interactive investor General Investing Account Review

Is Interactive Investor a good general investing account?

Yes, ii’s GIA won our award for best general investment account in 2023 and 2022. This is because of its excellent fixed-fee pricing, which makes it a good choice for investors with over £10,000 to invest. ii’s fixed fee keeps your total account costs low no matter how big your portfolio gets. You can also invest in markets ranging from UK and international shares to funds, trusts, bonds and ETFs.

Fees

A GIA with ii costs from £5.99 a month if you have less than £100,000 in your portfolio on their core plan, above that the monthly cost rises to £14.99 on the ii plus plan.

Included in both are a free stocks and shares ISA account and SIPP (for pension investing). Individual share deals are £3.99 per trade. It’s a little cheaper to buy funds on the Plus plan at £1.49 per fund buy or sell.

If you are buying international shares, it’s quite expensive compared to other providers like IG or Freetrade, who generally offer international share dealing for free. Especially when you take into account that FX fees for converting GBP to USD are 0.75%.

Is ii’s GIA Better than its ISA?

The GIA is better if you have lots of money to invest as the maximum you can put in an ISA tax-free each year is £20,000, so anything above that you should invest in a GIA. However, if you have less than £20,000 to invest each year, the ii ISA is a better option as your profits will be tax-free.

What is ii’s Platform Like to Use?

ii’s platform is very easy to use and it gives lots of market data on potential investments.