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When you invest money, your capital is at risk. Investments can go down as well as up in value, so you could get back less than you put in. A rule of thumb is to hang on to your investments for at least five years to give them the best chance of providing the returns you are hoping for.
Below, we compare two of the best trading apps in the UK - Interactive Investor and Stake.
Interactive Investor is an online investment service providing you with the tools and support you need to manage shares, funds, ISAs, SIPPs and more, whereas Stake is a digital brokerage app that gives you direct access to the US stock market and allows you to invest in over 4,500 US stocks and ETFs, commission-free. Stake does not offer ISAs or SIPPs.
Use the tabs below to learn more about the similarities and differences between Interactive Investor and Stake.
Interactive Investor is the UK’s leading flat-fee investment platform, providing award-winning investment services and financial information since 1995.
Its key mission is to give DIY investors the tools and support they need to make informed investment decisions.
With Interactive Investor, you can open a range of investment accounts, including a Stocks and Shares ISA, General Trading Account, and Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).
If you choose to invest with Interactive Investor, you’ll gain access to the largest number of UK investment options in the market. You can invest in over 40,000 equities across the world's leading exchanges in multiple currencies, and the widest range of funds, investment trusts, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
For more information, visit Interactive Investor.
With Interactive Investor, you can invest as follows:
Stocks and Shares ISA
Click here to learn more about the Interactive Investor Stocks and Shares ISA.
Junior ISA
Click here to learn more about the Interactive Investor Junior ISA.
Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
Special offer: Open a SIPP and pay no monthly fee for 6 months. Terms apply.
Click here for more information on the Interactive Investor SIPP.
Trading Account
Click here for more information on the Interactive Investor Trading Account.
Quick Start Funds
Quick Start Funds is designed to make investing easy through ready-made portfolios. You can choose from six competitively charged funds provided by investment firms Vanguard and BMO, depending on your risk appetite.
This includes three passively managed funds (Vanguard) that aim to return the market's performance over time, and three actively managed funds (BMO) that aim to deliver better returns than the market.
Click here to find out more about Quick Start Funds and what one might be right for you.
Model Portfolios
Interactive Investor has five model portfolios to help you reach your investment goals. This includes growth and income options, as well as an ethical portfolio.
As the names suggest, the growth portfolios focus on helping you grow your money over a more extended period of time, the income portfolios are designed for those looking to draw a regular income from their investments, and the ethical portfolio demonstrates how you can align your principles and values to your investments
Click here to learn more about Interactive Investor Model Portfolios.
Free Research Account
When you open a free research account with Interactive Investor, you gain access to additional insights, watchlists, a virtual portfolio and email updates.
Ethical Investing: ACE & ACE 40
For those who prefer to invest ethically, Interactive Investor have created three ethical investment styles called ‘ACE’. These represent ‘Avoid’, ‘Considers’ and ‘Embraces’ - each containing carefully selected funds that take into account strict environmental and social governance criteria.
Interactive Investor also offers a useful resource called ACE 40 - a list of over 140 ethical investment options to help you identify the environmentally and socially responsible funds, trusts and ETFs that best reflect your values.
Company Account
An Interactive Investor Company Account gives you the option to trade in the name of a UK limited company. You can invest in funds, ETFs, investment trusts, and both UK and international equities.
Pension Trading Account
Use your Interactive Investor Pension Trading Account to buy a range of shares, funds, ETFs and investment trusts. You can set the account up to link with an existing SIPP or SSAS run by your preferred pension provider.
It can then be used to manage your pension, but your provider will handle any queries relating to paying contributions or updating your details as normal.
ii Super 60
The ii Super 60 is Interactive Investor’s rated list of quality investment options, sorted into asset groups and investment categories.
With a range of active and passive funds, ETFs and investment trusts, it’s a great tool to track the market environment and find exactly what assets are best suited to your investment needs.
When you sign up to an Interactive Investor trading account, you gain access to over 40,000 investments, including UK and overseas shares, funds, investment trusts, and ETFs. You can invest through an ISA, SIPP and more, with access to a free research account for additional insights.
The trading account offers a history of documents and transactions relating to your investments, to give you a clearer view of your personal investment history. There is also an option to create watchlists as part of a Virtual Portfolio so that you can track a portfolio of shares, ETFs, investment trusts and more.
In essence, the platform allows you to manage all of your investment needs in one place via the web, tablet or app.
Click here to learn more.
Interactive Investor has three subscription plans to choose from:
Investor Essentials Plan (£4.99 per month): This plan gives you access to a trading account and a Stocks and Shares ISA. It is perfect for those investing up to £50,000. UK and US trades are £3.99 per trade.
Investor Plan (£11.99 per month): You get your first trade free every month. You can add as many Junior ISAs as you have children and two free friends and family members. Additional UK and US trades are £3.99.
Super Investor (£19.99 per month): You get your first two trades free each month. You can add as many Junior ISAs as you have children and up to five free friends and family members. UK and US trades only £3.99.
Regular Investing Service: No charge.
Click here for a more detailed breakdown of rates and charges.
Interactive Investor offers a simple and transparent flat-fee that starts at £9.99 and increases depending on what additional features you wish to use. It doesn’t charge percentage-based fees like other investment platforms do, which means you can keep more of your investments as they grow. There are also no leaving or joining fees, making the process of moving your money quick and easy.
Click here for a more detailed breakdown of rates and charges.
You can also use our investment platform or stock broker comparison table to see how Interactive Investor compares to other investment platforms in the UK.
Interactive Investor’s platform is designed to give DIY investors, including beginners and experts, the tools and support to make informed investment decisions.
It aims to provide useful financial information to help simplify the investment process and offers a wide range of investment options so that you can choose what’s best for you.
Interactive Investor offers its customers Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection, which means that your assets are protected up to £85,000 per person.
This means you can get your money back if Interactive Investor were to go bust. Keep in mind that the FSCS does not cover losses arising from the performance of any of your investments.
Yes, Interactive Investor is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Have a look at their permissions on the FCA Register.
No.
Stake is an Australian-born digital brokerage platform that has recently moved into the UK market. It allows you to invest in over 4,500 US stocks and ETFs, commission-free.
Stake believes that opportunity shouldn’t be determined by where you live. Its core mission is to provide the broadest and most direct access to the US stock market for those who live outside of the US, thus allowing you to invest in over 4,500 US stocks and ETFs, commission-free.
It uses advanced technology to deliver a sophisticated and seamless service, offering a straightforward user experience for investing basics, along with some of its more sophisticated features. These include analyst ratings and the option to trade on unsettled funds as part of the Stake Black subscription package.
At present, Stake is an app-only service for UK residents.
Click here to learn more about Stake.
To get started with Stake, you simply choose your preferred brokerage pack (Stake or Stake Black) and begin investing.
Here's a breakdown of how Stake works:
Commission Free Trading
Advanced Order Types
Real-Time US Market Data
Visit Stake to learn more.
Fractional Shares
With Stake, you can buy and sell securities in fractional amounts using market and stop orders. When buying fractional shares, you can set the dollar amount you’d like to purchase, whereas selling involves setting the number of shares you’d like to sell.
Fractional shares adhere to the NBBO rules of the US market, so you’ll get the best price in the market at the time.
Track and Review Investments
Get complete visibility of trades, dividends, and more with Stake’s activity ticker. Monitor the recent trade and cash movements in your account, review each transaction in detail and get access to your trade confirmations.
With Stake, you can also download a series of reports for a full review of your investment activity. These include all financial transactions in your brokerage account, all orders, open positions and resting order, and monthly account statements for an overall view of your monthly investment activity.
To get started with Stake, you simply choose your preferred brokerage pack (Stake or Stake Black) and begin investing.
When you download the app and complete a short onboarding form, you can start transferring funds from your bank account through Stake’s secure Open Banking integration.
When making a deposit, your money will be converted into US dollars, and all of your trading will be handled in US dollars. This means you won’t have to pay FX fees on any of your trades, but you will pay to convert it. Once you’ve added your funds, you can start investing.
Funding your account for the first time on Stake will get you free Stock of Nike, GoPro or Dropbox, but you’ll need to add your funds within 24 hours of it opening. Please note that there is a minimum fund amount of US$50 to get started.
It’s free to download the app and use Stake for its core features. Stake charges a 0.5% (US$2 minimum) FX fee on deposits and withdrawals. No FX fees are charged on trades.
There are two accounts to choose from:
Stake (free)
Stake Black (US$9/month)
Other Stake fees you should know about:
US trading fees:
There may be a small number of US trading and administrative fees to pay when investing with Stake. You can read more about this on Stake’s website.
Currency exchange fee:
Although you are not charged foreign exchange fees on your trades, you’ll incur a 0.5% foreign exchange fee when converting your money from USD to GBP.
Funding fees:
If you want to deposit money at a faster rate, you’ll pay a 0.5% express funding fee.
Stake’s basic service is free to use and offers access to all assets on the platform, along with unlimited commission-free trades, advanced order types and fractional trading.
Users can choose to upgrade to Stake Black for more sophisticated trading features such as analyst ratings and price targets, at a cost of US$9 per month.
It’s important to note that Stake has a minimum investment amount of US$50 for either of these accounts, and a 0.5% FX fee on deposits and withdrawals.
Stake's free service offers beginners a good starting place to navigate the stock market through investing essentials such as Limit, Market and Stop Orders, along with the option to buy fractional shares.
For the more advanced investor, Stake's premium service, 'Stake Black', allows for a range of additional features, including pricing targets, analyst ratings and access to pro-level data. You'll have the freedom to choose your preferred Stake package based on your own investing experience.
Stake UK offers its customers Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection, which means that your assets are protected up to £85,000 per person. This means you can get your money back if Stake were to go bust.
Keep in mind that the FSCS does not cover losses arising from the performance of any of your investments.
Stake’s partnership with members of the US-led Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) also offers up to US$500,000 protection, US$250k of which are for investments, and a further US$250k for cash.
Yes, Stake is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Have a look at their permissions on the FCA Register.
Yes, Stakes offers a free stock to both new and existing customers who successfully refer new customers.
New customers must fund their account (£50 min funding value) within 24hrs of opening the account to receive a free stock worth up to US$150 in value.
Visit Stake’s website here.
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