AJ Bell Index Funds Investing Customer Reviews & Expert Rating

AJ Bell is a solid option for those looking to include index funds in their portfolios. There is a wide range of products available and fees are very competitive.

Market Access: AJ Bell offers access to over 300 standard index funds on its platform. There are also over 3,000 index-tracking ETFs available.

Pricing: For Stocks and Shares ISA investors, AJ Bell charges £1.50 to trade regular index funds and £5.00 for ETFs. This £5.00 fee is reduced to £3.50 if you had more than 10 deals in the previous month.

In terms of account fees, ETFs are charged at 0.25% (capped at £3.50 per month). For portfolios with regular funds, fees are:

App & Platform: AJ Bell’s platform and app are intuitive and easy to use. However, they don't offer features that some of the newer platforms offer such as commission free-trading and fractional shares.

Customer Service: AJ Bell’s customer service is generally good. You can speak to the customer services team between 8am and 7pm during the week and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.

Research & Analysis: AJ Bell offers a decent amount of research and analysis on its platform. It also offers a list of its Favourite funds.

Yes, Hargreaves Lansdown has around 280 index funds in their screener (excluding ETFs). HL also have what they call a "Wealth Shortlist" where their experts have curated a best buy list of index funds across a broad range of sectors to help investors build a diverse portfolio.

A good choice for those who want to include index funds as part of their overall portfolio. However, it can get expensive for large index fund portfolios.

Market Access: Hargreaves Lansdown offers access to over 330 standard index funds on its platform. There are also thousands of ETF index funds available.

Pricing: For Stocks and Shares ISA investors, Hargreaves Lansdown charges £2 per trade to buy regular index funds and £6.95 for ETF trades (£3.95 if you made more than 20 trades the previous month). Customers also need to pay account fees.

For portfolios with ETFs, account fees are 0.35% (capped at £12.50 per month). For portfolios with regular funds, fees are:

App & Platform: Hargreaves Lansdown’s platform and app are well designed and easy to use. However, they don't offer features that some of the newer platforms offer such as commission free-trading and fractional shares.

Customer Service: Hargreaves Lansdown’s customer service is reasonable. Staff are helpful if you have a query, however, support is only available between 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am to 12.30am on Saturday.

Research & Analysis: Hargreaves Lansdown offers a good amount of index fund research on its platform. To make index fund investing easy, its analysts have selected a number of funds from across a range of sectors for a preferred list called the Wealth Shortlist.

Interactive Investor is a sound choice for those seeking access to a broad range of index funds and a flat-fee structure. For those with large portfolios, it can be a very cost-effective platform.

Market Access: Interactive Investor offers access to hundreds of standard index funds and thousands of index ETFs.

Pricing: With this platform, there are three different fee plans:

• Core (£5.99 per month): fund and ETF trades are £3.99 per trade
• Plus (£14.99 per month): fund trades are £1.49 while ETFs are £3.99 per trade
• Premium (£39.99 per month): fund trades are free while ETFs are £2.99 per trade

App & Platform: Interactive Investor’s platform and app are well designed and offer a clean interface for long-term investors looking to track portfolios and execute trades. However, some users find the app a little basic.

Customer Service: Interactive Investor scores well for customer support. However, while the phone team is generally knowledgeable and helpful, email support can be a little slow.

Research & Analysis: On its website, Interactive Investor has a Research Hub which offers analysis and tools designed to help investors make better decisions. It also offers a Highly Rated Funds tool, to help investors build their portfolios.

- Special Offer: Deposit £1 & receive a free fractional share worth up to £100. Capital at risk. Refer a friend/sponsored link. T&Cs apply. 

- Cash ISA Bonus Rate: Currently 3.6% variable + 1yr 1.41% bonus (new customers only). Sponsored link. T&Cs apply. 

Trading 212 offers access to a broad range of stocks and ETFs across 16 exchanges. In total, there are over 13,000 stocks and ETFs available on the platform. 

Additionally, it offers access to a range of features that many traditional investment platforms don’t offer such as:

• Commission-free trading 
• Fractional shares (you can buy fractions of shares) 
• 24/5 trading 
• Investment pies: A pie is a diversified portfolio that invests automatically for you but note, this is an execution only service meaning the management is down to you ● A debit card with no FX fees, issued by Paynetics 

What accounts are available on Trading 212? 

Trading 212 currently offers a range of investment accounts including a regular investment account, a Stocks ISA, a Cash ISA, and a SIPP. We look at some of these accounts in more detail below. 

Stocks ISA 

With Trading 212’s Stocks ISA, you can invest in a broad range of stocks and ETFs commission-free, although other fees may apply. You can deposit up to £20,000 per year and there is no tax payable on investment gains or income but note, tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and regulations which may change. 

Benefits of this account include: 

• Access to 13,000 stocks and ETFs 
• No account fees 
• The ability to earn interest on your cash 
• Low FX fees when trading international shares (0.15%) 
• Access to ready-made portfolios 
• Fractional shares 

Overall, the Trading 212 Stocks ISA is a solid offering. It could be a good option for those looking to trade stocks and ETFs with no commissions. 

Cash ISA 

The Trading 212 Cash ISA offers a simple way to save money. You can deposit up to £20,000 per year and withdraw your money at any time.

Benefits of this account include: 

• Attractive interest rates (3.6%* AER at the time of this review) 
• Interest paid monthly 
• No minimums 
• No account fees 
• FSCS protection up to £120,000 

This ISA could be well suited to those who want a Cash ISA on the same platform as their investments. It may be possible to find higher interest rates elsewhere, however. 

SIPP 

Trading 212’s SIPP is a pension account. With this product, you can deposit up to £60,000 every year, however, you cannot access the money until age 55 (57 from 2028). Trading 212’s SIPP is operated and administered by Platform One. 

Benefits of this account include: 

• Tax-relief is provided on top of your deposits 
• No tax on investment gains or income 
• Access to 13,000 stocks and ETFs 
• Commission-free trading 
• Low FX fees (0.15%) 
• No account fees 
• Fractional shares 
• Access to ready-made portfolios 

Overall, this is a solid pension offering. There’s access to many investments and fees are very low. 

Market access 

Trading 212 offers access to UK stocks, international stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, and more. In total, there are over 13,000 global stocks and ETFs available on the platform which for most investors, is going to be more than enough options.

Those in the UK can also access CFDs. With CFDs, it’s possible to trade indices, commodities, forex, and stocks. 

Where the platform falls short against traditional platforms, however, is mutual funds. Regular mutual funds are not available – only ETFs and investment trusts. 

One other thing to point out is that the company executes through Interactive Brokers. It can take time to fill orders on small UK stocks. 

What are Trading 212’s fees 

Trading 212’s fees are very competitive. Here’s a snapshot of its fee structure: 

• Trading commissions - free 
• Custody fee - free 
• FX fees - 0.15% 
• Deposits via bank transfers - free 
• Deposits via cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay - free below £2,000 then 0.7% ● Withdrawals - free 

Note when buying UK shares, you still have to pay Stamp Duty. This is 0.5% of the transaction value. 

How does Trading 212 make money? 

Trading 212 offers commission-free trading and also charges no custody fees. So, how does it make money? 

Well, one source of revenue is CFDs – here it makes money from the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price of a CFD. Another source of revenue is interest on uninvested cash. 

Who is Trading 212 regulated by and is it safe? 

In the UK, Trading 212 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In the unlikely event of a default, FSCS compensation is up to £120,000. 

With Trading 212, your cash is held at some of the world’s largest banks where it is ring-fenced. This means that it is held separately to the firm’s money.

As for shares, Trading 212 works with The Bank of New York Mellon and IBKR to safeguard your assets. Here, shares are ring-fenced and completely segregated from the company’s assets. 

So overall, the platform operates within safeguarding requirements. There are obviously risks that come with investing on the platform, however, especially if trading CFDs. App and platform 

Trading 212 offers desktop access and an app. The app, which has a 4.7 rating in Apple’s App Store – tends to be more popular with customers. 

Through the app, you can trade stocks and ETFs, check your account balances, analyse your portfolio and asset allocation, and research individual companies and ETFs. The interface is clean and suitable for both beginners and advanced investors. 

One issue to be aware of, however, is that the company is constantly tweaking the app and desktop interfaces. Some users find this frustrating. 

Added value and research 

Trading 212 offers more investing information than a lot of other low-cost platforms. On its ‘Learn’ page, there are many educational articles. 

That said, some topics are not explained that well. As a result, beginner investors could end up a little confused. 

One handy feature on the platform is the Trading 212 Hotlist. This shows the most popular stocks among its customers. 

On the downside, there doesn’t seem to be any investment research on the platform. The only source of investment ideas is the Hotlist. 

Customer service 

You can contact Trading 212 24/7 via the ‘contact us’ function in the app. This connects you with the T212 chat assistant who can connect you with an agent from the customer care team on chat.

It should be noted, however, that some users have complained about poor customer service. One common theme is withdrawals, these seem to be an issue for many users.

Please note, when investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.