interactive investor Customer Reviews & Expert Rating

What does interactive investor do?

Interactive Investor or II as its known is one of the UK’s largest self-determined investor platforms. II can trace its roots back to 1995 and the startup floated on the London stock exchange back in the year 2000 before being bought by the Australian business Ample in 2002. Today,  Interactive Investor is a owned by abrdn with assets under administration of more than £50 billion and 400,000 customers to whom II offers share trading and investment services including, ISAs SIPPs and share dealing, alongside research and analysis. Including model portfolios, selected funds and thematic investments.

Interactive Investor differs from other investment platforms as it charges a fixed account fee, rather than a percentage of the funds you have on account. Which, over time, could save you thousands in costs.

As a low-cost provider ii competes directly with the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell offering general investment accounts, ISAs and pensions.

Pricing: Brilliant for medium and large investors, expensive for small accounts.
Market Access: You’ll be hard-pressed to find something you can’t invest in.
Platform & Apps: Very good, excellent data and usability.
Customer Service: They are massive and mostly online, but you can call them directly, generally good.
Research & Analysis: Loads, daily and weekly updates across all the asset classes they cover, with lots of analysts and opinions. No advice service though.

Does interactive investor pay interest on cash?

Yes, but only 2% for under £10k and you need at least £100k in your account to get their best rate of 3.25%. There are other brokers that offer better rates on uninvested cash, though.

interactive investor versus Interactive Brokers

interactive broker and interactive investor may sound similar but cater to different investor profiles and operate under different jurisdictions and cater for different types of investors.

interactive brokers is a US‑based global brokerage offering a wide spectrum of asset classes and advanced trading tools, often targeting active traders and professionals. interactive investor, by contrast, is a UK‑focused subscription‑based platform offering a fixed‑fee structure suited to medium‑to‑long‑term investors primarily in equities, funds, bonds, Gilts, ISAs, and SIPPs.

interactive investor employs simpler platforms with relatively basic charting tools, while interactive brokers features a more complex interface and lower per-trade costs but with more variable fees. interactive investor is better for large longer term investment accounts because of its simplicity, flat monthly fee and broad UK offerings, whereas Interactive Brokers suits users seeking global market access and sophisticated execution tools.

Can you buy Gilts on interactive investor?

Yes, ii supports investment in government bonds, including UK Gilts, via its platform. This is confirmed on the site, which lists bonds and Gilts as available investments .