JPJ Share - www.jpjshare.com

I was a bit sceptical about joining JPJ at first but finally took the plunge. I wish I did it sooner. The website is fast and easy to understand and the commissions are a third of what I was paying at HSBC. I would give it 6 out of 5 for value for money if I could. I also got a better price than I was expecting from looking at the quote prices on other websites. I couldn't recommend it more.

I used JPJShare.com and its excellent pricing for less than week and here is why.

May be it is teething problems, but half of a dozen small-cap AIM stocks, I could not get a price quote, whilst using two other brokers - I could(Something I mentioned to the dealer at JPJShare, who did not have answer). Also their platform appears to charge stamp duty for non-UK domiciled stocks (which should be the case).

Most importantly, their quote was often not the cheapest in terms of spread at all and they are NOT covered by the FSA as they are based in the Isle of Man (obviously for tax reasons). My mobile company (Three) charges calls to the Isle of Man as international, and I suspect others do to.

Customer service wise, the dealer service was good and efficient, and if you are dealing in small numbers, then they are definitely worth considering, however in larger numbers, what you save in basic charges - you are more than likely to pay in the most important of all cost - the bid/ask spread.

Finally to get your money out, you have to send an email, but to put money in - it is straight forward online, which I feel in this day and age is naughty. There are other brokers who charge similarly (£4.25 rate is only if you pay for their tipping sheet) and if financial security is a concern (considering the banking fiasco a short while back), I would try x-o.co.uk (£5.95) or svssecurities.com (£5.75) both ofwhich are FSA regulated and secured.

A new entrant to the execution only broker market. It has a simple, easy to use internet interface, but you can also telephone if you want to speak to a dealer. The costs are incredibly low - from £4.25 a month for members of t1ps.com and a maximum of £5.75 per trade with no inactivity fees or other hidden charges. Extremely good value for money.