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In this interactive investor (ii) review, we are taking a closer look at this award-winning investment platform. What does interactive investor offer to investors? And why should you choose it or stay away?
This interactive investor review will highlight the fees and features of this investment broker so you can make a smart choice for your money.
interactive investor UK Review
interactive investor is a solid choice for an investment platform. Its main benefits are a fixed fee and a wide range of investment options.
What Is interactive investor?
interactive investor, also called ii, is an investment platform. On the platform, users can buy shares, funds, exchange-traded funds, and trusts worldwide.
In fact, interactive investor is the biggest flat-fee investment broker in the UK.
interactive investor was founded in 1995 by Sherry Coutu. It is based in Manchester, UK. Since 2022 it has been a subsidiary of Abrdn, a UK-based investment company.
Over the years, interactive investor has won quite a few awards, including:
- Best Online Stockbroker (ADVFN International Financial Awards 2023)
- Best Stockbroker for International Dealing (ADVFN International Financial Awards 2023)
- Best Buy ISA (Boring Money Best Buy 2023)
- Best Buy Pension (Boring Money Best Buy 2023)
Is interactive investor Legit?
interactive investor is legit and not a scam. Its full company name is Interactive Investor Services Limited and the UK company registration number is 02101863.
On Trustpilot, interactive investor has an average score of 4.7 out of 5.0. Overall, 89% of users rated interactive investors as great or excellent.
What Is Trustpilot?
Overall, there are over 150 million reviews on Trustpilot. You can generally get a good understanding of the legitimacy and customer-friendliness of a company.
Is interactive investor Safe?
interactive investor is safe to use. As an investment platform, it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
You can find interactive investor with the registration number 141282. FCA regulation means that a company has to follow the criteria laid out by the FCA and can be trusted.
Furthermore, interactive investor is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
This means that if interactive investor becomes unable to pay, you are guaranteed to get back up to £85,000 of your money.
Note that this does not cover investment losses. When you invest money, your capital is always at risk.
How Does interactive investor Work?
As an investment platform, interactive investor connects users to the stock market. On the platform, users can access buy and sell stocks, ETFs, funds, and trusts.
What sets interactive investor apart from other brokers is that it charges a fixed rather than percentage-based fee. This works out well for investors with large portfolios.
interactive investor does not offer managed portfolios. If you would like someone to manage your investments for you, you can try Hargreaves Lansdown.
You can read more in my Hargreaves Lansdown review.
interactive investor also does not offer Contract for Differences (CFDs). If this is what you are looking for, you may be interested in reading my Trading 212 vs interactive investor comparison.
Opening an Account
To open an account with interactive investor, you need to be based in the UK and be at least 18 years old.
The sign-up process is pretty standard and essentially the same as with any other reputable UK broker. You will need your:
- National Insurance Number
- Bank details
- Proof of identity
Read more about why brokers need your National Insurance Number.
Depositing Money
Before you can invest, you will need to add money to your account. interactive investor enables users to deposit through:
- Debit card
- Direct debit
- Bank transfer
- Cheque
Debit card payments and Direct debit are the easiest way to deposit. You can add money via these means under “Cash & Transfers” in your account.
There is no minimum deposit amount with interactive investor but if you want to use the regular investing service, you need a direct debit minimum of £25 per month.
Buying Investments
Once you have money in your account, you are ready to invest. To choose your investment, simply search for it and choose the investment amount.
interactive investor does not offer investment advice or managed portfolios.
However, there are tools and learning resources that help you find an investment. You can access these services for free without having to create an account.
Simply head to interactive investor’s homepage and select “Help & Learning” from the top menu.
There are model portfolios and a few recommended investment options. Note that none of this is financial advice though.
Before buying, you should probably research these options using other sites as well.
Withdrawing Money
If you want to withdraw your money, you can do so at any time as long as you have sold your investments. Withdrawals are made via bank transfer.
Thus, you need to make sure you have added a nominated bank account to be able to get your money. You can do so in your account under “Cash & Transfers”.
Withdrawals are processed within two days.
What Accounts Can You Open With interactive investor?
At the time of writing this interactive investor review, you can open the following accounts:
- General investment account (trading account)
- Individual Savings Account (ISA)
- Self-invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
- Junior ISA
With an ISA account, you can invest up to £20,000 per year tax free. Note that this allowance is spread across all your ISAs, even those with a different provider.
A SIPP is a pension account that enables you to save for retirement. You will get tax relief on your SIPP investments up to £60,000.
With interactive investor, the SIPP is not available on the standard plans and is charged extra.
The Junior ISA is an ISA account you can open for your children. They will get control of it when they turn 18 years.
The maximum contribution limit for a Junior ISA is £9,000 per tax year. Note that the Junior ISA is not available on the Essentials plan.
What Can You Invest in With interactive investor?
interactive investor has a wide range of investment options. There are over 40,000 shares, funds, bonds, gilts, and trusts from the UK, the US, and the rest of the world available on the platform.
interactive investor does not offer managed portfolios but there are five model portfolios available on the site.
Note that you have to assemble each portfolio yourself, meaning you have to buy all the stocks and funds within a portfolio if you want to copy it.
The following model portfolios are available:
- Active Growth: a portfolio of 12 actively managed funds and trusts for investors building their assets
- Active Income: a portfolio of 11 high-yielding, actively managed funds and trusts for investors seeking income from their assets
- Low-Cost Growth: a portfolio of 10 low-cost tracker funds and ETFs for investors buildings their assets
- Low-Cost Income: a portfolio of 10 low-cost, high-yielding tracker funds and ETFs for investors seeking income from their assets
- Sustainable Growth: a portfolio of 12 funds that invest in a socially responsible manner
If you want to invest in Vanguard funds, you may prefer using Vanguard. Read more in my Vanguard vs interactive investor comparison.
What Fees does interactive investor Charge?
As mentioned above in this interactive investor review, one main advantage of the platform are the fixed fees. Many investment platforms charge percentage-based fees.
This can be expensive for larger investment portfolios.
interactive investor offers three plans:
- Essentials
- Investor
- Super Investor
The Essentials plan is for anyone looking to invest under £30,000. Investors with larger funds or those growing their portfolio above £30,00 move to the Investor plan.
| Essentials | Investor | Super Investor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | £4.99 | £9.99 | £19.99 |
| Trading fee (UK, US) | £5.99 | £5.99 | £3.99 |
| Trading fee (International) | £19.99 | £19.99 | £5.99 |
| Dividend reinvestment | £0.99 | £0.99 | £0.99 |
| SIPP monthly costs (optional) | £12.99 | £10.00 | £10.00 |
| Features | – | One free trade per month Junior ISA available | Two free trades per month Junior ISA available |
What Are the Pros and Cons of interactive investor?
interactive investor UK Review Pros
- Fixed fee that is easy to understand
- Cheap compared to other platforms
- Wide choice of investment options
- Tools and learning resources are available
interactive investor UK Review Cons
- SIPP is charged extra
- No managed portfolios or investment advice available
- No Lifetime ISA available
interactive investor UK Review Summary
interactive investor is a legit UK investment platform. On interactive investor, you can choose from a wide range of stocks, funds, bonds, gilts, and trusts.
The platform is priced competitively with an easy-to-understand fixed fee.
Because of the fixed fee, interactive investor is great for investors with a large portfolio. For smaller investors, using a broker with a percentage-based fee may be cheaper.
interactive investor also is a DIY platform and may thus be more suitable for advanced investors.
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