interactive investor review

Our verdict

Our verdict

There’s lots to like about interactive investor (ii). We found it one of the most comprehensive places to invest, catering to every type of investor imaginable. You can opt for a DIY approach, choosing from over 40,000 investments. Or, if that all sounds a bit much, ii offers model portfolios and recommendations for funds and sustainable options.

Along with the jaw-dropping selection of investments and assets, ii does an excellent job of providing plenty of resources and the latest market analysis. The flat fee structure with ii means you know what you’ll pay month-to-month. As budgeting and personal finance aficionados, we like that. But this flat fee system (rather than using a portfolio percentage) best suits those of you with larger holdings.

This might just be the best all-round investing platform available to UK investors. But the monthly platform fee and high trading costs could outweigh the benefits.

Best for: Ethical investing

Pros

• Flat monthly fee is good value for large portfolios
• Massive choice of investments
• A platform designed for every type of investor
• Lots of account choices
• Invest online or with the ii app

Cons

• Platform fee is expensive for small portfolios
• Share dealing charges are quite high
• Free monthly trade(s) with premium plans
• Cheapest plan has a maximum portfolio size
• Adding a SIPP costs more

★★★★★

User survey

★★★★★

Finder score

Go to site

Capital at risk

If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for all your investing needs, we think interactive investor is definitely worth checking out. However, it’s not a perfect platform. In our interactive investor review, we take a look at the costs, investment options, the plans available, and the types of accounts you can use.

Try interactive investor's award-winning investing and trading account

Capital at risk, investments may fall

• Over 40,000 UK and global stocks to choose from
• Reduce foreign exchange costs by managing money in 9 currencies
• Option for expertly managed model portfolios
• Start investing today for a flat fee £4.99 a month

Go to site

Capital at risk

What is interactive investor?

Launched in 1995, interactive investor (yes, that’s intentionally all lower case, sometimes referred to as “ii”) is an online investment service offering a range of different investment plans, all with flat fees. As of May 2022, the company became part of abrdn (again, all lower case), but still operates as an individually regulated entity.

It has more than 400,000 customers and plenty of investment products available, over 40,000! So, you’ll have the opportunity to invest in just about every type of asset you can think of. From the ever popular stocks and shares to the more niche options like venture capital trusts (VCTs) and gilts.

How does interactive investor work?

For a flat fee starting at £4.99 per month, interactive investor takes care of your assets and gives you a range of investing options and accounts. Exactly what you get depends on which plan you choose (we’ll cover all the plans shortly).

A big bonus is that you don’t have to pay additional fees if you want to have more than one type of account with interactive investor. So you can have a general investment account (trading account), a stocks and shares ISA, and a Junior ISA (JISA) – all for one flat fee. Although, the JISA isn’t included with the cheapest Investor Essentials plan. The only additional cost is if you want to add on a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).

It’s a great option if you plan to use your full annual ISA allowance, want to trade more, and want to open an JISA for a child (or several).

interactive investor products

interactive investor has 8 different accounts available, including:

• Stocks and shares ISA
• Trading account (GIA)
• Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)
• Junior ISA (JISA)
• Joint trading account
• Cash savings
• Company account
• Multi-currency account

interactive investor plans

Altogether, there are 3 plans available with interactive investor and you can choose one that suits you:

• Investor Essentials
• Investor
• Super Investor

Here’s the main differences between each of interactive investor’s plans:

Each plan gives you the option to add on “friends and family”, meaning you can invite people to join on an Investor Essentials plan without paying a monthly fee. If you’re on the Investor Essentials, this costs an extra £5 per month. On the Investor plan, you get 2 free additional accounts and if you’re on the Super Investor plan, this friends and family feature is free for 5 people.

If you want to use a SIPP, this costs an additional £12.99 per month, or a reduced fee of £10 per month if you’re on the “Investor” or “Super Investor” plan.

How much does interactive investor cost?

Unlike other investment platforms, interactive investor charges flat fees instead of taking a percentage from your investments. This can work out cheaper for those of you with larger portfolios.

Access to 3 options means you can choose a service plan based on what you need. The plans start at £4.99 per month and, as we mentioned above, cover multiple account types.

We’ve detailed some of the fees for each service plan below. All the following prices relate to trades under the value of £100,000 (or £25,000 internationally), the charges for trades above this level are explained in more detail later.

Other interactive investor fees

• Buying or selling UK shares over the value of £100,000

  Trade value	Cost
  Over £100,000	£40

• Buying or selling US shares over the value of £100,000

  Trade value	Cost
  Over £100,000	0.04% of trade value

• Buying or selling other international shares over the value of £25,000

  Trade value	Cost
  Over £25,000	0.1% of trade value

• Foreign exchange

  Between 0.25% and 1.50% depending on the transaction value.

• Withdrawing cash

  Cash withdrawals are free for sterling and euro withdrawals, unless you require an urgent bank transfer in which case it is £15 (for sterling the cost is £25 if you are withdrawing over £100,000).

  All other currencies are detailed below.

  Currency	US dollar	Canadian dollar	Australian dollar	Singapore dollar	Hong Kong dollar	Swiss franc	Swedish krona
  Withdrawal charge	US$35	CAD$45	AUD$45	SGD$50	HKD$250	CHF35	Kr250

• Admin charges

  Service	Fee
  Transfer investments from another provider	Free
  Deposit a share certificate	Free
  Holding funds	Free
  Transferring investments to another provider	Free
  Share certificate withdrawal	£35 + VAT per certificate
  Failed payments (e.g. bounced payments and failed direct debits)	£25
  Late settlement	£25 or currency equivalent + 15% above Bank of England Base Rate
  Sell out fee (due to non payment)	£40 + trading commission
  Paper documents	£3 + VAT per document
  Contract notes sent by post	£1.50 + VAT per document
  Registered post	£10
  Valuation of holdings for probate	£10 + VAT per line of stock
  VCTs processing charge	£30 per application
  CREST personal membership account fee	£4.99 + VAT per month
  Non UK resident	£4 per month
  Non-personal accounts (such as company accounts and trust accounts)	£30 per month

• SIPP fees

  Service	Fee
  Set-up	Free
  Transfers in	Free
  SIPP fee	£12.99 per month (in addition to service plan charge)
  Transfer to another pension provider (UK)	Free
  Transfer to another pension provider (overseas)	£500 + VAT
  Pension sharing on divorce	£300 + VAT
  Closing your SIPP	Free
  Payment of death benefits	Based on time spend and complexity – typically between £200 and £500 + VAT
  Pension drawdown fee	£10 per month (in addition to SIPP fee)
  Single payment outside monthly payment date	Free
  Changing between flexi-access and capped drawdown	Free
  Additional amount allocated to capped drawdown	Free
  Review of capped income drawdown	£50 + VAT
  Uncrystallised funds pension lump sum	£50 + VAT
  Small pots	£50 +VAT
  Annuity purchase	£75 + VAT per transfer

• Government charges

  Service	Fee
  UK Stamp Duty	0.5%
  Irish Stamp Duty	1%
  UK PTM levy	£1
  ITP levy	€1.25
  Hong Kong transaction levy	0.0027%
  Hong Kong trading fee	0.005%
  Hong Kong Stamp Duty	0.1%
  Singapore clearing fee	0.0325%
  French Financial Transaction Tax	0.3%
  Italian Financial Transaction Tax	0.1%
  Spanish Financial Transaction Tax	0.2%

What can I invest in with interactive investor?

interactive investor has thousands of options when you’re choosing the companies to invest in. There are more than 40,000 UK, US and international shares – from 17 global exchanges.

On top of this, there’s also over 3,000 funds to choose from, alongside exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, gilts and VCTs.

• Stocks and shares

  A share is an investment in a company, which can offer the potential for returns through capital growth or dividends.

  • No set-up fees or percentage-based custody charges.
  • Get interactive investor’s lowest share dealing rate when using the Investor or Super Investor plans.
  • Use its mobile app to trade on the move.
  • Buy and sell shares in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and elsewhere.

• Unit trusts and OEICs

  Unit trusts and open-ended investment companies (OEICs) are a collective investment.

  • Pool your money with other investors to invest more efficiently in bond and stock markets.
  • Open-ended funds are where more shares are issued each time someone invests, and then sold when they exit.
  • You may be charged an up-front fee and then ongoing annual management charges.

• Investment trusts

  Choose an investment trust that aligns itself with your goals, investing strategy, and risk appetite.

  • Purchasing a share in an investment trusts means expert management of your investment.
  • Free regular investing.
  • Use its “Quickrank Tool” to find information, performance data and statistics about all 600+ of its investment trusts.
  • Build your holdings by making investments from as little as £25 per month and avoid the hassle of deciding on the best time to buy.

• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

  These are collective funds traded on the stock exchange.

  • Bought and sold in the same way as normal shares, but you won’t have to pay stamp duty as this has already been paid on the underlying investments held by the ETF.
  • You will need to pay tax on profits made from investment in an ETF unless you hold it in an ISA.

• Bonds and gilts

  These are typically low-risk fixed income investments.

  • Corporate bonds are issued by companies, and gilts are bonds issued by the British government.
  • There are various types of gilts but most will typically pay a fixed coupon biannually and mature on a set date in the future.
  • All gilts and some corporate bonds are exempt from capital gains tax (CGT). However, you’ll still be liable to pay income tax on interest you earn, unless your bonds are held in an ISA.

• New issues and IPOs

  These are investments available to the public before they trade on the open market.

  • Introduced by companies to expand business, raise capital, pay down debt and finance other activities.
  • You won’t have to pay commission on your investment.
  • Exclusive IPOs available to interactive investor.
  • Get access to the best deals from private company offers to investment trusts.

• Values-based investing

  This is investment that takes into consideration ethical, environmental, social and governance values as well as their potential financial returns.

  • Invest in projects that deliver positive change.
  • Incorporates a range of strategies from listed equity funds through to private equity investments.

interactive investor general investment account

interactive investor’s general investment options, such as the trading account, joint trading account and company account, allow you to invest without an upper limit (unless you’re on the Investor Essentials plan which has a £50,000 limit).

Key features include:

• You can withdraw your money whenever you like.
• 40,000 UK and global stocks to choose from.

You can manage your money in up to 9 currencies. It’s worth noting that you may need to pay capital gains or dividend tax on your profits. Generally, you would use your ISA allowance before trading in a general investment account.

If you invest in a general investment account, you could be subject to capital gains tax. This is a tax that you have to pay on any gains over £6,000 in each tax year. You also have to pay tax on any dividends once you reach your £1,000 yearly allowance.

interactive investor ISAs

interactive investor’s ISAs (including the stocks and shares ISA and the JISA), allow you to invest up to your tax allowance (£20,000 for the 2023/2024 tax year) tax-free. The annual JISA allowance for 2023/2024 tax year is £9,000.

Key features of the interactive investor ISA include:

• You can use your whole ISA allowance.
• Flat subscription fees.
• No withdrawal penalties.
• Generates impartial intelligence daily to help you make decisions.
• You choose your own investments – if you want some help then the interactive investor’s investment experts provide ready-made portfolios and fund recommendations.

interactive investor SIPP

interactive investor’s self-invested personal pension allows you to invest for retirement with the benefit of tax relief on your contributions. It’s suitable for experienced investors who are happy to make their own investment decisions for retirement. Your pension is locked until you turn 55, after which you have several drawdown options.

Key features include:

• Freedom to choose and manage your own retirement portfolio.
• More than 40,000 UK and global stocks.
• Expert tips and information, including impartial information, selected funds, ready-made portfolios and newsletters.
• Invest in multiple currencies.
• You can add the SIPP for £10 per month with some plans, or you can have the SIPP with the Investor Essentials plan (or stand-alone) for £12.99 per month.

How do I decide what to invest in with interactive investor?

interactive investor offers several options for building your portfolio, depending on how much help you want in choosing what to invest in and your risk appetite.

• Quick-start funds. interactive investor has 6 ready-made funds to get you started. There are 3 passive Vanguard LifeStrategy funds (20%, 60%, and 80% equity). Then, there are 3 actively-managed Columbia Threadneedle (CT) sustainable funds categorised by risk appetite (cautious, balanced, or growth).
• ii Super 60. This is a wide range of (you guessed it) 60 active and passive funds, investment trusts and ETFs. These have a good track record and cover a range of regions. You can choose between risk appetites and if you’re not sure what to go with, there is a huge amount of information on the different options available on the website.
• ii ACE 40. A similar concept to the Super 60 except that the choices are all sustainable options.
• Model Portfolios. There are also 5 model portfolios available, 3 growth options and 2 income options.
• Trading tips and ideas. interactive investor regularly puts together inspiration, tips and ideas in the form of videos, articles, and podcasts to help you make investment decisions.

Is interactive investor safe?

interactive investor is a secure company that has been managing investments since 1995. The company is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Your deposits are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection up to the value of £85,000 if interactive investor were to go bust. This does not cover your money in the event that your investments go down in value.

What can I do with the interactive investor app?

The mobile app allows you to trade, get quotes and manage your investments on the go. It uses Face and Touch ID for security.
Features of the iOS and Android apps include:

• Trading. You can access all the investment options that are accessible on the web app.
• Orders. You can see the status of all of your orders and can close or cancel orders.
• Funding. Allows you to see summaries of your accounts and add more funds.
• Quick quotes. Obtain stock quotes, view price charts and save stocks for later.
• Newsfeed, watchlist and market overview. Helps you stay up to date with the news, have a list of stocks to keep an eye on and shows you the latest market developments.
• Security. It uses Face and Touch ID for a quick log-in.

How good is interactive investor?

In terms of the options available and the opportunity to have full control over your investments, interactive investor is a solid platform. If you’re new to investing then it could be a little overwhelming, but once you’ve spent some time reading the articles, you’re likely to find it easier to understand.

The flat subscription fees make it easier to work out how much your investments will cost, and also make it cheaper if you have a lot of money to invest. However, the fees with ii are higher than some other options.

interactive investor customer reviews

Customers who took part in Finder’s 2023 customer satisfaction survey were fairly positive about interactive investor, with many highlighting its “easy to use” investing tools and competitive rates.

One customer said: “It is very easy to buy and sell shares on this platform.They have a lot of extra information about stock markets generally which is useful”

interactive investor scored 3.5 out of 5 for customer satisfaction. 73% of customers would recommend the brand to a friend.

Some customers mentioned that its fees are quite high, especially compared to other share dealing providers. They noted that it wouldn’t be as expensive with higher investments.

interactive investor also has a Trustpilot “excellent” score of 4.7 from over 22,000 reviews. The interactive investor app only has a score of 2.4 stars on Google Play but a score of 4.4 on the App Store, so slightly mixed reviews there. (July 2023)

Frequently asked questions

• Does interactive investor offer investment advice?

  No, interactive investor is not a financial advice service.

• Do I have to pay tax on my investment profits?

  You may need to pay tax on any gains you make from buying and selling shares. This depends on your personal tax rate. If you haven’t used your allowance yet, you can invest up to £20,000 per year in the investment ISA, which will not be subject to tax. interactive investor’s pension has tax benefits which also depend on your personal tax rate.

• Is there an interactive investor app?

  Yes. The interactive investor app is available on iOS and Android.

• How do I contact interactive investor?

  If you’re an interactive investor customer, you can use the secure message function. Just go to your account and select “secure messages”.
  Email: interactivehelp@ii.co.uk
  Telephone from the UK: 0345 607 6001
  Phoning from overseas: +44 113 346 2309

• How do I top up my account?

  You can top up your account by debit card, bank transfer, internal transfer or by cheque.

• What happens if interactive investor goes bust?

  Up to £85,000 of your investments are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

• Who owns interactive investor?

  interactive investor is majority owned by J.C. Flowers & Co, a private equity firm.

• Where are the interactive investor headquarters?

  interactive investor is based in Manchester, with offices in London and Leeds.