent European banks. James authors, edits and fact-checks content for a series of investing websites.

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Fact Checked By

William Berg

Fact Checked By

William Berg

William contributes to several investment websites, leveraging his experience as a consultant for IPOs in the Nordic market and background providing localization for forex trading software. William has worked as a writer and fact-checker for a long row of financial publications.

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Updated

Jun 12, 2024

London Stock Exchange (LSE) brokers offer access to one of the world’s top trading hubs. In this article, we cover it from A to Z and reveal all the relevant information for traders in 2024, including how to compare London Stock Exchange brokers.

You will also learn the history of the exchange, how it operates, trading hours, performance, rules and more. Finally, we offer tips and insights for investors choosing between brokers with access to the London Stock Exchange.

Choosing LSE Brokers

You may not be aware that investing directly on the LSE order books is unusual. Instead, London Stock Exchange brokers have to ask Retail Service Providers (RSPs) for pricing. These middlemen give rates in tiny volume increments, and you can only trade at their price.

Direct access and order book trading provides investors with faster execution and better pricing than a third-party broker/dealer. So, investment performance may increase regardless of the number of transactions per day or year. The ability to link the buyers’ and sellers’ order book columns may let you purchase or sell inside the spread; hence saving you money.

Here are a few examples of direct market access providers:

• iDealing
• IG Markets
• FinecoBank
• Interactive Brokers

Some other factors investors must take into consideration when choosing between London Stock Exchange brokers are FCA regulation, costs, features the app or platform has (such as alerts), and customer service availability:

Costs

Investing through brokers that support trading on the London Stock Exchange can be expensive. Fees such as commission charges, transaction costs, swap fees and account deposit & withdrawal charges can reduce your overall bottom line.

Look out for London Stock Exchange brokers that provide transparent price structures so you are clear with exactly what payments are required. Interactive Brokers, for example, charge a 0.10% fixed fee for direct routing trades on the LSE.

Platforms

Stable and reliant platforms should be one of the main considerations when comparing London Stock Exchange brokers. They are the gateway between you and the market. Make sure you have access to a range of analysis tools, pricing data and customizable graphs and charts.

IG, for example, offers a proprietary platform, plus access to third-party terminals including MetaTrader 4 and ProRealTime. This is very much a personal preference, with many investors preferring to use software they are familiar with. However, some bespoke tools can provide competitive advantages such as favored execution speeds or reduced transaction costs.

Also look out for mobile-compatible apps so you can trade on the go.

Customer Service

The best London Stock Exchange brokers will provide access to a responsive and reliable customer service team. The best methods are often integrated live chat via the website or platform or local telephone contact numbers. Look out for those LSE brokers that offer direct human interaction vs automated bots when using the contact method.

LSE brokers with 24/5 customer service include XTB, FxPro and Interactive Brokers.

Strategy

Factors to consider when you build your strategy at the top London Exchange Brokers include:

• Mergers – You can find them on specialized websites
• Financial calendar – The LSE provides a calendar of the upcoming events
• P/E ratio – Price-earnings ratio can help you determine if a company is overvalued
• News releases – Price is often impacted by world or economic events
• Historical data – Many LSE brokers provide the option to check historical share prices. It usually helps when constructing a technical analysis strategy

Choose A Stock

When buying shares at London Stock Exchange brokers, you can consider the price forecast, liquidity, the 52-week high-low, the type of asset you wish to invest in, price action in a period of time (for example, the 5-year chart), and much more. The research of this information will help you select the best stocks.

It is also worth remembering that LSE has an index fund available, the FTSE 100, made of the top 100 companies in the UK. Indecisive traders may find this particularly helpful as it tracks all the top companies and the general UK economy.

What Is The London Stock Exchange?

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the UK’s main stock exchange. It offers cost-effective access to some of the world’s deepest and most liquid capital markets. LSE hosts a diverse mix of businesses and offers listed firms electronic equity trading.

Board members include Don Robert (Chairman), David Schwimmer (CEO), Anna Manz, Jacques Aigrain, Dominic Blakemore, Martin Brand, Erin Brown, Professor Kathleen DeRose, Tsega Gebreyes, Cressida Hogg CBE, Dr. Val Rahmani, Douglas M. Steenland, and Ashok Vaswani.

The building is physically located in the London borough of Westminster. The address is 10 Paternoster Square, next to St Paul’s Cathedral, London, EC4M 7LS. In addition to the headquarters, LSE has activities in 70 cities and countries with several critical locations including Nottingham (UK), New York City (USA), Beijing (China), Bangkok (Thailand), Bengaluru (India) and Bucharest (Romania).

Note, online LSE brokers and platforms are based in various investing hubs around the world, from the UK to Europe and Asia.

History

Key milestone dates included in LSE’s history include:

• 1571 – Queen Elizabeth I of England opened the Royal Exchange. However, stockbrokers were barred from the exchange because of their impolite demeanor.
• 1698 – John Castaing began to post stock and commodity prices at Jonathan’s Coffee House, a famous restaurant and gathering place for businesspeople.
• 1773 – A club with 150 brokers founded a new “Stock Exchange” in Sweeting’s Alley. Investors can now join the trading room and exchange assets for a predetermined charge. This formal framework was needed to combat fraud.
• 1812 – The ‘First Rule Book’ was introduced, this covers everything from trade settlement to defaults.
• 1872 – Ticker tape machines begin to be used – sending price information almost immediately.
• 1929 – The London Stock Exchange fell on September 20, when prominent investor Clarence Hatry and many of his friends were convicted of fraud and forgery.
• 1967 – The building became crowded because of its popularity, but the city created a new tower. With 26 stories, it had council and administration at the top and associate enterprises on the intermediate levels.
• 1973 – The smaller markets combined to become the Stock Exchange of Great Britain and Ireland, subsequently called the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
• 1984 – On January 3, the FTSE 100 Index was launched. This is one of the most helpful indexes, tracking the top 100 businesses listed.
• 1986 – The London Stock Exchange was deregulated on October 27, bringing electronic investing to the table. This event is known as the “Big Bang” because of its massive impact. Even though the market experienced a few outages, the LSE can now compete with other worldwide exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
• 2007 – By merging with the Borsa Italiana, the London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSEG) is formed.

What Is The London Stock Exchange Used For?

Primary Markets

• Main Market – Over 1300 significant firms from 60 countries occupy the primary market. The FTSE 100 Index measures the performance of the 100 largest UK firms listed on the Main Market.
• Alternative Investment Market (AIM) – Smaller firms may trade here. It attracts a diverse spectrum of enterprises seeking expansion funding, from IPOs to established firms. AIM is a flexible market with a simplified admission procedure for companies intending to go public.

Secondary Markets

• Bonds
• Derivatives
• Debt securities
• Common stock
• Covered warrants
• Structured products
• Gilt-edged securities
• Exchange-traded funds
• Exchange-traded commodities
• Global depositary receipts (GDRs)

How London Stock Exchange Trading Works

Listing Rules

Firms follow a few listing requirements to be admitted. They must:

• Choose a market – AIM or Main Market
• Select a transaction type – Initial public offering (IPO) or a direct listing
• Appoint advisers – This usually includes legal counsel, accountant, investment bank, and any specialist sector advisers that help with the required documentation.
• Prepare application – Companies will apply to a regulator (for the Main Market listing, this is the FCA; for other markets, such as AIM, this is the London Stock Exchange).
• Market to investors – LSE brokers will help with this process by preparing a series of investor presentations.
• Launch and beyond – After the initial excitement generated by the launch, the stock price will stabilize. The companies continue to nurture their investors by generating annual reports and different marketing strategies. Through its issuer services, the LSE helps firms on the member directory to share their story with investors.

Indices

The London Stock Exchange has several specialized indexes:

• FTSE 100 Index – The Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 Share Index, or “Footsie,” is the benchmark index, including 100 of the LSE’s largest blue-chip companies.
• FTSE 250 Index – A capitalization-weighted index of the 101st to 350th biggest firms listed.
• FTSE 350 Index – The 350 most prominent firms, a combination of the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250.
• FTSE SmallCap Index – Small market cap companies, including the 351st to 619th biggest companies listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
• FTSE All-Share Index – Originally known as the FTSE Actuaries All Share Index. Composed of the top 600 enterprises.

The best London Stock Exchange brokers will integrate key financial metrics, latest updates and changes to listed companies within their services.

To start investing, you will need to find registered LSE brokers that offer instruments related to the LSE. Below we break down some of the most important considerations when comparing brokers that support trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Trading Hours

The usual London Stock Exchange market hours are from 8:00 AM opening to 16:30 closing time (local time) except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays when the market is closed. The following is the detailed daily schedule:

• Trade reporting – 07:15–07:50
• Opening auction – 07:50–08:00
• Continuous trading – 08:00–16:30
• Closing auction – 16:30–16:35
• Order maintenance – 16:35–17:00
• Trade reporting only – 17:00–17:15

The market is closed on the following bank holidays: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. If New Year’s Day, Christmas Day, or Boxing Day fall on a weekend, the next business day is a holiday. The exchange is also closed on the 24th and 31st of December.

London Stock Exchange brokers should provide an updated working hours calendar reflective of the above market closure dates.

Biggest Players

By market cap, here are some of the biggest listed member companies available at the best LSE brokers:

• Shell
• Diageo
• RELX
• Glencore
• Vodafone
• Barclays
• Prudential
• AstraZeneca
• National Grid
• Rio Tinto Group
• Anglo American
• HSBC Holdings
• Unilever Group
• GlaxoSmithKline
• BP (British Petroleum)
• Lloyd’s Banking Group
• British American Tobacco
• Reckitt Benckiser Group
• London Stock Exchange Group

The top London Stock Exchange brokers will also offer detailed insights into leading stocks, including changes to market capitalization and other financial metrics.

Why Trade With London Stock Exchange Brokers?

• Technology – The exchange uses first-class technology to better the markets and analyze assets.
• Green economy – The exchange has become a worldwide sustainable finance center with green economy equity issuers.
• Diverse assets – A variety of products are available, from in-house indexes to stocks, bonds, commodities, derivates, plus other securities.
• Deep liquidity – Because the exchange is internationally used, it attracts traders from all over the world, which adds to its liquidity.
• Volatility – As the London Stock Exchange is composed of the largest companies in the UK, it offers the possibility to trade substantial price fluctuations.
• Access – Trading on the LSE gives you unrivaled exposure to UK, European, and global markets. The LSE has a wide variety of foreign equities, ETP, and bond markets.
• Safe – LSE brokers operate under tight UK regulations and guidelines. In addition, for a firm to join the exchange, it must go through a rigorous admission process.

Tips

News

The London Stock Exchange has a press office that releases announcements regarding updates, insights, new issues, and detailed reports concerning local or international matters. This can be an invaluable information resource for investors who wish to keep up with market trends.

Look out for London Stock Exchange brokers that filter this information directly into economic calendars and client portals.

Journal

A journal can help you understand your investing performance. Note why you picked an asset, what resources and the research material you used, time and date, entrance and exit prices, if the trade was successful or not, and more. Analyze the data after a few days or weeks. This process will offer you insights into the smaller and sometimes seemingly insignificant details that impact your trades.

The best London Stock Exchange brokers and platforms allow notes and comments to be inserted directly into personal investing environment. This means you can keep track of what worked and what didn’t.

Educational Resources

One of the most prominent educational resources the London Stock Exchange offers is the Contributor Academy. The training center transforms global market knowledge into world-class training courses and programs that cover every facet of the financial markets. The faculty includes some of the most seasoned practitioners and inspiring professors in finance.

The school develops and delivers roughly 300 training courses to approximately 2,100 attendees each year. Over 4,000 projects have been designed and implemented globally since its start. In addition, LSE is at the heart of the financial markets, so it can construct courses to prepare you for the future. The majority of courses are priced at £495, take place in London or online, and are certified. However, this varies, with some courses priced at £800.

Free educational resources include news reports, documentation, analytics insights, and a virtual portfolio which we will look into next.

Demo Accounts

With LSE’s free virtual portfolio, you can learn about investing without risking any money. You can choose from thousands of stocks, ETFs, and covered warrants accessible on the market. You can also compete with your friends in Trading Simulator mode. Test your best methods to outperform the market with the £10,000 in demo capital. Additionally, the watchlist lets you keep an eye on your favorite stocks. It will tell you when your assets hit specified thresholds.

Using the virtual portfolio, you can:

• Get portfolio and aftermarket email updates
• Create portfolios and keep track of your transactions
• The RNS news stream keeps you informed and up to date
• Compare your stock performance against other industries
• Receive daily email summaries and personalized notifications
• Simulate thousands of stock trades (at current or historical price)

Alternatively, many London Stock Exchange brokers also offer demo accounts loaded with virtual funds. You can practise trading the exchange risk-free, whilst having access to live pricing data.

Resources

Some of the resources the London Stock Exchange is offering to traders and businesses include:

• Foundation – A charitable entity
• Courses and events – The Contributor Academy
• AIM – A market for small and medium-size growth companies
• Venue and studio hire – Event spaces for businesses and individuals
• Technology – Partner platform, group client technology, and market connectivity
• Multi-asset trading – Commodities, derivates, equities, fixed income securities, and forex
• Other resources – 1000 Companies to Inspire (Britain and Africa lists), documents, and reports
• Post-trade services and solutions – LCH clearing services, confirmation matching, and reconciliation
• Sustainable bond market (SBM) – Green, sustainable, social bonds, green economy issuer bonds, and sustainability-linked bonds
• The Main Market – Through the rigorousness of the joining rules, companies fall into the following segments: premium, standard, and high growth
• Turquoise – An interface and membership that helps investors access 4,300 stocks from 19 major European and emerging markets as well as US stocks, IOB Depositary Receipts, and ETFs
• Data and analytics – Refinitiv, FTSE Russell, real-time data, reference data, Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI), Regulatory News Services (RNS), corporate actions information, filings, financial statements, year-end annual reports, and ISIN services

Final Word On LSE Brokers

London Stock Exchange brokers offer access to the most influential companies in the UK in addition to a multitude of assets and indices. It provides day traders with plenty of opportunities to profit from price fluctuations and overall economic performance. Choosing the right London Stock Exchange brokers is essential in making the most of the LSE. Take our key factors above into consideration and see our list of the best brokers with access to the London Stock Exchange to get started today.

FAQ

What Companies Can I Trade With The London Stock Exchange Brokers?

Here is a list of some of the most popular firms traded at London Stock Exchange brokers: Kier, Deliveroo, HSBC, Unilever, Vodafone, BP Plc, WTB, 88 Energy, Shell, Kanabo, Zegona, Zotefoams, Boohoo, Xaar, XLMedia, C&C, XP Power, M&C Saatchi, Zenith Energy, B&M, 4D Pharma Aktie, 7Digital, 888 Holdings, Digital 9 Infrastructure, 4Imprint, 3I Infrastructure, Joules, JD SPORTS, QinetiQ, R&Q, BT, QBT, J Sainsbury, RRL, M&S, AJ Bell Plc, KGF, N Brown, RHI Magnesita NV, Kodal Minerals, U and I, JSC VTB BANK, E-therapeutics, ULVR, F&C Investment Trust, Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD Dis (VUSA), J&E Davy, HL, M&G Plc, H&T Group, H&M, AG Barr Plc, L&G Group, Tclarke, Tora, S&U Plc.

Can You Trade The London Stock Exchange From Brokers In The USA?

Yes, you can trade any LSE listed stocks using a supporting broker from the United States.

Can I Visit The London Stock Exchange?

No – the LSE office isn’t open to the public. The conventional practice of open outcry on the trading floor was replaced with computerized trading after the deregulation in 1986. Thus, the London Stock Exchange has no traditional trading floor.

Do Online Brokers Allow Cryptocurrency Trading On The London Stock Exchange?

No – this option isn’t available at the moment. With that said, you can trade many other assets such as stocks, bonds, and commodities.

What Is The Equivalent Of S&P 500 On The LSE?

The FTSE 100 is the closest comparison because it tracks the performance of the top 100 companies in the UK, in a similar manner to the S&P in the USA.