Wealthify review

How we rated Wealthify's investment features

If you’re looking for an investment platform that handles most of your decisions, Wealthify might be the kind of thing you’re looking for. In our Wealthify review, we’ll explain some of the key features, the ready-made portfolios you can invest in and how the whole platform works.

What is Wealthify?

Wealthify is a digital investment management company, which aims to offer simple and effortless ways to invest your money. It falls under the category of “robo-advisor”, but the investing strategy uses a mixture of smart algorithms (robo) and expert humans (advisors).

Based in Cardiff, Wealthify launched in 2016 and is now backed by Aviva, which acquired a majority stake in 2017.

It operates online through its website and mobile app, but also has trusty humans available to speak with over the phone.

Wealthify fees

Overall, Wealthify provides excellent value (even though there are limitations around investment choices). The 0.6% platform fee you’ll pay will depend on the size of your portfolio.

You’ll also pay an additional fee based on whether you pick an “original” or “ethical” plan. The average cost for the original is an extra 0.16% and for the ethical, an extra 0.7%.

There’s no minimum monthly fee, and you only need £1 to invest in a Wealthify portfolio. The percentage fees shown are annual costs, but they’re worked out and charged to your account on a monthly basis.

We’re big fans of the fact that Wealthify doesn’t charge additional fees to make use of all the account types on offer either, making this platform an excellent place to hold most of your tax-efficient accounts in one spot.

The fees you pay cover the following:

• Creating your personal investment plan
• Ongoing adjustments to your portfolio
• 24/7 use of the app and online service
• Live chat, phone and email support
• News and insights on the blog and with a monthly market update
• Buying and selling investments in your portfolio
• Year-round expert market monitoring
• Your money and assets held with a custodian

Wealthify investment choice and stocks

Wealthify has limitations when it comes to investment choice, but that’s on purpose. If you want to access thousands of investment options, you should check out another platform. If you want some direction and to be assigned a portfolio, Wealthify might tick your boxes.

Wealthify offers 2 different investment options, original and ethical. Each has 5 different risk profiles to choose between:

• Cautious
• Tentative
• Confident
• Ambitious
• Adventurous

In all cases, they invest in a mix of government bonds, shares, property, corporate bonds, and some cash. The weighting between these assets differs between risk profiles to make sure it’s suited to the level of risk you’re comfortable with.

Wealthify Ethical vs Original

Ethical investing aims to avoid harmful activities (e.g. tobacco, gambling, weapons and adult entertainment) and opts for companies who take their environmental and social responsibilities seriously. Original doesn’t mean investing in “bad” companies, it just means this sort of socially responsible criteria is less of a priority.

• Original. Around 15 mutual funds and ETFs – featuring stocks, bonds, cash, property, private equity and commodities.
• Ethical. Around 15 mutual funds and ETFs – featuring shares, bonds, and other thematic investments (e.g. gender equality or green energy funds) from best-in-class ethical fund providers around the world.

There’s around 8,000 investments held across those combined 15 funds, so you’ll get a diverse basket of investments with either Wealthify plan.

Is Wealthify safe?

Wealthify is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It’s also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection, which means that you can receive compensation on deposits of up to £85,000 if Wealthify were to go bust.

Wealthify is also part of leading financial provider and insurer Aviva, an established public company and a member of the FTSE 100, adding an extra layer of reassurance.

Although as always when you invest, your capital is at risk.

Wealthify account types and products

Wealthify offers a comprehensive range of accounts to suit all investing goals:

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

Keep on reading to find out more about these products and the main differences between them.

Wealthify general investment account

This account is usually chosen by investors that have already made use of their ISA allowance in the current tax year (currently £20,000). You’ll be liable to pay tax on any profits you make over £6,000, or £1,000 in dividends in each tax year.

You can invest in all the same things that you can with the ISA and the pension.

Wealthify stocks and shares ISA

The Wealthify investment ISA is for investors who want to make the most of their annual ISA allowance. Something well worth doing. The allowance for the 2023/2024 tax year is £20,000. This means that you can invest up to £20,000 each year without paying tax on most of your profits.

You can invest in the same things with the Wealthify investment ISA as with the other accounts.

Wealthify junior ISA

If you’re a super organised parent and want to kick start your child’s savings, you can do this with Wealthify too.

Junior ISAs are pretty similar to regular ISAs, except that the annual allowance is £9,000 for the 2023/2024 tax year. This means that you can save up to £9,000 each year without paying tax on profits. This is separate to your own ISA allowances, so it doesn’t impact your £20,000 yearly allowance.

The account has to be opened by the child’s parent or guardian, but anyone can pay into it. The child gets access when they turn 18.

Wealthify pension (SIPP)

Wealthify aims to make saving for retirement easier by offering a self-invested personal pension (SIPP). As with its other products, it has low fees, but a minimum investment of £50 (instead of £1 elsewhere).

If you already have pensions elsewhere, you can transfer them in or you can create a new personal pension alongside those that you already have. You don’t have to commit to regular payments, either.

It’s up to you whether you want the commitment of a direct debit or if you’d prefer to make ad-hoc top-ups. With a personal pension you can contribute:

• 100% of your annual salary each year
• An annual allowance of £60,000
• Or, a lifetime allowance of £1,073,100

You get tax relief on up to 100% of your annual earnings, which Wealthify instantly applies to every contribution, so no need to wait for HMRC to pay it in.

Wealthify ease of use

Wealthify scored pretty well in our ease of use assessment. We like that there are a few ways to get hold of its customer support team and Wealthify has real people on hand to help you out, not a stiff chat bot.

On the App Store, Wealthify scores 4.4 out of 5, and on Google Play it has a lower 3 out of 5 (as of January 2024). If you don’t want to invest and manage your account on the app, Wealthify also offers a desktop platform.

Wealthify gave its app a complete overhaul in 2022. To be perfectly honest, it was needed. The old app was becoming outdated compared to other trail-blazing robo-advisors. However, Wealthify gets a pat on the back from us because a lot of the updates incorporated better accessibility features, making investing more accessible to everyone in the UK.

Wealthify customer reviews

In the 2024 Finder customer satisfaction survey, 85% of Wealthify customers said they’d recommend the platform. Many customers praised this brand’s communications.

One customer said: “They keep me well informed of any changes to my investments.”

Another said: “Really positive experience, and support available for first time investors.”

Trustpilot reviewers gave Wealthify a 4 out of 5 “great” rating (last updated: January 2024).

Wealthify tools, resources and features

With the goal of keeping things simple, Wealthify has a limited range of tools and resources, along with some learning materials like articles and guides.

There are portfolio insights available and enough information on the platform to cover the basics but this isn’t where to invest if you want in-depth stock analysis.

How does Wealthify work?

Wealthify invests your money in diversified fund portfolios to spread your risk across different industries and countries. Your portfolio will contain mainly low-cost, passive investments, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds that invest in a mixture of assets.

Its team of qualified investment managers is monitoring and adjusting your plan regularly as the stock market fluctuates to ensure the best returns for your money.

Wealthify is designed for people with little to no investment experience. Its team of investment experts build and manage your portfolio for you, no matter which product you choose.

This means that you don’t need to worry about selecting your own investments, all you have to do is choose a risk profile and whether you want an original or ethical portfolio.

How do I apply for a Wealthify account?

To open a Wealthify investing account, you must be 18 or over and a resident of the UK. We found that you should be able to set up an account in 10 minutes or so on the Wealthify website or app.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Head to the website or app. On the Wealthify website, select “invest now” in the top right.
2. Choose which account you want. We’ve explained the key differences between account types above. You can open multiple accounts later.
3. Choose your initial investment. This is the amount you want to invest right now.
4. Choose your monthly investment. This is the amount you plan to invest each month.
5. Choose an investment style. We’ve detailed these further up – you’ll need to choose how much risk you’re prepared to take on.
6. Choose an investment theme. Want to invest ethically? This is where you decide on regular investments or ethical ones.
7. Check out your plan summary. This shows you the projected value of your investments, the fees you’ll pay and how your money will be invested.
8. Create an account. You’ll be prompted to log in and fund your account.
9. You’re good to go! Wealthify’s experts manage your investments for you.

Frequently asked questions

• Can Wealthify give me financial advice?

  No, Wealthify is not regulated to provide financial advice.

• How long does it take to withdraw money from my Wealthify account?

  Although you have access to your funds 24/7 online, it can take up to 10 working days to process the withdrawal.

• I'm new to investing and don't want to put much money in, is it worth it?

  As with all investments, there is an element of risk and no guaranteed return. However smaller investors could see returns as Wealthify tends to spread your money across mutual funds, because they can be broken up into smaller amounts.

• Can I open more than one investment ISA?

  No, under UK tax rules you can only open one investment ISA per year.

• Does Wealthify pay dividends?

  As Wealthify invests in companies on your behalf, you are eligible to receive dividend payments if the companies decide to pay dividends.