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Always remember that 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.
Contents:
Compare some of the best investment platforms in the UK below:
Capital at risk. ISA rules apply. Other charges apply.
Interactive Investor has more than 40,000 investments to choose from, including UK and overseas shares, funds, investment trusts, and ETFs. You get a free trade every month, which you can use to buy or sell any investment. It is free to top up your ISA each month, and there are no trading fees with its regular investing service. It also has several ready-made funds and expert ideas to make it easy to choose investments. Interactive Investor also offers Trading Account, SIPP, and Junior ISA.
Capital at risk.
Fineco Bank is one of Europe’s largest banks, with 20 years of leadership history in brokerage and over 30 million orders processed every year. Access 26 global markets and trade over 20,000 financial instruments worldwide on a single account. Invest and trade directly in GBP, EUR, USD, Swiss Franc and 20+ currencies. Fineco Bank offers a Trading Account and Stocks and Shares ISA. Capital at risk.
Promo: Get your Fineco ISA by 31st December, and you won't pay any ISA platform fee until the end of 2021/22 tax year. Terms and conditions apply.
Kickstart your investing with an award-winning ISA. Hargreaves Lansdown has thousands of investments to choose from, including UK and overseas shares, funds, investment trusts, and ETFs. Choose your own investments with expert research and ideas to help you, or simply pick a ready-made portfolio. Manage via website, app or phone. Hargreaves Lansdown also offers Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, Fund and Share Account, and SIPP. These services are intended for investors happy at making their own decisions.
Capital at risk. Other charges apply.
eToro is a multi-asset platform that offers both investing in stocks and crypto assets, as well as trading CFDs. eToro has over 40 fully allocated, balanced investment portfolios, focusing on market segments you can understand and to which you can relate. Some of the portfolios include BigTech, DividendGrowth, GoldWorldWide, Vaccine-Med, FoodDrink, BitcoinWorldWide, CyberSecurity, Diabetes-Med, Driverless, GigEconomy, Utilities and many more. These portfolios are a grouping of several assets, such as stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and even people, bundled together based on a predetermined theme or strategy. If you prefer to pick individual stocks or cryptocurrencies, eToro has a wide range of investments for you to choose from. It is entirely free to open an account with eToro, and all registered users receive a US$100,000 demo account for free. Withdrawals incur a fee of US$5, and FX rates apply to non-USD deposits and withdrawals. eToro does not offer an ISA or SIPP.
Please note: Cryptoassets are a highly volatile unregulated investment product. No UK or EU investor protection. Your capital is at risk. Additionally, 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
AJ Bell Youinvest has thousands of investments to choose from, including shares, funds, investment trusts and ETFs. And you can manage them both online or through the mobile app. If you need help choosing, it has four ready-made portfolios and other investment ideas. AJ Bell Youinvest offers Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, Dealing Account and SIPP.
Capital at risk.
InvestEngine is a UK investment platform providing ready-made and commission-free DIY investments. Users can invest in ETFs through a Stocks and Shares ISA, personal account or business account. With InvestEngine, there are no setup fees, dealing fees, ISA fees or withdrawal fees. If you choose the DIY Portfolio, you can invest in ETFs commission-free. InvestEngine offers Stocks and Shares ISA, Personal Investment Account and Business Account (for companies). Capital at risk.
Promo: Click the button below to access a £50 welcome bonus. Terms and conditions apply.
Moneyfarm is a UK robo advisor that provides you with a personalised investment plan based on your risk preferences. It has seven globally diversified risk-rated portfolios, including ethical investments. The team at Moneyfarm actively manages your investments, so you can be sure you've got a good mix of hard-working assets handpicked from around the world. You also benefit from free and personalised digital financial advice from Moneyfarm's investment consultants, and you can chat, phone, email, or meet your consultant in person. Moneyfarm's products include Stocks and Shares ISA, General Investment Account, and Personal Pension. Moneyfarm recently introduced the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment style to its portfolios. Capital at risk.
To make sense of these charges, use our full investment platform, or robo advisor comparison tables.
Typically, your annual charge depends on whether you hold funds or shares in your stocks and shares ISA. Here, we assume you will invest in funds only.
If you plan to invest in individual stocks and shares, use our dedicated investment comparison tool for shares. If you are considering robo-advisors, compare their fees here.
The investment platform comparison tool below shows the annual charges (platform and dealing charges only) for holding funds in a self-select or DIY ISAs.
Self-select ISAs are a type of stocks and shares ISA that give you the freedom to select the specific investments that make up your portfolio.
And depending on the provider you choose, you'll have the option to either select individual shares, bonds, funds, etc., and manage your portfolio yourself or choose from a range of managed and ready-made portfolios.
To make the best use of the table below, click on the column headers to sort from the most expensive to the cheapest ISA and vice versa.
For example, if you want to see the cheapest platforms for regular investments of £100 per month, click once on the £100 per month header. To see the most expensive platform for a lump sum investment of £20k, click twice on the £20,000 lump sum header.
Continue this exercise on all the headers until you find what you are looking for. Then scroll down to read our assumptions and to learn more about Self-select ISAs.
Capital at risk. ISA rules apply. Other charges apply.
| Platform | £100 per Month | £500 per Month | £1,000 per Month | £20,000 Lump Sum | £100,000 Lump Sum | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 26 | 34 | 56 | 256 | DETAILS |
.png) | 3 | 13 | 26 | 80 | 375 | DETAILS |
 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 212 | DETAILS |
 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 80 | 400 | DETAILS |
 | 2 | 11 | 23 | 70 | 350 | DETAILS |
 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 50 | 250 | DETAILS |
 1 | 39 | 53 | 71 | 95 | 310 | DETAILS |
 | 2 | 11 | 23 | 70 | 350 | DETAILS |
| 2 | 8 | 16 | 50 | 250 | DETAILS |
 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 74 | 74 | DETAILS |
| 3 | 15 | 29 | 90 | 450 | DETAILS |
 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 50 | 250 | DETAILS |
| 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | DETAILS |
| 168 | 168 | 168 | 168 | 168 | DETAILS |
| 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 | 240 | DETAILS |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DETAILS |
 3 | 160 | 160 | 160 | 120 | 120 | DETAILS |
 | 2 | 11 | 23 | 70 | 275 | DETAILS |
 | 2 | 11 | 23 | 70 | 350 | DETAILS |
 | 24 | 24 | 27 | 60 | 250 | DETAILS |
 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 30 | 150 | DETAILS |
 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 80 | 350 | DETAILS |
When you invest in a fund, please note, the fund manager will add various charges within the fund, including a fund management fee. We haven't included any fund management fees in our calculations, just the platform and dealing fees.
If you would like an idea of how fund management fees could impact the total amount you pay to a platform, have a look at our other stocks and shares ISA comparison tool - Compare the best Robo Advisors.
The calculations above are based on the following scenarios:
For regular investments, we assume you'll make 12 deals each year or one deal every month.
For lump sums, we assume you'll make four deals a year.
A deal is either one of buying or selling an investment. It is also called a trade.
We use the colours green, amber, and red to indicate how expensive or cheap an investment platform is compared to the others. The cheapest investment platforms are coloured green, the more expensive ones red, and the others amber.
Keep in mind that a platform showing up as green doesn't always make it the best investment platform for you, as cheap doesn't always equal good. Some of the more expensive platforms could have a wider variety of stocks, bonds, funds, ETFs, etc., depending on what you are looking for.
If you are investing small amounts and choose to go with the cheapest Stocks and Shares ISA platform for that amount, note that some of the more expensive platforms become cheaper as your pot increases. Consider Interactive Investor and Halifax Share Dealing, for example.
Additionally, we show the costs which apply to the first year only. It is important to mention this because, with platforms like iWeb, your charges reduce after the first year. Whereas with platforms like EQi, your charges might increase after the first year.
Finally, for each provider listed in our stocks and shares ISA comparison table, your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
An investment ISA (Individual Savings Account) is a tax-free account for buying, selling, and holding investments such as shares, bonds, and funds. This tax year (2021-22), you can invest up to £20,000 in one investment ISA or split the money between an investment ISA and other ISAs. An investment ISA is also called a Stocks and Shares ISA.
The main Investment ISA charges are annual platform fee, fund management fee, trading fee, and transfer out fee. Depending on your investment provider and how you choose to invest, there might be some other charges.
If you have a large amount of money to invest, go with fixed fees. For people with smaller pots, pick platforms with percentage-based charges. Use our investment fees calculator above to visualise the charges before you buy.
A self-select ISA is a type of Investment ISA that gives you the freedom to choose the specific investments that make up your portfolio. Depending on the provider you choose, you'll have the option to either select individual investments and manage your portfolio yourself or choose from a range of ready-made portfolios.
Self-select ISAs providers are also called Do-It-Yourself (DIY) investment platforms.
When you open a self-select ISA, you can invest in a range of assets, including:
Use our investment platform comparison tool above to select the best investment platform for you. Then visit the platform's website to apply for an account. Once your account is open, you will be able to choose funds and start building your portfolio.
If you need help choosing investments, most providers in the table above offer ready-made portfolios and financial advice. Financial advice typically attracts an extra charge.
If you are unsure about choosing a self-select ISA, it might be worth seeking independent financial advice from a suitably qualified financial adviser.
Here are some of the best investment platforms in the UK:
Here are some of the best investment platforms for beginners in the UK:
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