How to use InvestDirect

Before you can start buying or selling shares, you’ll need to log on to your sharedealing account and view your portfolio page.

1. Log on to online banking as normal.
2. Find your InvestDirect or InvestDirect Plus account in your list of accounts.
3. Select your account to open it in a separate window.
4. Select ‘My Portfolio’ to access your full sharedealing account.

If you receive an error message or a blank page when trying to access your account, it could be a browser issue. Clear your cookies, empty your cache, and delete your browsing history then try again. If you still can’t access your account, please contact us.

If you selected to trade in UK equities only when you opened your account, you’ll have an InvestDirect account.

1. Select ‘Buy’ on the red toolbar.
2. Select the ‘Trade from account’ dropdown box near the top of the page and select your nominated HSBC current account.
3. Enter the name or the code of the shares you want to buy and select ‘Get price’.
4. Enter the number of shares you want to buy in the quantity box.
5. If you’re buying shares within a stocks and shares ISA, you’ll need to enter a limit price. This limits the price you’re willing to pay so you don’t oversubscribe to your ISA. You’ll need to enter this in pence (for example ‘£1.00’ would be written as ‘100’).
6. Select ‘Preview order’ to check whether you’re happy with the price. This price is only available for 15 seconds.
7. You can accept it by choosing ‘Place order’. If you change your mind, select ‘Cancel’ or ‘Amend’ to return to the previous screen.
   
8. You can view your order confirmation in ‘Messages’. This is on the left-hand side menu on your portfolio page. You should receive a confirmation within 24 hours.

If you selected to trade in UK and US equities when you opened your account, you’ll have an InvestDirect Plus account.

1. First, transfer money to pay for the shares into the relevant cash account by following the steps listed above in ‘How to fund your account’.
   
2. Select ‘Buy’ on the red toolbar to buy UK shares. If you want to buy US shares, select ‘US Shares’ on the left-hand side menu.
3. Select the ‘Trade from account’ dropdown box near the top of the page then select the relevant currency’s cash account.
4. Enter the name or the code of the shares you want to buy and select ‘Get price’.
5. Enter the number of shares you want to buy in the quantity box.
6. If you’re buying shares within a stocks and shares ISA, you’ll need to enter a limit price. This limits the price you’re willing to pay to make sure you don’t oversubscribe to your ISA. You’ll need to enter this in pence / cents / euros (for example ‘£1.00’ would be written as ‘100’).
7. Select ‘Preview order’ to check whether you’re happy with the price. This price is only available for 15 seconds.
8. You can accept it by selecting ‘Place order’. If you change your mind, select ‘Cancel’ or ‘Amend’ to return to the previous screen.
9. You can view your order confirmation in ‘Messages’ on the left-hand side menu on your portfolio page. You should receive the confirmation within 24 hours.

Once you’ve bought shares, you’re in control of which shares you want to sell and when.

1. Select the ‘Sell’ button on the red toolbar. 
2. Select the ‘Select investment account’ dropdown box near the top of the page then the account you want to trade from.
3. Select the blue ‘Sell’ button beside the shares you want to sell. 
4. Enter the number of shares you want to sell in the quantity box, or choose the ‘Sell all’ button.
5. If you want to set a limit on the price you’re willing to sell your shares for, enter a limit price. You’ll need to enter this in pence / cents (for example ‘£1.00’ would be written as ‘100’). 
6. Select ‘Preview order’ to view your order details and check whether you’re happy with the price. This price is only available for 15 seconds.
7. You can accept this by selecting ‘Place order’. If you change your mind, select ‘Cancel’ or ‘Amend’ to return to the previous screen.
8. You can view your order confirmation in ‘Messages’ on the left-hand side menu on your portfolio page. The confirmation should arrive within 24 hours.

When’s the right time to sell?

We’ve got tools to help you make better-informed selling decisions. You can: 

• set up email trade alerts on your portfolio page
• sign up for our weekly e-newsletter to stay up to date with what’s happening in the market

Good to know

If you place an order outside of our normal market hours, you’ll be shown an indicative price. The actual execution price won’t be received until the order is placed to market.

Because there’s a risk of higher price volatility for orders placed when the markets are closed, you may want to consider entering a limit price. This sets a limit on the price you’re willing to pay or the price you’re willing to sell your shares. 

If you don’t enter a limit price, your order will be executed at the price available at the time it’s placed with the market.

Here’s how to open a stocks and shares ISA, which is a tax-efficient way to save for the future because income and growth on your investments are exempt from UK income tax and capital gains tax. Remember, the value of any tax benefits described depends on your individual circumstances, and tax rules may change in the future.

1. Log on to your InvestDirect Portfolio.
   
2. Under ‘Products & Services’, select ‘ISA’ then select ‘Apply for ISA’.
3. Read the important information and agree to the terms.
   
4. Select ‘Submit application’ and your stocks and shares ISA should be opened within 5 business days. It may take a little longer to process your instruction at the start or end of a tax year.
   

Here’s how you can move shares from your investment account to an ISA.

1. Select the ‘Sell’ button on the red toolbar and the account you want to trade from.
   
2. Select the blue ‘Sell’ button beside the shares you want to sell.
3. Enter the number of shares you want to sell in the quantity box, or choose the ‘Sell all’ button.
4. After 2 working days, the money from the trade will be in your HSBC current account.

a). For InvestDirect: select ‘S&S ISA Uninvested Cash’ under ‘My Portfolio’ to view the account number and sort code then make an online payment from your current account to your ‘S&S ISA Uninvested Cash’ account.

b). For InvestDirect Plus: select ‘Between my accounts’ under ‘Move money’ in the left-hand menu to transfer funds from your cash account to your ‘S&S ISA Uninvested Cash’ account

5. Follow the steps above to buy shares in your stocks and shares ISA.

Each tax year, you need to apply for a new stocks and shares ISA.

1. Log on to your InvestDirect Portfolio.
   
2. Under ‘Products & Services’, select ‘ISA’ then select ‘Apply for ISA’.
3. Read the important information and agree to the terms.
4. Select ‘Submit application’ and your stocks and shares ISA should be opened within 24 hours. It may take a little longer to process your instruction at the start or end of a tax year.