Thanks everyone, this is reassuring.
gcr, suppose I buy shares in a Vanguard ETF with EE as my broker. Then does *Vanguard* know I own the shares? So does "the shares are registered in my name" mean "Vanguard keeps a register of who has shares in its EFTs and my name is on it (next to certain numbered shares?)"? Or does Vanguard think the shares are owned by EE, and it's only EE's internal accounting that assigns the shares to me? Is that what "nominee" means? Is EE my nominee?
Patrick, when you say EE is expensive for US EFTs, are you referring to the costs of buying and selling, which seems to be 0.56%? But the TER is the same as the one published by Vanguard on its fact sheet, right? Or is that also expensive? I'm more worried about the recurring costs than the one-off I think.