&me investing app review

&me is a finance app that allows you to invest in a tax-efficient and diversified way. There are plenty of similar apps but this one sets out to create a sense of real human connection. It helps you feel more confident about investing in your future.

This idea of connection suggests the app is targeting beginner investors who may be feeling more cautious.

What is &me?

&me partners with M&G Wealth, a huge, traditional finance brand. &me is likely to benefit from this alliance.

The app automates investing. Digital services like &me allow people with little or no market knowledge to gain access to markets and financial products for a low fee. They offer ways to diversify and spread risk among investments, with a long-term view.

How is &me different from its competitors?

&me has a few unique factors. Its partnership with M&G Wealth means &me customers get access to a range of M&G Wealth-managed portfolios. M&G Wealth offers investment management funds that either manage money in a passive style or in a hybrid of active and passive for customers.

However, the standout feature is free access to consultants, which provides the human element and is uncommon in the world of digital investment management. This feature makes the app more attractive to beginners.

You can also invest in socially responsible companies, which is likely to appeal to many investors.

How does &me work?

Signing up to &me is simple. You’re first asked some questions about your investment goals, then the app creates a personalised recommended portfolio based on your answers.

If you need help at this point as you’re unsure about the recommendation, you can contact a consultant and there’s no charge for this. As a new customer, you can just call or book a video consultation. This level of personal service is a great value-add.

The app then asks if you might have any life changes coming up (such as buying a house or starting to pay school fees). This helps &me understand the complexity of your needs over time. It’s a useful extra that you don’t always get with investing apps.

What accounts does &me offer?

&me offers 4 different types of accounts, which is similar to what you’d get from other providers such as Hargreaves Lansdown or a high-street bank. &me is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which protects your money up to £85,000 if the platform were to go bust.

Stocks and shares ISA

Stocks and shares ISAs offer a tax-efficient way for you to invest up to your annual tax-free allowance each tax year. In 2022/23 and 2023/24, that allowance is £20,000.

Junior ISA (JISA)

This allows you to invest up to your annual allowance (£9,000 per tax year in 2022/23) on behalf of your children. JISAs run until the child reaches 18 years old.

Personal pension (SIPP) (currently unavailable)

The self-invested personal pension (SIPP) lets you control how to invest for your retirement. You can benefit from HMRC adding up to £25 for every £100 invested.

General investment account (GIA)

You might want to use this if you’ve already invested up to your annual ISA allowance. It’s worth remembering that capital gains tax can apply to money you make in this account.

&me management fees

Like with many other providers, the costs vary based on the amount of money you invest. First, it’s important to know that the minimum investment you can make at &me is £500.

Here are the management fees:

The fees above are much more competitive than if you were to use a service like Hargreaves Lansdown.

Like many other investing apps, &me offers passive and active funds. These are funds that you can invest in within your chosen ISA or general investment account, for example.

Investment funds offered by &me

&me passive investment fund fees are priced at a reasonable 0.19%, with a market spread of 0.04%. &me has named this offering “Classic” as it’s fairly standard.

The second option is to invest in actively managed funds. The fees for this service will cost you 0.42% a year. These “active” funds are a blend of a passive and active investment management style, which means a fund manager will pick individual bonds and stocks that they believe will outperform the market as well as simply track the market with the objective to make a smaller, (but more time-efficient and cost-effective) gain.

Our verdict: Is &me any good?

&me is both comprehensive and affordable. And your money will be managed by a fund that’s managing more than £370 billion in assets.

If you’re new to investing and you like the idea of having a real person to escort you through what can be an intimidating process for first-time investors, &me is well worth considering.