Well itâs no doubt you can hold an ETF in your ISA and that ETF can have fractional stocks so we agree on that Iâm sure.
But when you said ETFs are âall goodâ here, Iâm saying they are not âall goodâ since you wonât be able to buy 0.5 of the ETF and still have to buy full units of the ETF so I wouldnât call that all good at all.
No you have this part the wrong way round.
A fraction of a share is not a share and therefore cannot be held in ISAs. âSharesâ, as referred to in paragraph 7(2)(a) of the ISA Regulations, refers only to whole shares and not parts
Where fractional shares are an exchange traded fund they are not subject to the same restrictions.
I have shortened the statement, not to change the meaning, but to hopefully make it clearer. The statement is in relation to what is allowable to be held in your ISA wrapper. Different regulations govern what an ETF can and cant hold.
Well here is the statement exactly. I believe you are simplifying this to read as âIf the investment is an ETF then it is an exception and it can be fractional and not a full unit in an ISAâ. But I am reading it as âshares in an ETF can be fractional so you can still hold an ETF in an ISAâ. The âtheyâ part for me is referring to the fractional shares in the ETF not the ETF itself, because they are basically saying you have no control over the shares in the ETF.
On second reading, I think you may be right.
If your reading is correct, then their statement is contradictory as that would mean I couldnât hold a fractional share directly but I am allowed to hold one directly if a full share of a collective investment scheme holds the fractions for me which is just daft 
That would actually help retail investors to highlight the whole thing is stupid.
So what Iâm keen on knoing is what happens if shares were once held as fractions before Nov 22 or any other day HMRC decides will be Thier cut off day.
For example.
Someone starts investing on January 1st of this year and buys 0.5 shares in letâs say IWDG as thatâs one of my fave ETFs.
Come November 22 or any other cut off day that HMRC chooses, will all the full shares of this etf be exempt.
Yeah, I think this is an underrated benefit of funds: they are fractional by default.
Some are cheaper than ETF equivalents and I think there are advantages to forward pricing as well. Youâre less likely to buy and sell if you canât see a live price and do so in a split second.
For me, the major downside is platform fees. It tends to be an uncapped % and/or a commission.
Also if HMRC do decide that fractions arenât allowed.
Will they allow us to round up position containing fractions to the next whole share as a kind of exemption
For example.
I currently hold 120.something shares in Tritax Big Box.
Will HMRC say something like.
âFractions are no longer elegible in ISAs and you have one of 2 options. You can sell the fractions or make any trade that includes selling the fractions which might bring a tax liability, or as an exemption we will allow you to round up to the next whole share and they can be sold as per ISA tax exemption rules as you now are selling as full sharesâ
I just wonder how the mechanics will play out.
For the record I thing BBOX is a total 
and am bullish. But just wanted to play the scenario
Ooh good point, Iâll round up all my fractions now and forget about it 
I think there may have been a misunderstanding.
Yes fractions can be held withing an ETF position by the etc issuer.
But if we buy a fraction of an ETF, say half a share in VRWL this will still play out the same.
My question is
If you have been building a position like I have with BBOX what happend if at one point some of those who shares you now have once were fractions.
Iâve got 120.something or other shares in the company and have usually just thrown whatever money I had come in from dividends quarterly to it.
A lot of those shares from the 15 or so buy trades Iâve made were at one time fractions but now are full shares.
How would HMRC likely see that
I really wouldnât worry about all this. As I understand it, even if the worst happens â itâs the platforms rather than their clients that are liable.
Hi
The good news is the petition I have made is now available for anyone to sign
Iâve signed it.
come on peeps lets have some more signatures!
Signed! This whole thing is worrying.
signed 
20 chars.
Itâs doing well with circa 460 sigs and counting at present.
Thanks everyone
Signed and I will pass it on to X etc when I get home.
According to the Financial Times today.
Good news, hopefully they realise open ended funds shouldnât hold illiquid assets - its what closed end funds are perfect for!
So now it is announced. âSavers and investors will be able to open more than one Isa of the same type each year. The Government also intends to permit fractional shares to be held in Isas, which will make it easier to invest in companies whose share price has risen stronglyâ
