Vanguard ETF Questions & Dividends

I can’t address IG specifically, but I can speak to ETFs, and how brokers handle things in general. If you wanted to, you could buy 1 single, broad-based, low-cost index fund. There are “total market” and “total world” type ETFs. That’s a viable approach.

Taking it to the next level, buying multiple ETFs can be about diversifying, but if you’re in a broad fund like the ones I mentioned above, it can be about overweighting in areas you want more of. Just check what’s in the fund. You will find a lot of ETFs overlap. In which case you’re adding needless complexity by buying more ETFs and getting no benefit.

When you buy ETFs, you pay the same brokerage as shares. The more ETFs you buy, the more individual brokerages you’ll pay.

Each ETF will charge a MER (management fee), so know what they are. They are percentage based, so you don’t pay more if you spread across more funds (if the MERs are the same).

Dividends are paid into an account you nominate with your broker. That could be your brokerage account, or an external bank account.