01

The cost structures — percentage, fixed and hybrid

UK investment platforms charge for their services in three ways, and the optimal structure depends entirely on portfolio size.

Percentage-fee platforms charge a proportion of assets under management annually. The largest platforms — Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Fidelity — use this model. HL charges 0.45% for the first £250,000 of shares and ETFs (capped at £45 per year for shares, not ETFs), 0.25% for funds. AJ Bell charges 0.25% for shares and ETFs (capped at £3.50 per month), 0.25% for funds with no cap. Fidelity charges 0.35% for portfolios below £25,000 and 0.20% above, with a minimum of £10 per month.

Fixed-fee platforms charge a flat monthly or annual fee regardless of portfolio size. Interactive Investor charges £19.99 per month (£239.88 per year) for its Investor plan, including one free trade per month. iWeb charges a one-off £100 account opening fee, then no annual fee — just £5 per trade. The Investors' Service platform from Aberdeen charges £9.99 per month for smaller investors.

Hybrid platforms cap the percentage fee at a maximum amount. Vanguard charges 0.15% per year (on Vanguard funds only) capped at £375 per year for portfolios above £250,000. This hybrid approach is optimal between approximately £50,000 and £250,000 — below the cap, the percentage is low; above the cap, the effective rate falls.

Zero-fee platforms: InvestEngine charges 0% platform fee for ETF portfolios — revenue comes from the bid-offer spread and currency conversion. Trading 212 also charges 0% for stocks and ETFs, with revenue from premium features and currency conversion. These platforms are genuinely free for passive ETF investors but have more limited fund ranges than fee-paying platforms.

02

The twelve platforms compared — 2026 data

The following comparison covers the 12 most widely used UK investment platforms for individual retail investors as of April 2026. All figures verified from platform websites.

Hargreaves Lansdown: annual fee 0.45% shares/ETFs (capped £45/year), 0.25% funds (uncapped). Dealing: £11.95 per trade (online), free for regular investing. Fund range: 3,000+ funds, full share and ETF range. Best for: active investors, HL loyalty bonus for long-term clients. Not for: cost-conscious passive investors with large ETF portfolios.

AJ Bell: annual fee 0.25% shares/ETFs (capped £3.50/month), 0.25% funds. Dealing: £9.95 per trade, £1.50 for regular investments. Fund range: 2,000+ funds. Best for: regular investors and ISA users who want mid-market costs. Not for: very large portfolios where flat fee is better.

Fidelity: annual fee 0.35% under £25k, 0.20% above. Dealing: £10 per trade, free for funds. Fund range: 3,000+ including Fidelity own-brand at very low cost. Best for: investors who use Fidelity's own index funds (0.06% TER) for maximum cost efficiency.

Vanguard Investor: annual fee 0.15% (Vanguard funds only), capped £375. Dealing: free for Vanguard funds. Fund range: Vanguard funds only (80+ funds). Best for: passive investors £50k-£250k who want Vanguard funds specifically.

Interactive Investor: annual fee £19.99/month (£239.88/year). Dealing: one free trade/month, £7.99 thereafter. Fund range: widest of all platforms (40,000+ investments). Best for: large portfolios above £100k, frequent traders, those wanting maximum investment choice.

InvestEngine: annual fee 0% (ETFs). Dealing: free. Fund range: ETFs only (500+). Best for: pure passive ETF investors of any size — lowest cost for this use case.

iWeb: annual fee 0% (£100 one-off setup). Dealing: £5 per trade. Fund range: wide including shares, ETFs, funds. Best for: buy-and-hold investors who make infrequent transactions — very low total cost.

Trading 212: annual fee 0%. Dealing: free. Fund range: shares, ETFs, fractional shares. Best for: small investors starting out or building positions in fractional shares.

Nutrient (formerly NuWealth): fee 0.45%, minimum £1/month. Fund range: limited curated ETF portfolios. Best for: investors wanting a managed portfolio approach at low cost.

Charles Stanley Direct: annual fee 0.35% (capped at £240 for shares). Dealing: £11.50 per trade. Best for: investors wanting personal service and a wider range than online-only platforms.

Bestinvest: annual fee 0.40% under £250k, free portfolio review service. Best for: investors wanting free adviser guidance alongside self-direction.

Saxo Bank: annual fee 0.12% (capped £120/year for custody). Dealing: competitive for frequent traders. Best for: sophisticated investors wanting access to international markets and derivatives.

03

ISA and SIPP account types — which to open on each platform

Every major UK investment platform offers both stocks and shares ISAs and SIPPs (self-invested personal pensions). The choice of account type determines the tax treatment — not the underlying investments. Both account types can hold the same funds and ETFs.

Stocks and shares ISA: contributions from post-tax income, no tax relief on entry. All growth, dividends and withdrawals are permanently tax-free. No restrictions on withdrawal timing. Annual contribution limit: £20,000. Best for: medium-term savings (5 to 15 years), money needed before retirement age, and investors who have already maximised pension allowances.

SIPP: contributions receive income tax relief at the marginal rate (20% basic rate added at source, 20% or 25% additional relief via self-assessment for higher/additional rate taxpayers). All growth is tax-free within the wrapper. Withdrawals from age 57 (rising from 55 in 2028): 25% tax-free lump sum, remainder taxed as income. Annual contribution limit: £60,000 (or 100% of earnings if lower). Best for: long-term retirement savings, higher rate taxpayers who want upfront tax relief, and those building wealth for retirement.

Junior ISA (JISA): available for children under 18. Annual contribution limit: £9,000. Child gains control at 18. Cannot be accessed before 18 (locked in, unlike adult ISA). Contributions from parents are subject to the parental settlement rules for income tax — income generated in a JISA funded by parents is attributed back to the parent if it exceeds £100 per year per parent. Capital gains within the JISA are not subject to parental settlement rules.

04

Switching platforms — how to do it and when it is worth it

Switching investment platforms has become significantly easier since the FCA mandated that platforms support in-specie transfers — the transfer of investments without selling them. The process: request a transfer from the receiving platform (not the sending platform), which initiates the transfer and manages the process. Timescales: typically 15 to 30 business days for most transfers.

When switching is worth it: the annual cost saving from the cheaper platform must exceed the one-time switching costs and inconvenience. If the annual saving is £400 and the switching process takes 2 hours of time: the break-even is approximately 2 hours of your time, plus any exit fees on the sending platform (most major platforms have eliminated exit fees under FCA pressure).

What can and cannot be transferred in-specie: stocks and ETFs listed on a major exchange can typically be transferred in-specie. Funds (unit trusts, OEICs) can usually be transferred in-specie within the same fund range but may need to be sold and repurchased if the receiving platform does not offer the same fund. Vanguard funds held on HL can be transferred in-specie to another platform that also carries Vanguard — but cannot be transferred in-specie to a platform that does not carry the specific fund.

ISA transfers: ISA status is preserved on transfer — the tax-free wrapper moves with the investment. An ISA transferred from HL to iWeb remains an ISA on iWeb. The current year's ISA subscription can also be transferred in full (all or nothing for the current year) or split (only for prior year ISAs).

05

FSCS protection and platform security — what is and is not covered

All FCA-authorised investment platforms hold client assets in a nominee structure — legally separate from the platform's own assets. If a platform becomes insolvent, the client's investments are returned to them from the nominee account, not used to pay platform creditors. This nominee structure is the primary protection for investors.

The FSCS provides an additional layer of protection: if the platform is unable to return client assets (for example, due to fraud or operational failure), the FSCS compensates up to £85,000 per eligible investor per firm for investment business losses. This is distinct from deposit protection (also £85,000 per institution) — investment FSCS protection is specifically for the platform's failure to return investments.

For portfolios above £85,000, the nominee structure provides the primary protection — the FSCS limit is a backstop for cases where the nominee structure has been breached (fraud). The probability of a nominee structure breach at a major FCA-regulated platform is very low but not zero. The collapse of Beaufort Securities in 2018 — an FCA-regulated stockbroker — resulted in client assets being used to fund the administration costs before return to clients, with some clients losing portions of their holdings above the FSCS limit.

For very large portfolios above £500,000, spreading across two or three platforms provides additional protection — but the operational complexity of multiple platforms must be balanced against the security benefit. A single global index fund on two platforms provides the same investment exposure as one platform but with segregated nominee structures.