AJ Bell Youinvest Review

What is AJ Bell Youinvest?

AJ Bell Youinvest is an award-winning, low-cost online investing platform for the UK DIY investor. Its aim is to make the process of investing as easy as possible.

Founded in 1995, AJ Bell Youinvest has grown to become one of the UK’s leading investment platforms. Today, it has more than 310,000 customers and assets under administration (AUA) of over £60 billion.

AJ Bell Youinvest offers a wide range of services for investors including share dealing, fund investing, cash saving services, and mobile dealing. It also offers a range of accounts including Stocks and Shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), dealing accounts, investment accounts for children, and more.

AJ Bell Youinvest Investing

The range of investments available on AJ Bell Youinvest is vast. Through its platform, investors can access UK shares, international shares, investment funds, investment trusts, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and bonds.

If you are looking to invest in international shares, AJ Bell Youinvest offers dealing in over 24 markets including the US, Canada, and most European markets. This means you can buy and sell shares in companies listed overseas such as Apple, Amazon.com, Nestlé, and LVMH.

In terms of funds, AJ Bell Youinvest currently offers access to over 2,000 products (of which around 500 are investment trusts) including popular funds such as Fundsmith Equity, Lindsell Train Global Equity, and Baillie Gifford American as well as a range of the company’s own funds that have been created in-house.

Overall, AJ Bell YouInvest offers a comprehensive selection of investments. Its range of investments is not quite as comprehensive as that of Hargreaves Lansdown, however, which currently offers over 3,600 funds on its platform.

AJ Bell Youinvest Dealing account

The AJ Bell Youinvest Dealing account is an easy-to-use, cost-effective account for investing online. With this account, you can choose from a wide range of investment options, including shares, funds, and ETFs. Key advantages of the AJ Bell Youinvest Dealing account are that it is clear, well laid out, and user-friendly. Additionally, it offers access to a wider variety of investments than some other brokers.

Buying and selling shares online through AJ Bell Youinvest’s Dealing account is a straightforward process. You simply search for the company you’re interested in and click through to its research page. Here, you’ll receive a quote for the security. You then have 15 seconds to confirm your order at the quoted price.

Once your deal is completed, you’ll receive a contract note with all the details of your trade.

Shares can be bought and sold online through the website or app when the market is open. For UK shares, this is between 8:00am and 4:30pm. Overseas markets have different trading hours.

Unlike a tax-efficient account such as an ISA or SIPP, there are no limits to the amount you can pay into your Dealing account. And you can withdraw your money whenever you like.

The charges and fees for AJ Bell Youinvest’s Dealing account are shown below. Trading fees are lower than those offered by Hargreaves Lansdown, however, they are higher than those of some newer brokers such as Freetrade and Trading 212, which both offer zero commissions on share purchases.

Dealing account charges and fees

 AJ Bell Youinvest Stocks and Shares ISA

A Stocks and Shares ISA is a tax-efficient investment account in which you can invest up to £20,000 per year. When you invest in a Stocks and Shares ISA, you pay no tax on any capital gains or income from your investments.

AJ Bell Youinvest’s Stocks and Shares ISA offers a number of advantages. These include:

• A wide investment range – you have access to a vast range of investments including stocks, over 2,000 funds, and ETFs.
• Accessibility – you can view your account online 24/7 and deal on the go with AJ Bell Youinvest’s mobile app.
• Regular savings – you invest from £25 per month using the regular investment service and pay £1.50 per deal.
• Low-costs – you can deal from £1.50 per trade and you’ll never pay more than £9.95 per online deal.

Fees and charges for AJ Bell Youinvest’s Stocks and Shares ISA are listed below. These fees and charges are quite competitive. For example, the 0.25% custody charge on the first £250,000 of assets is lower than rival Hargreaves Lansdown’s equivalent charge (0.45% on the first £250,000 of funds).

Stocks and shares ISA charges and fees

The main attraction of this Stocks and Shares ISA, relative to competitors’ products, is the range of investments on offer. There are many funds to choose from and many international stocks available. On the downside, trading fees are higher than those offered by some other platforms such as Freetrade and Trading 212, which offer commission-free trading.

AJ Bell Youinvest Pensions

AJ Bell Youinvest’s main pension offering is the AJ Bell Youinvest SIPP. This is a pension product that enables you to manage and control your own savings. You choose how much to save – you can make monthly contributions or contribute lump sums and both you and your employer can make contributions. You can change how much you contribute easily so you can be flexible if your other financial commitments change.

As with other types of private pensions, you’ll receive tax benefits for saving into an AJ Bell Youinvest SIPP. Basic-rate taxpayers receive 20% tax relief meaning that a contribution of £80 is topped up to £100 by the government.

Another retirement option that AJ Bell Youinvest offers is the Lifetime ISA. This is a savings and investment account that is available to those aged between 18 and 40. You can invest up to £4,000 per annum into this type of account and the government will top it up with a 25% bonus, up to £1,000. However, the money can only be accessed (without incurring the penalty charge) when you turn 60 or when you buy your first home.

AJ Bell Youinvest SIPP

AJ Bell Youinvest’s SIPP is a flexible retirement product that allows you to choose where you invest your pension savings. With this product, you’re in control of how and where your money is invested, and make the decisions that determine how your pension pot performs. You can track your investments online and make changes to your portfolio easily. You have access to a wide range of investments, including shares from over 20 markets, funds, ETFs, and bonds.

AJ Bell Youinvest’s SIPP has no set-up fees and there are no charges to transfer a SIPP. You can deal online from just £1.50 for funds and £9.95 for shares. Overall, the SIPP charges are quite reasonable and lower than those offered by rival Hargreaves Lansdown. For example, while Hargreaves Lansdown caps its annual shares custody charge at £200 per year, AJ Bell Youinvest caps its annual shares custody charge at £120 per year.

SIPP charges and fees

The main attraction of this SIPP, relative to competitors’ products, is the range of investments on offer. On the downside, fees are higher than those of some other providers such as Vanguard, which offers fees of just 0.15% and no fund dealing charges.

AJ Bell Youinvest Lifetime ISA

A Lifetime ISA (LISA) is an investment account designed to help younger investors save for retirement or their first home. For every £4 you put in, the government will add £1 – up to a maximum bonus of £1,000 per year. Lifetime ISAs can be opened by savers aged 18 to 39 and investors can contribute until they turn 50.

The advantages of AJ Bell Youinvest’s Lifetime ISA include:

• A wide investment range – you have access to a vast range of investments including stocks, over 2,000 funds, and ETFs.
• Low costs – you can deal from £1.50 per trade and will never pay more than £9.95 per online deal.
• Accessibility – you can access your account online 24/7 and deal on the go with the mobile app.
• Regular saving – you can invest as little as £25 per month into your LISA.

The fees and charges for AJ Bell Youinvest’s Lifetime ISA are shown below. Both the funds custody charge and the shares custody charge are lower than those offered by rival Hargreaves Lansdown.

Lifetime ISA charges and fees

 The main attraction of this Lifetime ISA, relative to competitors’ products, is the scope of investments on offer. On the downside, fees are higher than those of some other providers such as EQi, which offers an annual charge of 0.20% on its LISA.

 AJ Bell Youinvest Cash Savings Hub

AJ Bell Youinvest’s Cash savings hub is a one-stop-shop for managing your savings. Designed to help savers get more from their cash savings, the hub provides access to competitive notice and fixed-term savings accounts offered by partner banks such as Aldermore, Paragon Bank, and OakNorth.

One key advantage of AJ Bell Youinvest’s Cash savings hub is that no paperwork is required to make a deposit. You can apply for the accounts online in seconds. All you need to get started is an existing AJ Bell Youinvest account.

Another advantage is that the service is free to use. AJ Bell Youinvest gets paid by partner banks, not by customers.

Each savings account is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), covering up to £85,000 per bank.

Overall, this product is very similar to Hargreaves Lansdown’s ‘Active Savings’ product. However, the partner banks are slightly different.

AJ Bell Youinvest Junior SIPP

AJ Bell Youinvest’s Junior SIPP is a retirement product designed to help you give your children a head-start financially. You can contribute up to £2,880 per year and contributions are subject to 20% tax relief. The money is tied up until retirement age.

Benefits of AJ Bell Youinvest’s Junior SIPP include:

• A wide range of investment options – you can invest in shares, funds, and ETFs.
• Low dealing charges – you can buy and sell funds for just £1.50.
• A regular investment option – you can make regular investments from £25 per month.
• Accessibility - you can manage the account online.

Fees and charges are listed below.

Junior SIPP fees

The main attraction of this Junior SIPP, relative to competitors’ products, is the range of investments available. On the downside, fees are higher than those of some other providers. The fee to buy and sell shares with Hargreaves Lansdown’s Junior SIPP, for example, is £5.95 per trade.

AJ Bell Youinvest Junior ISA

A Junior ISA is a tax-efficient way of saving for your child's adult life. As with an adult ISA, a Junior ISA shelters your child's investments from capital gains and income tax.

You can open a Junior ISA for a child if they're under 18, and you're their parent, or in a position of parental responsibility. The annual allowance is currently £9,000. Once you open a Junior ISA for your child, you become the ‘registered contact’, and are responsible for managing the account. When your child turns 18, control of the account passes to them.

Advantages of AJ Bell Youinvest’s Junior ISA include:

• A wide range of investments – you can invest in shares, funds, and ETFs.
• Low fees – you can buy and sell investments from just £1.50.

Charges and fees are listed below.

Junior ISA fees

 The main attraction of this Junior ISA, relative to competitors’ products, is the wide range of investments available. On the downside, fees are higher than those offered by some other providers. Vanguard, for example, offers an annual charge of 0.15%.

 AJ Bell Youinvest charges and fees

AJ Bell Youinvest is committed to transparent and fair charges that offer investors excellent value and are among the lowest in the market. On the AJ Bell Youinvest website, there’s a handy feature that enables you to calculate and compare charges.

AJ Bell Youinvest’s charging structure is consistent in approach across all its accounts. This ensures that you pay a fair price irrespective of the account or your investment style.

Platform charges and fees are listed below.

The trading fees are quite competitive and are lower than those charged by rival Hargreaves Lansdown. Hargreaves’ standard trading fee, for example, is £11.95 per trade. This falls to £8.95 if you make 10-19 trades in the previous month and £5.95 if you make 20+ trades in the previous month. However, they are higher than some other brokers such as Trading 212 and Freetrade, which offer commission-free trading.

There are no account set-up fees, inactivity fees, charges for holding cash, or fees to withdraw cash.

AJ Bell Youinvest does have exit fees, however. These are listed below. By contrast, rival Hargreaves Lansdown does not have exit fees.

Transfer out fees

AJ Bell Youinvest IPOs

Through AJ Bell Youinvest it is possible to invest in some Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). You can find information on upcoming IPOs on the company’s IPO page.

To participate in an IPO, you will need to have an account with AJ Bell Youinvest. You can apply for shares within any of your AJ Bell Youinvest accounts.

There are no dealing charges or stamp duty payable for making an IPO application. However, normal dealing charges will apply if you choose to sell your IPO shares once they are issued.

AJ Bell Youinvest International Investing

AJ Bell Youinvest’s dealing service lets you buy international shares online quickly and easily in a SIPP, Stocks and shares ISA, Lifetime ISA or Dealing account. The platform currently offers dealing in 24 international markets including the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Not all shares in these markets are available, however.

Buying international shares through AJ Bell Youinvest is a straightforward process. You simply search for the company you’re looking for using the site’s search function and go to that stock’s research page. There, you will be given a quote.

International Investing charges and fees

Foreign exchange fees on international dealing are quite high relative to some other brokers. Trading 212, for example, offers FX fees of 0.15%.

Overall, AJ Bell Youinvest offers a good range of international stocks relative to other brokers. However, its fees for dealing in international stocks are higher than those of some other brokers such as Trading 212.

AJ Bell Youinvest Ethical Investing

AJ Bell Youinvest offers a range of options for the ethical investor. Through the AJ Bell Youinvest platform, investors can access ethical funds such as the Liontrust UK Ethical fund as well as ethical ETFs such as the iShares MSCI World SRI ETF.

AJ Bell Youinvest has also created its own ethical fund, the AJ Bell Responsible Growth fund. This is a growth fund that is focused on companies taking their commitment to the environment and society seriously. It invests mostly in aggressive assets such as shares, avoiding certain sectors such as tobacco and gambling, and only investing a little in lower-risk assets such as bonds.

AJ Bell Youinvest Special Offers

AJ Bell Youinvest currently offers a number of ‘special offers’ for investors.

These include:

• A reward for opening and funding an ISA or SIPP – when you open an ISA or SIPP and fund it with £10,000 or more by 7 June you can choose either a one-year digital subscription to The Telegraph or a mixed case of wine from Laithwaite’s Wine.
• A free online subscription to Shares Magazine when you open an AJ Bell Youinvest account and maintain a balance of £4,000 or more.
• A reward for transferring accounts with other providers – when you transfer your SIPP, ISA or Dealing account to AJ Bell Youinvest, the company will pay up to £35 per investment moved and up to £100 for general exit fees, up to an overall maximum of £500 per person. To be eligible, the SIPP, ISA or dealing account being transferred must be valued at £20,000 or more. This offer is open to both existing and new customers.
• Rewards for recommending friends – when you recommend AJ Bell YouInvest to a friend and they open a SIPP or ISA worth £10,000 or more, the company will give you £100 to say thank you, and your friend a free copy of ‘The DIY Investor’ (RRP £17.99) by Andy Bell. You can recommend as many friends as you like. They just need to be new to AJ Bell Youinvest.

You can find more information on AJ Bell Youinvest’s special offers here.

AJ Bell Youinvest Ready-Made Portfolios

AJ Bell Youinvest has developed a number of ‘Ready-made portfolios.’ These portfolios are designed to take stress out of picking investments and help investors hit the ground running.

There are four Ready-made portfolios that you can invest in. These are:

• Cautious – this portfolio aims to grow your money modestly over time, beating cash returns while keeping ups and downs to a minimum. It mainly invests in low-risk assets such as bonds but has a small amount of exposure to shares.
• Balanced – this portfolio aims to generate a steady, reliable return for investors over the long run without too many ups and downs. Capital is split between conservative assets such as bonds, moderate-risk assets such as commercial property, and higher-risk assets such as shares.
• Adventurous – this portfolio aims to generate strong investment growth over the long term, albeit with a higher level of volatility along the way. It invests predominantly in higher-risk assets such as shares. There’s also some exposure to moderate-risk assets like corporate bonds and commercial property.
• Income – this portfolio aims to provide regular share dividends and bond interest payments for investors, while delivering steady investment growth too. It has exposure to conservative assets such as bonds, moderate-risk assets such as commercial property, and aggressive assets such as shares.

Each of these Ready-made portfolios is made up of funds in AJ Bell Youinvest’s Favourite funds list. When you buy a Ready-made portfolio, the funds within it will appear in your account. From that point on, it's up to you to manage these funds.

Costs for the Ready-made portfolios vary depending on the portfolio. Costs include an initial dealing charge, an annual custody charge, and ongoing annual fund charges.

This feature is similar to Hargreaves Lansdown’s Portfolio+ offering. A key difference, however, is that Hargreaves Lansdown offers a total of six ready-made portfolios.

AJ Bell Youinvest ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)

Through AJ Bell Youinvest, it’s possible to invest in a wide range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

There are ETFs that:

• Track specific indexes such as the FTSE 100 index
• Track specific markets such as the US stock market
• Provide exposure to investment themes
• Track bond indexes

Fees for ETFs are the same as the fees for buying and selling shares.

AJ Bell Youinvest Funds

AJ Bell Youinvest offers a fantastic selection of funds for investors. Currently, there are more than 2,000 funds on the platform. These funds – which include both active and passive funds – offer access to specific asset classes, markets, and geographical locations. You can invest as little as £25 per month into funds with the company’s regular investment service.

Through AJ Bell Youinvest, you can access funds from top fund management firms. For example, on the platform there are funds from the likes of Fundsmith, Baillie Gifford, Vanguard, and Fidelity. Overall, the fund list is very comprehensive, although not as comprehensive as that of rival Hargreaves Lansdown, which offers access to over 3,600 funds.

AJ Bell Youinvest also offers a range of funds that have been built in-house. An example is the AJ Bell Global Growth fund. This fund invests mostly in aggressive assets such as shares – including those in emerging markets and global technology. With these funds, the annual ongoing charge is capped at 0.35% for the growth funds, and 1.00% for the income funds. The custody charge is 0.25%.

There’s a £1.50 dealing charge to buy and sell third-party funds, but no dealing charge for AJ Bell funds.

AJ Bell Youinvest Favourite funds

To help investors choose funds to invest in, AJ Bell Youinvest has developed a ‘Favourite funds’ list. This is a handy feature for those who don’t have the time to do their own fund research.

Funds on this list are those that AJ Bell Youinvest believes offer the combination of excellent fund management, low charges, and the best long-term potential performance. The list – which is updated regularly – is put together by AJ Bell Youinvest’s investment specialists and only features funds that offer a combination of the following:

• A good track record compared to the benchmark and peers
• A top-quality fund management team
• Reasonable ongoing charges

Investors can use a filter tool to find the right fund to meet their criteria – whether that’s fund type, fund sector, or investment goal.

Costs vary depending on the fund chosen.

AJ Bell Youinvest Mobile Dealing  & App Features

You can view your AJ Bell Youinvest account and deal on the go on a variety of apps and devices. Its mobile apps are easy to use, secure, and allow you instant access to your account wherever you are. Apps are offered for a range of devices, including the iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Amazon Alexa, and Google assistant.

Through AJ Bell Youinvest’s apps you have the ability to:

• View and check the value of your portfolio
• Deal on the go
• Use the mobile app to enable two-factor authentication for added security
• View all your current active trades
• Read and send secure messages