Wealthify review

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What is Wealthify?

Wealthify is a digital investment management company, which aims to offer simple and effortless ways to invest your money. It technically falls under the category of “robo-advisor” despite not being fully automated.

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

It operates online through its website and mobile app, but also has humans available on the phone.

How does Wealthify work?

Wealthify invests your money in diversified 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.

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 no investment experience as it has a team of investment experts who 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 between cautious and adventurous.

Wealthify gives you the opportunity to choose investments in line with your values with the option of ethical investing. With its mobile app or on its online dashboard you can see where your money is invested, how it is performing and make additional contributions.

What can you invest in with Wealthify?

Wealthify offers two different investment options, each with 5 different risk profiles to choose between. In all cases, they invest in a mix of government bonds, shares, property and corporate bonds, with some held as cash. The weighting between these categories differs between risk profiles to make sure it’s suited to the risk you’re comfortable with.

Here’s how the Wealthify Original portfolios are made up:

Here’s how the Wealthify Ethical portfolios are made up:

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: Up to 20 mutual funds and ETFs, featuring stocks, bonds, cash and cash equivalents, property, private equity and commodities.
• Ethical: Up to 25 mutual funds and ETFs, featuring shares, bonds and other thematic investments (e.g. gender equality or green energy funds) from around the world.

Wealthify products

Wealthify offers:

• General investment account
• Individual savings account (ISA)
• Junior ISA
• Pension

We’ve explained more about these products and the main differences between them below.

What should I choose – an investment ISA or a general investing account?

Wealthify offers customers the chance to invest in stocks and shares through an investment ISA (individual savings account) or a general investing platform. We detail these further down, but generally if you don’t have any other ISAs elsewhere, then an investment ISA could be a better place to start. Interest earned from your first £20,000 in each tax year is exempt from tax under the 2021/2022 tax year allowance.

Alternatively, if you already have cash or stocks and shares ISAs elsewhere, you can choose to transfer these to Wealthify. Simply use the ISA transfer form on their website.

General investing suits bigger investments over £20,000, but you are liable to pay tax on any interest or dividends earned.

In terms of savings, ISAs and general investing are a better long-term investment, as you’re more likely to see better returns over a longer period. If you need to regularly access your savings, it’s worth considering a traditional savings account with a bank or building society instead.

Stocks and shares ISAs explained

Wealthify general investment account

As mentioned above, this account is usually chosen by investors that have already made use of their ISA allowance in the current tax year. You’ll be liable to pay tax on any profits you make over 2021/2022 in each tax year.

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

Wealthify ISA

The Wealthify ISA is for investors that want to use their annual ISA allowance. The allowance for the 2021/2022 tax year is £20,000. This means that you can invest up to £20,000 each year without paying tax on your profits.

You can invest in the same things with the Wealthify 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 2021/2022 tax year. This means that you can save up to £9,000 in each year without paying tax on profits.

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

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 and a minimum investment of only £50.

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 your contributions are tax free up to:

• 100% of your annual salary each year
• An annual allowance of £40,000
• Or, a lifetime allowance of £1,073,100

You get tax relief 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 performance

All of the figures below are Wealthify’s simulated 5 year performance figures. They are “simulated” because they’re based on the performance of a model that mirrors the decisions Wealthify made for customers’ plans. All simulated figures assume that the account size is over £500 and that a fee of 0.60% has been taken as well as fund costs.

Remember that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Wealthify original plan performance

Wealthify ethical plan performance

How do I apply for a Wealthify account?

To open a Wealthify Investment ISA or general investing account, you must be 18 or over and a resident of the UK.

You should be able to set up an ISA or general investing account in 10 minutes or so on Wealthify’s website.

Here’s how to get started:

1. On the Wealthify website, select “invest now”
2. Choose which account you want. We’ve explained the key differences between account types above
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 want 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.

Wealthify fees

Wealthify charges a flat rate of 0.6% on your investment amount, plus fund fees of around 0.22% (0.66% for ethical investing).
The fees include:

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

Is Wealthify safe?

Wealthify is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which means you could be entitled to compensation if it is found to be acting improperly.
Wealthify is also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which means that you can receive compensation on investments up to £85,000 if Wealthify were to go bust.

It is part of the Close Brothers Group, who have been trading for over 130 years, and are backed by leading financial provider and insurer Aviva.

Wealthify customer reviews

Wealthify has picked up several awards since its launch, and it seems it’s not just the industry that is impressed with the service. On customer review site Trustpilot, Wealthify is rated “Excellent”, with 4.6 out of 5 stars.

The company’s customer service is the focus of much of the praise, with reviewers calling it efficient and transparent. The negative reviews stated losing money and being rejected seemingly unfairly as the reason for the low score.

We carried out a customer satisfaction survey in December 2020.

Wealthify’s customers like the dashboard, think it has friendly customer service and find it easy to use. Some of them think it’s got a wide choice of investments.

Negative reviews focused on the time it takes for money to be deposited and withdrawn.

Pros and cons of Wealthify

Our verdict: Is Wealthify any good?

On the whole, it’s pretty good. It’s good for those who aren’t interested in managing their own portfolios and has a decent number based on how much risk you’re open to. Ethical investing is proving to be pretty popular at the moment, which Wealthify has the option for.

If you’re investing a larger sum of money (£100,000 or more) then you might find that other platforms are more cost-effective than Wealthify, such as interactive investor or IG.

What other options are available?

Wealthify is just one robo adviser in a growing industry of digital wealth management. Similar companies exist such as Moneyfarm and Nutmeg, which offer both ISAs and general investing products.

Get started by visiting Wealthify and opening an account. Still not sure? Compare other share trading platforms with our comparison table.

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.