Investments and Accounts

Stocks & Shares

Commission to buy or sell: First 10 trades - £10 commission All subsequent trades - £5 commission £1.50 for regular investment purchases with Porfolio Builder Other charges may apply

SIPP or ISA

Risk profile: variable but typically higher risk as it is non-diversified (e.g. a single holding)

Our state-of-the-art trading platform allows you to buy from thousands of UK, US and European stocks and shares, which form the building blocks of any portfolio. If you are comfortable assembling a diversified portfolio of individual shares this can be an exciting and rewarding part of managing your investments, but expect to keep a close eye on it as, in this instance, you are the fund manager!

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Funds (Unit Trusts & OEICs)

Cost to invest: No initial charge (e.g. all your money gets invested) 1.5% average annual management charge

SIPP or ISA

Risk profile: can span low, through to high risk, dependent on strategy. Clearly marked risk categories on all funds

Unit trusts and open ended investment companies (OEICs) are traditionally actively managed funds whereby investors pool their cash, which is then invested on their behalf around a specified fund strategy. Risk levels are variable dependent on that strategy and you do pay for the services of that fund manager via an annual management charge. We have more than 2,800 funds for you to invest in, right here.

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Investment Trusts

Cost to buy or sell: First 10 trades - £10 commission All subsequent trades - £5 commission £1.50 for regular investment purchases with Portfolio Builder (as they are bought like shares, therefore no annual management charge)

SIPP or ISA

Risk profile: can span low, through to high risk, dependent on strategy. Clearly marked risk categories on all funds

An investment trust is a company with fixed share capital listed on a stock exchange. It is also known as a closed-end fund or investment company. Investors buy shares in an investment trust like they would in Tesco or BT. Investment trusts are usually cheaper than funds.

We have more than 600 investment trust companies available here, covering a wide range of sectors and asset classes, such as equities, private equity and property. Some are highly focused on sectors, such as Japanese smaller companies, healthcare and timber.

Trusts differ from funds in several respects. Investment trusts have an independent board of directors directly answerable to shareholders. Day-to-day activity is controlled by a fund manager, who is monitored by the board and can be removed if the trust fails to perform well.

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Exchange Traded Funds

Cost to buy or sell: First 10 trades - £10 commission All subsequent trades - £5 commission £1.50 for regular investment purchases with Portfolio Builder (as they are bought like shares, therefore there is no annual management charge)

SIPP or ISA

Risk profile: can span low, through to high risk, dependent on strategy. Investing in assets designed to mirror key indices, to achieve broadly similar outcomes, e.g. gold, FTSE 100, Dow Jones, etc. Very low cost way of fund investing

• ETFs are traded like a share but behave like a fund
• Lower cost - total expense ratios are often lower than for unit trusts or OEICs, although you will pay share dealing fees (currently £10 per trade)
• Transparency - composition of most ETFs published daily
• Flexibility - buy and sell ETFs throughout the trading day
• Choice - there are a broad range of funds offering access to a wide selection of markets/sectors - over 380 here at Interactive Investor
• Low tracking error - ETFs generally track their index closely
• Stamp duty exempt

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Themed Fund Baskets & Multi-Fund ISA

Cost to invest: 0% initial charge (e.g. all your money gets invested) 1.5% average annual management charge

SIPP or ISA

Ready-made portfolios offer a variety of risk levels dependent on the theme you choose, but are predominantly higher risk. Our Multi-fund ISA offers three risk-rated portfolios – lower, medium and higher risk

Themed Fund Baskets offer groups of four funds focusing on particular areas such as 'UK Growth', 'Emerging Markets', 'Global Growth' and 'Income'.

Our Multi-fund ISA offers investors an actively managed portfolio of around 40 funds in a very low-cost formula. The three risk-rated funds are managed by Seven Investment Management, who is an expert in using ETFs to achieve more predictability and less volatility with lower Total Expense Ratios (TERs).

Although the portfolios are managed by Seven Investment Management, the portfolios are chosen by you on an execution-only basis.

View Themed Fund Baskets

View Multi-fund ISA

Model Portfolios

Our new range of Model Portfolios works in conjunction with our attitude to risk and goal analysis tools to find an appropriate portfolio to meet your investment objectives. If you don't want to assemble and manage a portfolio yourself, you can invest into one of our model portfolios and monitor its progress with Andrew Pitts – editor of Money Observer – who will be charting their progress and making changes as necessary. As an investor, you'll receive your free subscription to Money Observer every month you hold your portfolio. Some portfolios contain both unit trusts and investment trusts.

Although we have assembled the portfolios, the decision as to which portfolio is best suited to your needs is taken by you on an execution-only basis.

Cost to invest: 0% initial & ITs FREE! (e.g. all your money gets invested) 1.5% average annual management charge on unit trusts

SIPP or ISA

NEW! – A range of 18 risk-rated portfolios covering lower, medium and higher risk sectors, offering income and growth options as well as for differing investment time horizons

View our Model Portfolios

ISAs (medium to long term)

Cost to invest: Shares/ETFs/Investment Trusts: First 10 trades - £10 commission All subsequent trades - £5 commission £1.50 for regular investment purchases with Portfolio Builder Unit trusts/OEICs – No initial charge (e.g. all your money gets invested) 1.5% average annual management charge

ISA

Risk profile: can span low, through to high risk, dependent on strategy. Clearly marked risk categories on all funds

The ISA (Individual Savings Account) is not in itself an investment product. Rather, it’s a free 'wrapper' in which you place investments and savings up to a £10,680 for stocks & shares or funds, ETFs and investment trusts.

As an approved ISA manager, we have a range of DIY and packaged ISAs and do not charge any ‘account’ or ‘inactivity’ fees.

Visit ISA Centre

SIPPs (retirement)

Cost to invest: Shares/ETFs/Investment Trusts: First 10 trades - £10 commission All subsequent trades - £5 commission £1.50 for regular investment purchases with Portfolio Builder Unit trusts/OEICs – No initial charge (e.g. all your money gets invested) 1.5% average annual management charge £10 per month SIPP Administration fee (other charges apply) see charges

SIPP

Risk profile: can span low, through to high risk, dependent on your strategy. Clearly marked risk categories on all funds

A Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is a tax-efficient personal pension scheme that gives the policyholder ultimate choice about the investments held within the scheme. A SIPP holder can invest in the shares of any company listed on a stock exchange and certain other assets – bringing them all within the SIPP tax wrapper.

Our low-cost SIPP is now available to house your past and present retirement planning portfolio.

Visit SIPP Centre