AJ Bell scraps regular investing fees after cutting share dealing charges

AJ Bell has announced another round of fee cuts, this time removing its regular investing charge altogether as competition among DIY investment platforms continues to intensify.

From May 2026, customers using AJ Bell’s regular investing service will no longer pay the £1.50 dealing fee that was previously charged on automatic monthly investments. The change applies across its ISA, SIPP, Junior ISA, Lifetime ISA and Dealing accounts.

AJ Bell, managing director, Charlie Musson, said:

“Investing should be simple, straightforward and low-cost and our regular investing service offers exactly that, making it easy for people to invest little and often. Investing can be for everyone but research shows less than a third of Brits see investing as something the majority of people can get involved in*. Helping people start small by investing from as little as £25 a month with no dealing fees will support more people to get into the investing habit.”

The move follows AJ Bell’s April 2024 commission reduction in standard share dealing fees, where the platform cut online dealing charges for shares, ETFs, investment trusts and bonds from £9.95 to £5 per trade. Frequent traders also saw dealing commissions reduced from £4.95 to £3.50, while telephone dealing fees were trimmed from £29.95 to £25.

The latest pricing update means investors can now drip-feed money into funds, shares, ETFs and investment trusts every month without paying any dealing commission at all, making AJ Bell one of the cheapest major UK platforms for regular investing.

AJ Bell said the changes are designed to encourage more people to build long-term investing habits by making it easier and cheaper to invest little and often. Customers can set up a monthly direct debit into their account and automatically invest into chosen assets without needing to manually place trades each month.

The platform, which now has more than half a million customers, has increasingly positioned itself as a low-cost alternative to some of the UK’s larger incumbent investment platforms.

However, the cuts also underline how competitive the DIY investing market has become. Over the last few years, platforms have steadily reduced dealing charges, custody fees and FX costs as they compete for assets and younger investors.

That is undoubtedly good news for retail investors in the short term, particularly for beginners starting with smaller monthly contributions where dealing fees can have a disproportionate impact on returns.

But there is also a broader question about how far pricing pressure can go. As platforms continue cutting fees to attract customers, margins across the sector are becoming increasingly squeezed. While larger firms such as AJ Bell may be able to absorb lower pricing through scale, smaller providers could struggle to compete in a market where investors increasingly expect near-zero dealing costs.

AJ Bell’s latest move also continues a wider industry trend towards encouraging passive, long-term investing behaviour rather than frequent trading. By removing the cost barrier for regular monthly investing, the platform is clearly targeting investors looking to build wealth gradually through consistent contributions rather than speculative short-term trading.