Dodl review

How we rated Dodl's investment features

Dodl is a trading app from AJ Bell that launched in April 2022 with the aim to make investing a doddle. It offers commission-free investing, plenty of tax-efficient accounts, and a well-designed app. Find out what we thought after testing the app in our Dodl review.

What is Dodl?

Dodl is a trading platform aimed at beginner investors – those looking to get exposure to the stock market without the jargon or baffling charts.

It’s a sister platform of AJ Bell, a successful online investing provider that was one of the first to launch in the UK. Dodl is a completely new platform that’s completely app-based and targeting a different type of investor to AJ Bell’s flagship service.

Expert test: I tried out Dodl's investing app

George Sweeney

Deputy editor

Dodl really is quite basic, but that's the point. I really like that it offers a range of accounts for a flat percentage fee, which helps remove any barriers around opening something like a stocks and shares ISA (in my opinion, an essential move for most beginner investors). The app itself is nice and bold, and easy to navigate.

You can invest with just a few clicks into a AJ Bell blended fund (organised by risk level), a themed investment (covering major sectors and regions), or pick from a relatively small selection of individual shares. Investing as a beginner doesn't need to be overcomplex and Dodl helps accommodate those first few steps excellently. My only gripe is that the process of selling investments didn't feel completely intuitive, and was a little harder to figure out than it should be for an investing app built on an ethos of simplicity.

Dodl fees

Overall, Dodl provides excellent value (even though there are limitations around investment choice). There’s no commission when buying or selling investments and you don’t have to pay a premium to access all the account types and tax wrappers on offer.

Dodl has an annual charge of 0.15% of your portfolio value for each type of account that you have. There’s a minimum charge of £1 per month. This means that if your portfolio is under £6,600, you’d technically pay more than the advertised 0.15%.

So, £10,000 invested in a stocks and shares ISA (or any other account on Dodl would cost you just £15 each year. Whereas, £1,000 invested in an ISA would cost you £12 a year.

If you invest in funds then you’ll have to pay the annual charge of the underlying fund as normal on top of the platform fee. With all investments, there may also be taxes to pay like Stamp Duty (but that’s the same everywhere).

Dodl investment choice and stocks

Dodl has limitations when it comes to investment choice, but that’s by design. If you want to access thousands of investment options, you should check out the full AJ Bell platform. If you wanted a limited choice that’s not overwhelming, Dodl might be the platform for you.

There are still a few different types of investment that you can choose with Dodl to give you some flexibility around assets.

Stock and shares

At the moment, you can only invest in companies from the UK and the US.

Dodl offers a small selection of around 80 companies to invest in from the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the Nasdaq.

You don’t get full access to each exchange, just a selection of stocks and shares. This keeps things simple, but it’s definitely a drawback if you’re looking for a wide range of investments.

Themed investments

Dodl’s “themed investments” include funds that focus on specific areas, such as technology, robotics, healthcare, responsible investing, and popular indices like the FTSE 100 index.

Some of the themes available include:

• UK top 100. Lets you invest in the FTSE 100 using the Vanguard FTSE 100 index unit trust.
• The home team. Allows you to invest in the HSBC FTSE 250 index fund.
• Across the pond. Uses the iShares US Equity index fund, which gets you access to the biggest US companies.
• On the continent. Invests in some of the biggest European companies with the Vanguard FTSE Europe index fund.
• Going east. This invests in the biggest Japanese companies with the Fidelity index Japan fund.
• Be more pacific. Invests in some of the biggest companies in the Asia-Pacific region with the Vanguard Pacific ex-Japan index fund.
• The global climbers. Concentrates on developing economies with the iShares Emerging Markets index fund.
• On top of the world. Gives you access to some of the largest companies from all over the world with the HSBC FTSE All-World index fund.

Dodl doesn’t charge you anything to buy or sell these funds, but each of the themed investment choices will have an ongoing fee percentage that’s charged on top of your 0.15% platform fee.

Ready-made portfolios

If you’d prefer an investment that’s less hands-on, you might prefer a pre-built portfolio. With Dodl, you can invest in AJ Bell’s ready-made portfolios. There are 6 different risk levels to choose from along with AJ Bell’s “Responsible Growth” fund.

The ongoing charge for these funds is 0.31%, apart from the responsible growth fund, which has an ongoing charge of 0.45%.

Is Dodl safe?

Dodl is part of the AJ Bell Group, which is a company regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Your money is held in FCA-approved banks and is protected under the FCA rules.

You’ll also be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means up to £85,000 of your deposits are covered if AJ Bell ever goes bust.

For further peace of mind, AJ Bell (AJB) is a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange, adding an extra layer of transparency around the financial health of the company.

Dodl account types and products

The range of accounts Dodl offers means it can compete with all of the big players in the investing space. It allows user to invest using a variety of accounts and tax wrappers, including:

• General investment account (GIA)
• Stocks and shares ISA
• Lifetime ISA (LISA)
• Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)

So you can invest for yourself with the GIA or investment ISA, for your first home or retirement with the LISA and also max out your pension contributions by using a SIPP.

What’s great about Dodl’s accounts is that all of them come with the same investment choice and 0.15% annual fee structure, which really keeps things simple and manageable.

You’re also able to combine and transfer your existing ISAs or pensions over to your new Dodl account.

With the Dodl ISA, you’ll be able to save up to £20,000 in each tax year without having to pay any tax on your profits.

With the Dodl pension, you’ll be able to save up to £60,000 in each tax year to receive an additional 25% from the government. You won’t be able to cash out the money until you turn 55 (rising to 57 in 2028).

With the LISA, you can save up to £4,000 each tax year (which counts towards your yearly £20,000 allowance) and you’ll get a 25% top up from the government. So if you do save the full £4,000, you can get an automatic boost of £1,000. But there is a penalty if you withdraw for anything other than your first home or retirement.

A GIA will be suitable for those that have made use of their annual ISA allowances already. You might be subject to capital gains tax on any profits over £6,000 in each tax year. Or for any dividends over £1,000.

Dodl ease of use

Dodl scored well in our ease of use assessment. However, there are limited ways to contact the support team, but this is probably part of the reason why the fees are so low. Sometimes, you get what you pay for and the providers offering top-notch customer service usually cost a bit more.

One downside is that there’s only a mobile app available, you can’t invest on the desktop. But again, this helps keep things simple.

On the App Store, Dodl scores 4.6 out of 5, and on Google Play it has a matching 4.6 out of 5 (as of November 2023). Keep in mind that there’s not many reviews compared to some other platforms.

Dodl customer reviews

Trustpilot reviewers gave Dodl a 4.4 out of 5 “excellent” rating, but only from around 100 reviews (as of November 2023).

In other user reviews provided to Finder, Dodl scores a lower 3.2 out 5 but still a good amount of positive feedback relating to the app.

Customers who took part in Finder’s 2023 customer satisfaction survey were fairly positive about Dodl.

Dodl scored 3 out of 5 for customer satisfaction. 61% of customers would recommend the brand to a friend.

Customers highlighted Dodl’s great customer service, competitive rates, and simple onboarding. Negative reviews often talk about spam emails, customer service issues and problems for non-British citizens.

Dodl tools, resources and features

With the goal of keeping things simple, Dodl has a limited range of tools and resources apart from its learning materials.

More may be added in future but probably not. The whole point of Dodl is to keep things straightforward, but if you want an investment account with plenty of bells and whistles, you may want to avoid the Dodl monsters and look elsewhere.

Dodl referral offer

Dodl has a referral promotion that lets you claim a free £30 voucher for Blackhawk if you refer a friend or are referred by a friend.

The referred friend has to open a general investment account, ISA, LISA or pension and add at least £500 to the account within 120 days – this can either be with an account top-up or by transferring an account, but it can’t be transferred from AJ Bell.

How to get your gift voucher:

1. Open an account with Dodl. You can choose any of the accounts that Dodl has on offer.
2. Fill out the referral form on Dodl’s website. It asks for the details of the person who referred you and the details you signed up with.
3. Deposit at least £500. This can be either with a brand transfer or by transferring your account from another provider.
4. Get your voucher. You and your friend will receive an email with a voucher code in the calendar month after your deposit.

You’ll need to be a Dodl customer with at least £500 in your account when the voucher arrives and your voucher may be reclaimed if you close your account or transfer out within 12 months.