CMC Invest review
- Price per trade
- £0
- Min. initial deposit
- £0
- Offer
- Earn up to £1,000 when you transfer before 5 Aug 2024. Plus, get 12 months free when you switch to Premium plan. T&Cs apply. Capital at risk.
Our verdict
CMC Invest launched last year and offers commission-free investing for UK and US shares, it’s a platform with plenty to offer investors.
We picked CMC Invest as the best platform to use for trading US shares because along with 0% commission on 3,000+ US stocks, it also offers low currency conversion fees and a free USD multi-currency wallet.
Since the app was released into the wild, true to its word, CMC Invest has been continuously rolling out new features and investments like personalised ESG preferences. You can invest in thousands of stocks, ETFs, funds and investment trusts from the UK and US. It also offers 2% uncapped interest on cash - a tidy bonus.
Those investing small amounts will like that there’s no minimum deposit, but the lack of fractional shares is a drawback. And it’s free to use the “Core” plan, which we think has plenty to offer beginners. But if you want to access the full capabilities of the CMC Invest app, you’ll need to pay £10 a month and subscribe to the “Plus” plan or £25 a month for "Premium". This way, you can use an ISA (and a SIPP with Premium), and see stock analysis and insights from the professionals.
Pros
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No minimum deposit
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Free to open and hold a Core account
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No commission on US and UK stocks and ETFs
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Over 3,000 investments
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2% uncapped interest paid on cash in all account plans
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ISA and SIPP available
Cons
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Limited range of UK stocks
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Only US and UK stocks available
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No fractional shares
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Costs £10 per month to use an ISA with Plus plan
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Stock analysis reserved for Plus and Premium customers
How we rated CMC Invest's investment features
| Feature | Rating | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | 4.5 ★★★★★ | CMC Invest offers excellent value and is cheap across the board. |
| Investment choice | 3.7 ★★★★★ | It offers plenty of investments but is limited in some areas. |
| Safety and security | 5.0 ★★★★★ | CMC Invest offers a secure and safe place for people to invest. |
| Account types and products | 4.2 ★★★★★ | The platform has most account types covered. |
| Ease of use | 4.3 ★★★★★ | CMC Invest offers a solid investing experience that most customers seem happy with. |
| Tools, resources and features | 5.0 ★★★★★ | CMC Invest offers plenty of tools and resources and a community forum. |
CMC Invest’s app lets you trade in UK and US stocks commission-free; it makes money through foreign exchange fees and bundled monthly subscription fees. It does offer a free “Core” plan, but this comes with fewer features – for example, you won’t have access to its flexible stocks and shares ISA or its self-invested personal pension (SIPP).
Our experts have analysed and rated the key features of CMC Invest and what you can invest in through the app.
Expert test: I tried out CMC Invests' investing platform
I like how CMC Invest's interface is really simple and clean, with just 3 key tabs 'home', 'discover' and 'watchlist'. Finding investments and then actually investing is as straightforward as possible, and I'm a fan of how simple it is to add my own personalised ESG preferences. It's great that there's no platform fee (for Core) and 0% commission is brilliant, but I would like to see fractional shares added.
CMC Invest fees
| Fees score | 4.5 ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Platform fee | £0 Core Plan £10/month Plus Plan £25/month Premium Plan |
| UK shares | £0 |
| US stocks | £0 |
| International shares | N/A |
| Funds/ETFs | £0 |
| Telephone investments | £50 |
| Foreign exchange (FX) fee | 0.5% |
| Regular investing | No |
| Withdrawal/deposit fee | £0 (£15 for urgent withdrawals) |
| Inactivity fee | £0 |
CMC Invest promises “commission-free investing with fair, flat fees”. And it delivers. There’s no commission on UK and US share trading, which may suit you nicely if you intend to trade regularly.
You can use its basic account (dubbed “Core”) without paying a platform fee. However, if you want to invest in its flexible stocks and shares ISA, you’ll need to pay a £10 monthly fee for its “Plus” plan. But this also gets you access to a USD currency wallet, which could save you money on FX fees – a useful bonus considering most of the shares on offer from CMC Invest are US stocks.
It also has a newly launched “Premium” plan, which costs £25 per month and comes with all the same feautres as the Plus plan, with the addition of a SIPP. Essentially, it costs £10 a month for a stocks and shares ISA and an extra £15 a month for a SIPP. This is fairly pricey and the structure will best suit investors with large ISAs or SIPPs (because it’s a flat mothly fee), so the fees don’t rise in line with your portfolios.
CMC Invest also offers the option of telephone trades, but this comes with a £50 commission charge, so you may prefer to stick to trading online via its app.
CMC Invest investment choice and stocks
| Investment choice score | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Asset options | 3+ |
| Markets | 2 |
| Number of investments | 3,400+ |
| Number of ETFs/funds | 400+ |
| Fractional shares | |
| Minimum deposit | £10 |
| Minimum investment | £0 (must be one full share) |
CMC Invest allows you to invest in more than 250 (FTSE 250) stocks from the London Stock Exchange (LSE), plus more than 3,000 stocks from the two biggest US exchanges – the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). So you’re able to access the majority of the biggest and most popular stocks from the US and the UK.
You can also diversify your portfolio by investing in more than 400 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and investment trusts. Recently, it also added over 1,000 mutual funds for Plus plan subscribers.
There are plenty of investments to choose from on CMC Invest and its continually expanding its asset offering. The only major drawback is that you’re not able to buy fractional shares.
Is CMC Invest safe?
| Safety and security score | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Biometric login/2FA | |
| FCA regulated | |
| FSCS protection | |
| SSL certificate | |
| Public company |
As you’d expect, CMC Invest is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It’s also a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) so your deposits up to £85,000 are protected should something happen to CMC Invest.
The CMC Invest app also comes with plenty of security features to keep your portfolio secure.
Alongside all this, CMC Invest is part of a public company, CMC Markets (CMCX) – adding an extra layer of transparency and peace of mind.
CMC Invest account types and products
| Account types and products score | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| General investment account (GIA) | |
| Stock and shares ISA | |
| Self-invested personal pension (SIPP) | |
| Lifetime ISA (LISA) | |
| Junior ISA (JISA)/Junior SIPP (JSIPP) | |
| Business Account | |
| Interest on cash balances |
At the moment, CMC Invest’s product range is limited to a general investment account (GIA) and a stocks and shares ISA. It’s worth noting that you need to be a Plus subscriber to access the stocks and shares ISA, paying a £10 monthly flat fee for the privilege.
You can’t invest in a junior ISA (JISA), but CMC Invest now offers a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).
As mentioned, to access the SIPP, you need the Premium plan which costs £25 a month and also includes a stocks and shares ISA. Unfortunately you can’t access the SIPP as a standalone product. So it’s better value using CMC Invest if you plan to use the ISA and SIPP together, otherwise £25 a month for a SIPP is pricey for smaller portfolios.
One useful aspect to CMC Invest’s accounts is that you can earn 2% uncapped interest on any idle cash sat in your account. And this benefit is for both Core and Plus subscribers with no minimum or maximum limits.
CMC Invest products
CMC Invest ease of use
| Ease of use score | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Apple iOS rating | 4.1/5 |
| Google Play rating | 3.9/5 |
| Ways to contact customer service | Phone, email and community forum |
| UI/UX | Good |
| Desktop or mobile app | Mobile app |
CMC Invest scored well in our ease of use assessment. We particularly like that there are plenty of ways to get hold of the support team in traditional methods (like phone and email) but also newer direct ways (like social media and through the forum).
One downside is that there’s only a mobile app available, you can’t invest on the desktop.
On the App Store, CMC Invest scores 4.7 out of 5, and on Google Play it has a lower 3.4 out of 5 (as of April 2024). Keep in mind that there’s not many reviews compared to some other platforms.
CMC Invest customer reviews
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 4.6/5 |
| User reviews | 4.7/5 |
Trustpilot reviewers gave CMC Invest a 4.6 out of 5, from 121 reviews (as of April 2024).
In other user reviews provided to Finder, CMC Invest scores an impressive 4.7 out 5 with plenty of positive feedback for this relatively new investment app.
CMC Invest tools, resources and features
| Tools, resources and features | ★★★★★ |
|---|---|
| Analysis features | |
| Tools for investing/trading | |
| Social features | |
| Learning resources | |
| Additional Features |
CMC Invest has plenty of tools and resources on offer for investors, including a community forum to add a social aspect to the trading app.
Examples of some of the tools and resources available include:
- ESG ratings (personalised screening settings)
- Analyst ratings and price targets
- Company fundamental analysis
- Ability to set goals and limit orders
- “Bull says, Bear says insights” (provided by Morningstar)
One particular highlight is the ability to set personalised ESG preferences. This means that you can create your own ESG rules for your portfolio to abide by based on your own ethics. This innovation was what won CMC Invest the “ESG Investing Innovation” award in the 2023 Finder Investing and Savings Innovation Awards.
It’s worth pointing out that some of the more in-depth analysis tools like the “bull says, bear says” insights and company fundamental analysis are reserved for paying Plus subscribers.
Once you’ve created your account, you’ll also be invited to join its CMC Invest community so that you can feed back on the features you want and help shape the app, as well as hearing about the latest updates and sharing insights and experiences with other CMC Invest users.
It also has a learning centre on its website, with a (currently small) range of guides to help you get up to speed with investing – for example, “Getting started with ETFs”.
How to sign up for CMC Invest
To open an account, you’ll need:
- To be over 18
- A UK adress
- Your national insurance (NI) number (or, for non-UK citizens, a national ID number)
You’ll also need to supply basic personal information including your name and email address.
Once your account is open, you can add funds to buy investments and, if you’ve opted for a plan that requires a monthly payment, to pay your subscription. You can add money using the app at any time with your debit card.
Frequently asked questions
