Summary
Lloyds Bank is a retail and commercial bank in Birmingham, England. Although it was officially founded on the 16th of January, 2009, when Lloyds Banking Group acquired HBOS Plc, its roots date back to the founding of Taylors & Lloyds in Birmingham in 1765. From that time until the current time of writing, Lloyds bank has undergone a series of mergers and acquisitions that have recently led to it becoming one of the big four – the four biggest banks in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters is located at 25 Gresham Street, London, while its registered office is on The Mound in Edinburgh.
While buying Lloyds shares can be extremely valuable, they can be daunting to new investors who need some guidance on how to choose the right broker and tools for trading. In this comprehensive guide, we will go through how to buy Lloyds (LLOY) shares for retail investors. We will look at the benefits and downsides of investing in Lloyds shares, factors to consider (CFDs, fees, commissions, etc.) before buying Lloyds stocks, and some opinions from internet users on how to buy shares in Lloyds and bank shares in general.
Buying Lloyds bank shares is as simple as following these steps:
- Select an Online Stockbroker
- Create a Brokerage Account
- Deposit Funds
- Buy Lloyds Shares
- Manage your Lloyds Positions
Here are some of the benefits and downsides of buying Lloyds shares:
Pros
- Good for Portfolio Diversification
- Great Growth Potential
- Dividend Income
- Better Security Due to Regulatory Oversight
Cons
- Sensitivity to Interest Rates
- Regulations might affect Bank’s Performance
Before you buy Lloyds bank shares, it is important you do a little important research and determine whether they are worth buying. To do this, there are some important facts you need to consider:
Commissions & Fees
Buying Lloyds shares involves more than just the cost price. To access the stock exchange, you may need to use a brokerage investment platform. These platforms may charge you commissions and fees for providing comfortable trading for you. The most common fees you will find on brokerage platforms are spreads, the difference between the bid and ask price of the stock. You may also pay a commission, a percentage of the amount traded, depending on the broker. Brokers like eToro and Capital.com are commission-free, meaning you don’t have to pay commissions to trade Lloyds shares on these platforms.
Stock Brokers Regulation
To protect investors’ funds, regulatory bodies like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) monitor and regulate stock brokers. These bodies enforce strict laws that ensure transparency and insurance for every stock trader. It is therefore important to trade with brokers that are regulated by the FCA and other bodies depending on your location. If you live in the USA, the financial body that regulates brokers is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), while in Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is in charge of these regulations.
Trading Platforms
Trading platforms are computer software used by brokers to connect traders to the stock market. Brokers will often offer one of two broad classes of trading platforms: proprietary and third-party trading platforms. Proprietary platforms are platforms created exclusively by the brokers for traders registered with them, while third-party platforms are common platforms widely used across various trading brokers.
Proprietary trading platforms have grown in recent times because they are easily customizable. However, third-party platforms like MetaTrader (MT4 and MT5) and cTrader are also widely used by retail traders, with MT5 being the most used platform to trade shares globally. Before trading Lloyds shares, check the platforms available and see if you are comfortable with them. You can use a demo account to check this out.
Leverage Availability
Leveraged trading is a trading system that involves opening and trading positions larger than the amount in your trading account. This involves borrowing money at a scale ten times or higher to open larger trades. This method can be beneficial if you’re successful, but it can also leave you penniless and in debt if it goes wrong. For this reason, regulatory bodies often set leverage limits for the stock brokers they regulate. For example, the FCA has leverage limits on single stock equities like Lloyds shares up to 1:5.
Also, check if the broker has CFDs. CFDs (Contracts for Difference) is a method of derivative trading that involves speculating the direction of assets without owning the asset. CFD trading requires leverage to trade, which makes it a bit complex compared to regular trading practices.
Lloyds Stock Performance
Before you invest in Lloyds stock, it is important to confirm that the stock is worth your investment. This study is pivotal to your trading strategy as it helps determine how you should approach trading this stock if you choose to trade it. Check the stock history, and how it has performed through different market cycles, and compare the stock to other stocks in the same industry to see if it outperforms them. Finally, compare the stock with the stock market as a whole and see if it outperforms the stock market.
Lloyds Past Dividends
Check to see the history of Lloyds’ past dividends to determine if it is good enough for you. You can find this history on the Lloyds Banking Group website. It has a comprehensive table showing all the dividends per share through the years, and when they were paid. You can use this information to forecast future share dividend expectations.
Brokers offer a wide range of trading platforms with different tools and interfaces. However, all trading platforms can be broadly categorized into two: proprietary and third-party trading platforms. Most brokers offer one or both trading platforms to traders with desktops and mobile devices.
Desktop Trading Platforms
Desktop trading platforms are platforms available on desktop computers and laptops. You can access a desktop trading platform either by downloading the desktop app and installing it on your computer or using the web version online. Brokers often offer proprietary and third-party trading platforms on their desktop platforms. For example, eToro offers only its proprietary platform while Capital.com offers both proprietary and third-party platforms.
MT5 is the most used platform for trading stocks because of the updated charting tools, timeframes, and technical indicators on the platform. However, other platforms like cTrader and MT4 are still widely used and might be a better fit for you.
Mobile Apps
Brokers often offer their proprietary and third-party trading platforms on mobile apps for investors to trade Lloyd and other shares on the go. This offers trading ease to traders who travel a lot. With a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device, you can trade the stock market from any location when you download the mobile app from your device app store.
Mobile apps offer some extra benefits like real-time news and notifications on your mobile device.
As mentioned earlier, there are different fees and commissions that you have to pay when you buy Lloyd shares from brokers. These fees are dependent on the broker you trade with, as some may not charge fees that others charge.
Broadly speaking, there are two categories of fees incurred when buying Lloyd shares: trading and non-trading fees:
Trading Fees
Trading fees are incurred when you actively trade shares. This means you have to actively trade on a platform before they can charge you trading fees. Some trading fees you may encounter include:
Spreads: A spread is the difference between the bid and ask price of a trading instrument, a Lloyds bank share in this case. This is very common with commission-free brokers who add a little markup on the bid and ask prices after providing liquidity on their platform. Spreads are also driven by general market dynamics and supply and demand for the shares.
Commission: Some brokers will charge you a fixed percentage as a commission for trading on their platform. Brokers like eToro and Capital.com are commission-free, meaning they don’t charge commissions for trades you carry out on their platforms.
Overnight Fees: These fees are charged to your account when you hold a leveraged trading position overnight. They are interests charged on the money borrowed to hold that leverage position and their amount depends on the broker and amount of leverage you own.
Non Trading Fees
Non-trading fees are fees you incur on your trading account without actively trading. They are fees you have to pay even when you don’t directly trade or buy Lloyds shares. Some non-trading fees you are likely to pay include:
Inactivity Fee: You pay this fee on your trading account when you leave your account dormant for an extended period of time, usually 6 months or more. eToro charges you an inactivity fee of $10 per month after your account has been inactive for one year.
Conversion Fee: If you use a currency that is not accepted for trading on a brokerage platform, you need to convert it to the accepted trading currency. This currency conversion could come with a fee, depending on the brokerage platform you use. Brokers like eToro and Capital.com will charge you a fee for conversion, which is a small percentage of the amount being converted.
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees: These fees are charged when you deposit and withdraw to and from your trading accounts. Some brokers do not charge this fee.
About Lloyds (LLOY)
Lloyds bank is one of the big four banks in the United Kingdom, employing over 45,000 staff across all branches. The bank was founded in 1765 by two men named John Taylor and Sampson Lloyd II in Birmingham, England. The bank was first called Taylors & Lloyds when it was founded and stayed that way until 1865 when the association between the Taylor and Lloyd family ended. It then changed its name to Lloyds Banking Company Ltd in 1865. In 2009, thanks to the acquisition of HBOS by its parent company, the bank changed its name to Lloyds Bank, a name it has maintained to date.
The bank has made a lot of major acquisitions throughout its existence to cement its position as one of the largest banks in the UK. In 1995, Lloyds Bank acquired TSB Bank for £4.2 billion, creating Lloyds TSB Group plc. The merger created one of the largest banks in the UK at the time. They also acquired the UK credit card business of MBNA and the pensions and savings business of the Zurich Insurance Group.
In 2009, Lloyds TSB merged with HBOS to form Lloyds Banking Group. HBOS was already listed on the London Stock Exchange, so Lloyds Banking Group acquired HBOS and gained a listing on the stock exchange without having to go through the IPO process. Lloyds Banking Group’s share price has slowly dropped over the years, to around 42 pence (£0.42), from around 400 pence (£4) during its merger. They pay dividends on their shares, ranging from 1 to 2 pence (£0.01 to £0.02) per share over the past 5 years.
According to data from the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Lloyds Banking Group is the 20th largest bank in the world, ahead of banks like Standard Chartered and NatWest Group. Data from MacroTrends estimate that its market capitalization is $37.47 billion. In addition to their massive bank, Lloyds Bank is also a stockbroker, offering share dealing, investment ISAs, and ready-made investments.
Before buying shares, it is important to do some research about those shares. Part of this research involves reading reviews and advice from traders who have traded these shares in the past. For this reason, we went through comments from two of the largest social communities online to see what people thought about buying Lloyds Shares.
Reddit is called the front page of the internet for a reason. Over 500 million people visit this website to read posts and reviews from other Redditors on topics like sports, politics, and trading. We went through a few threads to see what people thought about Lloyds shares.
The first thread we saw was from a Redditor who wanted to start trading using the Lloyds Bank stock brokerage platform. He was specifically interested in buying bonds and shares.
One Redditor told him that using the stock brokerage platform to buy Lloyds and other shares might not be a good option because of their fees that are above the regular range. Some of these fees include £1.50 per trade to buy or sell funds, £11 per trade to buy and sell stocks (or £8 if you trade 8+ times per calendar quarter), and a £20 six-monthly admin charge.
Another Redditor stressed the point that Lloyds wasn’t cheap for share dealing and buying bonds, and that the original poster should consider a smaller trading app with lower costs like Vanguard.
Quora
Just like Reddit, Quora is one of the biggest social communities in the world, with hundreds of millions of users talking about a wide range of topics, from entertainment to fashion, politics, and finance. We searched through threads on Quora to find people’s opinions on Lloyd Bank shares.
The first thread we saw was from a Quora user who wanted to know how they could buy Lloyd Bank shares. A Quora user replied to the Original poster (OP) with a detailed comment, explaining how to use a broker to buy Lloyd Bank shares. The commenter recommended a few UK brokers like Barclays Stockbrokers, TD Waterhouse, Share Centre, Interactive Investor, Halifax Share Dealing, etc. in case the OP was having problems choosing the right one. In addition, they gave a step-by-step description of how to buy Lloyd shares from any broker the OP chooses. They also talked a little about price quotes and limit orders on Lloyd shares.
Another commenter responded to the same post, reiterating the main points from the first comment. They told the OP to choose a broker, register an account with the broker, transfer money to the trading account, and make a trade. This user recommended FXCM UK as a quality broker in case the OP wanted to start trading immediately.
Bottom Line
Lloyds Bank is one of the largest banks in the UK, and the world, and it plays a major role in the UK banking industry. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, so you can buy its stocks by registering with a broker that offers access to the LSE. In this guide article, we went through how to buy Lloyds (LLOY) shares from brokers, starting with understanding how to select brokers and learning about trading platforms and fees you may encounter when trading with them.
Generally, reviews on Lloyds bank shares are not very favorable, because people are wary of bank shares, especially since the 2008 market crash. However, it is important to do your own research before buying this stock to determine if it’s worth investing in for you.
Q & A
Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765 as Taylors & Lloyds Bank. In 2009, thanks to the acquisition of HBOS by its parent company, the bank changed its name to Lloyds Bank, a name it has maintained to date.
Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765 by two men named John Taylor and Sampson Lloyd II. They started the bank in Birmingham, England, under the name Taylors & Lloyds. John Taylor was a button maker, while Sampson Lloyd II was an iron producer and dealer.
Lloyds Banking Group became a public company on November 23, 1986, when it was first listed on the London Stock Exchange. At that time, the bank was known as Lloyds Bank Plc.
According to recent data from Market Screener, Harris Associates LP is the largest shareholder of Lloyds Bank, owning 5.37% of all outstanding shares. Other companies like BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd. (4.04%), Norges Bank Investment Management (3.14%), and the Vanguard Group, Inc. (2.85%) are all major shareholders of Lloyds Bank.
The total number of outstanding Lloyds shares is 65,595,697,510, 100% of which are free-float shares, none held by the company or any insiders or strategic investors who may not sell them in the short term.
Yes, you can easily access Lloyds shares using a trading account with a broker like eToro or Capital.com.
The average price of Lloyds shares in 2023 has been around £50.92 per share.
Lloyds shares have remained pretty stable for about 5 years now, only going down by 50% during the 2020 global pandemic.
Yes, Lloyds Bank is a profitable bank. According to Reuters, the bank registered a profit of £2.3 billion ($2.9 billion) before taxes for the first three months of 2023, beating many profit estimates.
The choice to buy Lloyds shares depends on your investment strategy and target portfolio. However, remember that there are risks involved in buying Lloyds shares, as it is with every share in the stock market.
Lloyds shares have been considered a ‘moderate buy’ by 5 out of 8 analysts, according to data from MarketBeat in July 2022. Regardless of this analysis, it is important you do your own analysis before investing in the shares, as it may or may not be a good fit for your trading strategy or portfolio.
You can buy Lloyds shares by following a simple process of choosing a suitable broker, opening a trading account, depositing some money into your trading account, searching for the Lloyds share ticker symbol, LLOY, on the brokerage platform, and buying some.
You can buy Lloyds shares through brokers who offer access to the London Stock Exchange. Brokers like eToro, Capital.com, etc. are good examples.
Lloyds shares are available to investors from countries of the world where trading on the London Stock Exchange is allowed. In most countries, however, trading Lloyd shares is open as an option to many traders.
You may have to pay overnight fees, spreads, commissions, inactivity fees, and conversion fees when trading Lloyds shares.
Brokers like eToro offer low spreads and zero commissions on Lloyds shares, so they are a good pick.
Some brokers that offer the best trading conditions to invest in Lloyds shares are eToro and Capital.com.
