FAQ Order Type Demos
Once you've opened an online account with us, you can buy and sell by telephone or online for any account type. Dealing hours are 8.00 am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
If you want to see how easy dealing online is, why not have a look at our online demo ?
Stocks and shares that can be dealt through Barclays Stockbrokers
The table below shows what investments you can deal in online and/or by telephone.
| Investment type: | online? | telephone? | ||
| LSE listed stocks |  |
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| AIM stocks | |
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| Selected CREST IRS stocks | |
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| Funds Market unit trusts and OEICs | |
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| Non Funds Market unit trusts and OEICs |  |
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| UK Government securities (Gilts) | |
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| Bonds | |
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| PLUS (selected stocks available online) | |
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| Warrants | |
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| Covered Warrants | |
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Please note that telephone commission rates will apply for any deal you place by telephone.
For MarketMaster and Company Dealing accounts, if you want to deal in overseas investments other than IRS shares then we will open a separate account for you at Barclays Stockbrokers. Instructions can only be given by telephone and higher dealing and administration charges will apply for this service. To find out more about overseas investments please contact our Client Service Team on 0845 601 7788.
Your dealing limit
Each account you hold will have its own dealing limit. For MarketMaster and Company Dealing accounts the dealing limit is automatically calculated on a daily basis. This is based on the value of stock held at close of business the previous day, and cash held in your account, taking into consideration any unsettled deals and pending orders.
For ISA and SIPP accounts the dealing limit is based upon the amount of cash available in your account.
If you have a pre-agreed ‘Permanent Dealing Limit’ for an account that limit will apply unless the calculated amount ‘Available to Invest’ is greater than this, in which case your amount ‘Available to Invest’ will apply. For example, if you have a ‘Permanent Dealing Limit’ of £50,000 but your amount ‘Available to Invest’ has been calculated at £45,000, then the dealing limit of £50,000 would apply. Please see ‘How your balances are calculated’ for further information about dealing limits.
Please note that Permanent Dealing Limits are reviewed every 6 months. We will try to make sure this does not affect you when dealing, but in certain circumstances we may need to reduce your dealing limit.
Charges for placing an order
You can deal online and by telephone. Dealing rates vary by account type and dealing method. See our Rates & Charges for specific details.
Order types available
There are 4 order types made available to you when dealing with Barclays Stockbrokers. These are:
- Quote & Deal (available during market hours only)
- Limit
- At Best
- Stop
Quote & Deal Orders
Quote & Deal orders allow you to view a real-time price and decide whether to place your order based on this price, so you know the price before you deal.
With a Quote & Deal order we will hold this price for 15 seconds therefore reducing your exposure to any price movement during this time. If you accept the quoted price you will then receive immediate online confirmation.
Quote & Deal orders can only be placed during market hours. This order type is available for LSE, AIM, IRS and PLUS shares online and by telephone.
There is no minimum value for Quote & Deal orders placed online - although for sales the value must at least cover the commission and charges of the order. The maximum value allowed for Quote & Deal orders online will be determined by your amount ‘Available to Invest’.
Quote & Deal orders are suitable when the market is open and you want to deal immediately.
Limit Orders
Limit orders allow you the ability to specify the minimum price at which you want to sell, or the maximum price at which you want to buy shares, and tell us how long you want the limit order to stay open (up to a maximum of 30 business days).
We will hold the order and place a deal if the price meets or exceeds your limit price within the period you specified.
Limit orders can be placed by telephone or online. Online this order type can be placed at any time regardless of whether the market is open or closed. Limit orders placed by telephone are subject to certain restrictions.
Please note that a Limit order will only be dealt if your limit price is met or exceeded within your specified expiry period.
During market hours you can place a Limit order for LSE, AIM, IRS and PLUS * shares online and by telephone. Outside of market hours Limit orders can only be placed for LSE and AIM shares.
There is no minimum value for Limit orders - although for sales the value must at least cover the commission and charges of the order. The maximum value allowed for Limit orders online will be determined by your amount ‘Available to Invest’.
You can request that we send you an e-mail when your order has been dealt, or expires. You can also choose to amend or cancel pending stock orders, or to re-submit expired orders. Please note there may be a limited time period of time where you will not be able to amend or cancel your order, which may be due to the fact that the order is in the process of being dealt by us.
Limit orders, when buying, are suited to situations where you believe the price will fall to a level you consider good value. When selling, a Limit order is suitable when you believe the price will rise to a level at which you are happy to take a profit.
A Limit order is not a Stop order.
At Best Orders
At Best orders give you the opportunity of obtaining the best price available to us in the relevant market for the stock and size concerned at the time your order is dealt.
This order type can be placed at any time regardless of whether the market is open or closed.
Please note that an At Best order does not guarantee the price at which your order will be carried out.
During market hours you will be able to place an At Best order for LSE, AIM, IRS and PLUS shares online and by telephone. Outside market hours At Best orders can only be placed for LSE and AIM shares.
There is no minimum value for At Best orders placed - although for sales the value must at least cover the commission and charges of the order. The maximum value allowed for At Best orders online will be determined by your amount ‘Available to Invest’.
You can request that we send you an e-mail when your order has been dealt. You can also choose to amend or cancel pending stock orders. Please note there may be a limited time period of time where you will not be able to amend or cancel your order, which may be due to the fact that the order is in the process of being dealt by us.
Dealing ‘At Best’ is suitable when the market is closed and you want to ensure that your order is dealt as soon as the market re-opens, or the number of shares contained in your order exceeds that which can be entered in a Quote & Deal order.
Stop Orders
A Stop Order to sell, otherwise known as a Stop Loss order, is an instruction to sell shares at the prevailing market price but only if a price specified by you, your stop price, has been reached or passed.
To gain added protection over the price at which your order is dealt you can specify a limit price as part of your Stop Order to sell, in which case shares will only be sold at a price which is between your stop and limit price, inclusive. Setting a limit price is optional.
Stop Orders are triggered on the basis of prices quoted by the LSE. The price at which a Stop Order may actually be dealt could be different to the LSE price due to the benefits of Barclays Stockbrokers Price Improver®.
A Stop Order to sell is commonly used to minimise a loss or protect a gain on an existing holding.
A Stop order is not a Limit order.
Getting the best price for your equity order
At Barclays Stockbrokers we use our size to negotiate the best prices for you through Barclays Stockbrokers Price Improver®.
Barclays Stockbrokers Price Improver® gives you the chance to beat the price displayed by the London Stock Exchange. It automatically finds the prices being offered for your shares by scanning many market makers, which allows us to give you the best price available to us, every time you deal.
When you place a Quote & Deal order you will see any price improvement that we have gained on your behalf on your online confirmation page, or on the contract note we post to you.
In the event of volatile market conditions or at the beginning of the trading day, we may prevent Limit and Stop orders being dealt because of unrealistic prices. Prices are considered unrealistic when the spread between the selling and buying price exceeds a percentage determined by us. The percentage varies depending upon the price of the stock. When this happens we will continue to monitor your order until the situation changes or until it expires.
How to place a fund order online
To help with your investment decision we now offer you two choices fro trading in funds:
- Choose to buy or sell an individual fund online; selecting from a wide range of funds provided by 18 different fund managers (Other Unit Trusts and OEICs can be dealt by telephone)
- Buy a Funds Dealing Package; choose from one of our 3 Funds Dealing Packages, pre-selected groups of 4 funds with a common investment objective.
There are no minimum or maximum restrictions for sale orders, although you must own the number of units being sold and, unless you are selling your entire fund holding, no partial units will be accepted. For purchase orders you must invest at least £500 and the maximum will be determined by your amount ‘Available to Invest’. The minimum investment amount for any of our Funds Dealing Packages is £2,000; the minimum £500 for each of the 4 funds within the packages.
Whenever you are thinking of placing a funds order you will be able to gain access to detailed information about your selected fund and its latest published price by accessing the relevant Fund Factsheet within our Research Centre. Prior to placing an order you should also read the disclosures applicable to funds dealing.
As soon as you have placed a funds order your amount ‘Available to Invest’ and ‘Holdings’ will be adjusted and you will not be able to use either the cash or the units in future orders until your deal is carried out.
Fund orders will be carried out at the next appropriate dealing point, which will be notified to you on-screen, and will settle 4 days after the deal date. At any time after you have placed a fund order you will be able to check its progress by accessing the ‘Order Status’ area of the website.
A contract note will be posted to you following the successful dealing of your funds order. A record of your deal will also be accessible in the ‘Deal History’ area of the website.
Please note that when you place a funds order, should our system detect that you have already placed the same type of order (to buy or sell) for the same fund and it has not yet been dealt, then we will amalgamate your orders for dealing purposes.
Funds
Please read the following disclosures which apply to investing in Funds Dealing Packages:
- Funds Dealing Packages are made available to clients of Barclays Stockbrokers on an execution-only basis. If you are unsure about the nature or suitability of these packages, or any of the products they can be bought within, you should seek advice from your independent financial advisor.
- Funds Dealing Packages are designed to simplify the investment choice within our Funds Market. They group together 4 funds from our Funds Market with similar investment objectives.
- They are not a recommendation from our Investment Director or Barclays Stockbrokers to buy either the Funds Dealing Package or the constituent funds.
- The ongoing management of your investments is your responsibility as is the suitability of a Funds Dealing Package for your investment needs.
- The Investment Director of Barclays Stockbrokers will review the choice of funds selected for each package on a periodic basis (normally 6 monthly) and may change the constituent funds within the package. We will not directly communicate this change to any clients who have previously invested in this Funds Dealing Package. We will however publish the new details on the Funds Dealing Package factsheet, which can be accessed through our website. We reserve the right to change the constituent funds within any of our Funds Dealing Packages at any time.
- The performance of the underlying funds in each package is not guaranteed.
The following points relate to single funds deals or package funds deals:
- The ‘Last Price’ is the last price published by the fund manager.
- All funds are dealt on a forward pricing basis with the exception of Merrill Lynch who may price on a historic basis.
- Orders received prior to the cut off time stated will be passed to the fund managers today. Orders received after the cut off time stated will be passed to the fund manager on the next business day. This reflects standard practice for dealing in unit trusts.
- Cancellation rights do not apply to orders placed through Barclays Stockbrokers.
- Funds are dealt on an execution only basis.
- Barclays Stockbrokers will receive remuneration from the fund manager. The basis of the remuneration received as a result of any transaction is available to you on request.
- A dilution levy may be made by the fund manager and is included in the price set by the fund manager.
If you are unsure about the suitability of trading in funds or Funds Dealing Packages for your investment needs you should speak to an independent financial advisor.
Warrants Online
What are Warrants?
A company may issue warrants to their shareholders, as part of a change in their share capital. They are not shares. Warrants give you the right, but not the obligation to buy shares in the company issuing the warrants, on a fixed date(s), at a fixed price. You can sell your warrants at any time before the fixed date, dependent on market conditions. The value of the warrant is worked out by comparing the fixed price of the warrant against the market price of the shares. Warrants generally do not entitle you to dividends or voting rights.
For example, if your warrant for ABC plc has a fixed (or exercise) price of £ per share, and the market price is £1.20, your warrant is worth 20p. If the market price rises to £1.40, the warrant is worth 40p. The share price has gone up by 16.6% (£1.20 to £1.40), but the warrant has gone up by 100% (20p to 40p). The stock market term for this is highly geared - this means that a relatively small change in the share price can make a large change in the warrant price.
In the above example, the share price rose. In reality, this could have fallen to below the share price - this would make the warrant worthless. And in any case, the warrants may become worthless after the final exercise date. So, as you can see, warrants carry much more risk than ordinary shares. Because of this, FSA rules state that investors must sign a warrants risk warning notice before buying warrants to ensure that they understand the risks involved.
Warrants/Derivative Risk Warning Notice
Before buying Warrants and or/Covered Warrants you should be aware of the risks involved. These risks are documented on Warrants/Derivative Risk Warning Notice.
To meet our regulatory requirements, and to ensure that you are aware of the risks involved, we ask you to print and read a copy of the Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice. Please complete the attached Suitability Questionnaire, and indicate to us that you understand the risks involved by signing and returning the form to us at
Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice
Barclays Stockbrokers
Tay House
300 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 4LH
To download this form you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader . If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free from the Adobe website. We have provided a link to the Adobe website on the 'Forms' page to help you do this.
Once we have received your signed form we will be able to update your account details and enable your account to buy warrants online. If you have not completed a Warrants Risk Warning Notice you will not be able to place an order to buy warrants online.
You should understand the potential risks involved in dealing in warrants. If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of warrants for your investment needs please consult your independent financial advisor.
Placing a warrants order online
You can buy and sell warrants online within a MarketMaster account.
Before placing your order, you should check your 'Available to Invest' amount, 'Permanent Dealing Limit' and the status of your share 'Holdings' by going to the 'Account View' page within the Portfolio & Accounts tab.
You may also want to check the price of the warrants you intend to buy/sell by using the 'Real Time Prices' tool accessible from the top of the left hand menu throughout the whole site.
In the first step, on the 'Enter Order' page, you will be asked to confirm the following so that we can act on your instructions:
- The account you want to deal on. If you have more than one account, you will need to select the account you want to use to make your deal on by using the drop down box at the top of the page.
- The code of the shares you want to deal in. If you are not sure of the code, enter a few letters of the company name that you want to search for and choose the green 'Search' button. We will find all the companies beginning with those letters and you will be able to choose the company you want to deal in from the list provided.
- Select whether you want to place a Quote & Deal or At Best instruction:
Quote & Deal - we will obtain a real time price quote from the market. If you decide to accept the quote then your deal will be executed immediately. Quote & Deal can only be used during market hours.
At Best - order will be dealt as soon as possible at the prevailing price applicable to the number of shares in your order. Ideal when the market is closed or when the number of shares applicable to your order exceeds the maximum quantity allowed using Quote & Deal.
- Whether you want to buy or sell warrants.
- The number of warrants you want to buy or sell, or a cash amount you want to invest or raise. Note that when entering a number of warrants or cash amount you must enter a whole number (a cash amount including decimal places will not be accepted).
- If you are entering a cash amount you should include whether you want to include or exclude charges in the amount you have entered.
If you are unsure about any of the details you have entered then choose the red 'clear' button to clear the screen of all the details you have already input so you can re-enter your order.
When you are happy with the details entered choose the green 'next' button to proceed to the next step in the process.
If there are any details that have not been entered which we need to process your order we will prompt you with a message at the top of the page. lease choose not to receive order status updates by email by de-selecting this option when placing your order.
Trading Covered Warrants
Placing a Covered Warrants trade online
Maturity Date and Exercising Covered Warrants
Covered Warrants are derivatives issued by financial institutions which give the holder the right but not the obligation to buy (call) or sell (put) an underlying asset at a specified price on or before a predetermined date in the future.
Currently in the UK, all Covered Warrants are cash settled. This means that although the terms of the warrant express a right to buy or sell the underlying security they could more accurately be described as the right to receive a cash payment equivalent to the difference between the strike price (shown in the name of the Covered Warrants) and the value of the underlying asset at maturity.
The name Covered Warrants denotes the fact that the Issuer will often cover their exposure by buying the underlying stock in the marker, or by using other instruments.
Before buying Warrants and/or Covered Warrants you should be aware of the risks involved. We have documented these risks on the Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice which is available to download from the Forms page.
To meet our regulatory requirements, and to ensure that you are aware of the risks involved, we ask you to print and read a copy of the Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice and Suitability Questionnaire. Please complete the attached Suitability Questionnaire, and indicate to us that you understand the risks involved by signing and returning the form to us at:
Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice and Suitability Questionnaire
Barclays Stockbrokers
Tay House
300 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 4LH
As soon as we have received the completed Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice and satisfactorily completed the Suitability Questionnaire, we will update our systems to allow you to trade in Covered Warrants.
Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice
If you have not completed the Risk Warning Notice and Suitability Questionnaire and returned it to us you will not be able to buy Covered Warrants. If you attempt to buy Covered Warrants online before then you will receive the following error message prompting you to complete and return the form:
“Before you can buy Covered Warrants you will need to complete a Warrants/Derivatives Risk Warning Notice and Suitability Questionnaire”.
Covered Warrants are an opportunity to make significant profits, and the gearing means that they are potentially more rewarding than ordinary share dealing. However, this also means that the risks and potential losses are greater. Before trading you should fully understand the nature of Covered Warrants and the extent of their exposure to risk. You should consult an independent financial adviser, if you are unsure whether Covered Warrants are a suitable investment for you.
Placing Covered Warrants trades online
You can buy and sell warrants within a MarketMaster account or SIPP. Due to Inland Revenue regulations you are not permitted to buy or hold Covered Warrants within an ISA.
Before placing your order, you should check your 'Available to Invest' amount, 'Permanent Dealing Limit' and the status of your share 'Holdings' by going to the 'Account View' page within the ‘Portfolio & Accounts’ tab.
Maturity Date and Exercising Covered Warrants
Maturity
Covered Warrants are a time limited investment – they mature on a predetermined date set on issue. This is the last date on which the Covered Warrant can be exercised. The date the covered warrant matures will be displayed as part of the full name of the Covered Warrant. We also display this date on the Quote verification page for you to see before you place your trade and on the Order Confirmation page, once a trade has been placed.
Exercise
There is a regulatory requirement that all London Stock Exchange listed Covered Warrants will exercise automatically upon maturity when the investor is 'in the money'.
Although you will be able to exercise American style Covered Warrants before the maturity date serious consideration should be given to the fact that the Covered Warrant may have a greater value if sold rather than expired. If you are uncertain about which course of action to take please consult an independent financial advisor.
Charges
Commission will be charged at the same rate as standard equities, with covered warrants trades counting towards your deal count. However, you can trade in Covered Warrants issued by Goldman Sachs, Société Générale and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein for £1. At the time of trading commission will be charged at the standard equity rate. We will then credit the difference back to your account after end of the month reconciliation.
Due to the fact that all UK listed Covered Warrants are cash settled, with no stock transferred, you will not be charged the 0.5% Stamp Duty usually incurred on UK share purchases.
Settlement
Trades in Covered Warrants settle 3 working days from the date of trade.
If you choose to exercise the Covered Warrants or it is exercised automatically on maturity, we will settle this with the market within 5 working days from the date of maturity. The proceeds will be paid to your account within 10 working days of the funds reaching us.
View our Frequently Asked Questions and dedicated Covered Warrants page under the What We Offer tab for more Covered Warrants information.
Settlement of your order
Purchases
We will deduct the cost of your purchase from cash available in your CMS on the settlement date, which is usually 3 business days after your order is dealt.
If there is insufficient cash in your account, and you have a direct debit set up, we will automatically take the balance owing from your chosen bank account, meaning you don’t have to take any action.
If you know there will be insufficient cash available in your account on settlement day but you don’t have a direct debit set up, you can fund your CMS*, before the settlement date, by one of the following methods:- Cheque
- Electronic Transfer
- Debit Card
* These payment methods are not applicable to SIPP accounts.
Please note that you must have cash available within your Investment ISA to cover the cost of any purchases.
Sales
We will pay the proceeds of your sale into your Cash Management Service on the settlement date, which is usually 3 business days after your order is dealt.
You can choose to withdraw sale proceeds by logging into your account and selecting ‘Cash Manager’ from the left hand menu of the Home, Portfolio & Accounts or Deal tabs. You can also withdraw the proceeds of a sale direct to your bank account at the end of the deal process by selecting the Cash Withdrawal option if you have nominated an external bank account. Alternatively, you can give instructions to withdraw cash by phone, or in writing at any time after your account is fully opened. You can also give written instructions to withdraw and re-register stock.