Is AJ Bell good for investing?
Independent review by Boring Money
Investment expert’s opinion
AJ Bell has been developing over the last few years into a seriously credible player. They are a bigger force to be reckoned with now and are one of the best all-rounders, and competitively priced for most types of investors.
*This is the view of investment expert Holly Mackay based on her first-hand customer experience as a test account holder. This does not constitute regulated advice. You can read more about Holly's investments here.
Who is AJ Bell?
Founded in 1995, AJ Bell is one of the largest investment platforms in the UK. It manages assets worth over £76 billion and has almost half a million customers. It was publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2019 and is included in the FTSE 250 index. At the heart of AJ Bell’s business is its core purpose - ”we help people to invest” - which it says drives its commitment to ease of use, good value and a wide range of investment options.
Who is AJ Bell good for?
One of the best options in the UK, this service is suited for people with a little experience, providing lots of supporting information and guidance to support learning and increasingly confident decision-making. Costs are very reasonable and the support for beginners with ambitions to learn makes it a good option for aspiring investors. Not for those who prefer to take a back seat and do the bare minimum though. In terms of charges, AJ Bell is cheap for large portfolios, with no platform fees above £500k, and relatively cheap for smaller portfolios. Plus there’s a wide range of investments to choose from.
Pros and cons
Investments
AJ Bell users can access a wide range of over 6,000 investment options, including:
Accounts
AJ Bell offers a range of accounts. The table below shows a breakdown of which ones are available and you can scroll down for more information about AJ Bell’s ISA, Pension, LISA and JISA.
Stocks & Shares ISA | Pension (SIPP) | General Investment Account (GIA) | Lifetime ISA | Junior ISA |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Fees and charges
When investing in stocks or funds, you'll typically encounter two main types of charges. Account charges are like a membership fee for having your investment account - they can either be a fixed one-off payment (like £100 when you open the account), a regular fee (usually annual or monthly), or calculated as a percentage of your total investment (say 0.5% per year of whatever amount you have invested). These fees apply regardless of whether you buy or sell anything. On the other hand, dealing charges are more like transaction fees - they're the costs you pay each time you actually buy or sell an investment, similar to how a shop might charge you for using a credit card.
The cost of investing with AJ Bell depends on what types of investments you purchase, how much you invest, and how frequently you trade. The table below illustrates the different charges.
Fee type | What is it? | Annual Amount |
Funds account charge | The cost of holding funds | 0.25% * |
Shares account charge | The cost of holding shares, ETFs and investment trusts | 0.25% ** |
* Fund account charges will be discounted to 10% for portfolios valued between £250,000 and £500,000. The charges will be waived completely for portfolios over £500,000.
**Shares account charges are capped at £2.50 per month for JISAs, £3.50 per month for ISAs and LISAs, and £10 per month for SIPPs.
Fee type | What is it? | Annual Amount |
Fund dealing charge | The charge each time you buy or sell funds | £1.50* |
Shares dealing charge | The charge each time you buy or sell shares | £5.00** |
*There are no dealing charges when buying AJ Bell Funds.
**A lower ‘frequent’ shares dealing charge of £3.50 applies when you have completed 10 or more share deals in the previous month.
Other Charges
Additional charges may apply when trading, such as foreign exchange (FX) fees for international investments, applied on a sliding scale: 0.75% for the first £10,000, and 0.25% for amounts over £20,000.
You can review all of AJ Bells fees and charges here.
See how much it would cost you
Use the handy calculator below to calculate the cost of an account. Just select which type of account you want to use, type in the amount you want to invest and - hey presto! - our calculator will give you an estimate of how much it costs. Please note estimated fees are calculated excluding promotional offers.
Step 1. Select account type.
Step 2. Enter the amount you are looking to invest.
Estimated fees:
£2.50
+ Investment fees
Cost shown is the administration fee only. There may be additional third-party investment or fund fees, which depend entirely on what you pick. Expect these to add about 0.25% to 1% a year to the total cost.
The boring disclaimer bit
This is a free resource for our readers. We’ve tried really hard to ensure that these calculations are correct and can promise you there’s no monkey business or favouritism going on. But please don’t rely on these calculations without double checking yourself. If you do think you have seen an error please contact community@boringmoney.co.uk and help us to make this better. More information on the assumptions we've used to calculate these investment fees can be found here.
Customer reviews
AJ Bell customers say it’s “easy to use” with a “wide range of investments” to choose from and “competitive” fees. Many have also stated that AJ Bell’s customer service is particularly good and they are “always in communication”. However, some negative feedback includes “too many security hoops” to jump through and the charges could be cheaper compared to alternatives on the market.
Your opinion matters!
Leave a review for AJ Bell
30 November 2024
The online system is very good, and buying and selling is made easy
30 November 2024
Fees are upfront, get interest on cash held. Large variety of investment options
29 November 2024
It isnt the best platform out there
Most asked questions
Is AJ Bell safe?
AJ Bell Youinvest is listed on the FTSE 250 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). If a fund fails due to fraud or mismanagement, you may be eligible for compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS protection is capped at £85,000 per person, per fund manager (not per individual fund). However, if your investments lose value due to normal market conditions or your investment choices, this is part of the normal risk of investing and is not covered by FSCS compensation.
Is AJ Bell’s ISA flexible?
AJ Bell’s Stocks & Shares ISA is not flexible. This means that once you withdraw your money, you can’t put it back in again without affecting your annual allowance (currently £20,000).
For example, let’s say you put £10,000 into your AJ Bell Stocks & Shares ISA during the current tax year and then withdraw £2,000. If you then went to pay this £2,000 back in during the same tax year, it would count as an additional £2,000 – taking your total contributions for the year up to £12,000 (and thus closer to the £20,000 allowance).
On the other hand, a flexible ISA would enable you to withdraw funds and pay them back in without affecting your allowance.
How to withdraw money from AJ Bell
It’s a straightforward process to withdraw money from AJ Bell - you can withdraw cash from your Stocks & Shares ISA on the website. Simply log into your online account, select which account you want to withdraw cash from and select 'Withdrawals' from the account menu.
For security purposes, you’ll be asked a series of authentication checks every time you withdraw from an AJ Bell account. From there it should take between one to three working days for the money to arrive in your linked bank account.
Cash cannot be withdrawn from a JISA until your child turns 18. You can withdraw cash from a LISA at any time, however doing so for purposes other than to purchase your first property or save for retirement will incur a 25% penalty charge (effectively wiping out the government top-ups). You can only withdraw cash from a SIPP once you are aged 55 or older, whether or not you are still working.
Does AJ Bell have inactivity fees?
There are no inactivity fees on any AJ Bell accounts.
Glossary
Not 100% sure you understand something we’ve written in this review?
Discover jargon-free definitions of the most common words and technical terms used in the world of investing.
Risk warning
As is always the case with investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
All information in this review correct as at 01/01/2024.
