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Wombat review

Taking its name from the Australian marsupial, Wombat is an app that lets you invest based on your lifestyle and interests.

Wombat products Our verdict
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Tom Stelzer
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Wombat is a trading app named after the Australian marsupial. It lets you invest in shares, fractional shares and “themes”, which are collections of investments that follow a specific, you guessed it, theme. It helps you save in small amounts with its round up feature. Wombat was highly commended in the Finder Investing & Saving Innovation Awards 2020 for stocks and shares ISA innovation. Find out what we thought of Wombat, as well as some pros and cons of it.

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What is Wombat?

Wombat aims to give everyone the opportunity to become an investor with its simple and intuitive platform.

Founded in 2017, Wombat is a digital investment app that lets you invest as little as £10 in a range of portfolio “themes” based on your values and interests, as well as fractional shares. You’ll also pay no account or trading fees on accounts up to £1,000, and can choose from a range of deposit and investing options.

How to open a Wombat account

  1. Download the Wombat app. It’s on Google Play and the App Store
  2. Register for Wombat. You’ll need your bank details, ID and national insurance number.
  3. Choose how much to invest. You can start with as little as £10 and can choose to add money to your account at any time, or set up an auto invest function to automatically add money to your account each month.
  4. Choose your account. You can invest in an ISA or a general investment account.

  5. You’re good to go. You can explore the app and choose investments in your own time.

    Am I eligible for a Wombat account?

    You’ll need to meet the following criteria to open a Wombat account:

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be a UK resident
  • Have a national insurance number

What products does Wombat offer?

Stocks and shares individual savings account (ISA). An ISA lets you invest up to £20,000 in each tax year without paying any capital gains tax on your profits.

General investment account. This is a regular investment account with no upper investing limit, but unlike with an ISA, your gains will likely be subject to capital gains or income tax.

Capital gains tax is payable on any gains over £12,300 in each tax year.

Wombat features

Here are some of the features of Wombat:

  • Invest in an ISA. This lets you invest without paying tax on your profits.
  • Wombat themes. These let you align your investments with your values.
  • Fractional shares. You can invest in a fraction of a share, which is useful when individual shares are quite pricey.
  • Round ups. You can automatically round up your everyday purchases to the nearest pound.Your round ups are then added to your account.
  • Learning hub. This has general investment guides and information.

Wombat themes

Like other robo-advisors, Wombat offers a number of investment portfolio “themes” that are designed to cater to your lifestyle, values and interests. For example, the “Fly the flag” theme is made up of local British companies, while “Pure Gold” lets you invest in a gold-bullion fund. Alternatively, you can choose to invest in a household brand, such as Apple, Ocado or Netflix. With this themed approach to investing, you can match your investments with your beliefs and interests.

There are currently over 20 themes, each containing a number of ETFs. You can choose to invest in one or more of the following themes:

  • Fly the flag
  • Pure Gold
  • The Adventurer
  • The Money-Maker
  • The Lifestyler
  • All American
  • The AI
  • The Techie
  • The Foodie
  • The World’s Greatest
  • The Innovator
  • The Snack Attack
  • The Healthcare Innovators
  • Women in Power
  • The Goodies
  • The Balanced
  • The British Bulldog
  • Social Media Guru
  • The Robo
  • Medical Cannabis
  • The Green Machine

Wombat fractional shares

You can also now invest in fractional shares with Wombat. Fractional shares are small parts of shares, which are particularly good for where shares are more expensive than the average investor can afford.

How much does Wombat cost?

Depending on the size of your account, there are a number of fees you will be charged when investing using Wombat.

Accounts up to £1,000

  • No subscription fee
  • No trading or transaction fees
  • Fund provider fee (there’s a facts sheet within the app with more detail)

Accounts above £1,000

  • £1 monthly subscription fee
  • 0.45% platform fee
  • Fund provider fee

Is Wombat safe?

Wombat is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so your money may be protected up to £85,000 in the event that Wombat goes into default. Wombat also uses 256-bit TLS encryption to protect your personal data.

Like any other type of investment, your capital is at risk when you invest using Wombat and you may end up with less than what you originally invested. The performance of Wombat investment themes will vary, and there is no guarantee of return.

Wombat customer reviews

Wombat has a Trustpilot score of Excellent, with a score of 4.6. Its customers think that the app is well laid out and nicely designed and that it gives a nice amount of detail in its fund and share information.

They also liked how easy to use it is, and think it takes the hassle out of investing.

Some negative reviews of Wombat talk about the 24-hour price delays on shares, but they acknowledge that it’s a provider suitable for beginners, rather than experienced traders.

Pros and cons of Wombat

Pros

  • No trading or account fees below £1,000
  • Invest from as little as £10
  • Stocks and shares ISA available
  • Large range of portfolio themes
  • Round up option
  • Fractional shares

Cons

  • Limited type of investments
  • Small fees on accounts over £1,000

Our verdict: Is Wombat any good?

Wombat’s pretty neat – it’s got a nice user interface and it’s bringing out new features all the time, tailored to what its customers want. We like the “themes” that help you choose what kind of companies you want to invest in and the round ups feature makes it easy to build healthy regular saving and investing habits.

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

Frequently asked questions

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

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