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Independent, no-nonsense ratings and reviews
A nice user-friendly robo adviser which actually feels like a pleasure to use. Clear graphical interfaces make things easy. A major stake held by household name Aviva adds credibility. A good option for beginners who don’t want to pick their own.
We score each provider on about 20 different criteria including cost, service, website, functionality, customer feedback and our experience of the service. All overseen by our PhD gonk!
Beginner Investor
Really easy to use
Invest from only £1
Great website & design
Don’t want to take our word for it? We ask existing customers and investors to rate their experience with the company – based on value for money, overall service and the website. We need at least 20 customer reviews before we add anyone to our Best Buys list.
Based on 58 reviews
As a new investor, I wasn't looking for the cheapest provider when I set up my account a year ago. I was looking for the most newbie-friendly provider who offered the option to invest ethically. Wealthify is very millennial-friendly. They are tech-first, their app is excellent, they use clear, unpretentious language, and most importantly to me, they offer an ethical stocks and shares ISA which is transparent, easy to understand, and aligns with my ethics. Their customer service in the last year has been excellent and they have calmed all the worries I may have as a new investor.
29/01/2021
Great service, simple to use.
25/10/2020
Premium service for economy prices
23/10/2020
Easy to use and set up. Lots of articles to read. Seems to give a balanced approach to investing.
23/10/2020
Easy to navigate website and app. Customer service is excellent. The whole investing process is very transparent and easy to understand jargon free.
23/10/2020
Very quick and easy to set up, with plenty of information readily available which is written in language that is easy to understand. As a complete beginner I am learning and investing at the same time and feel very comfortable doing so.
17/10/2020
Really slick website and app, very easy to use to review and manage portfolios. Excellent service available on the telephone, kept up to date with regular updates and news.
16/10/2020
Good service and great app
16/10/2020
As a 'new investor' I found the app incredibly simple to use and very interesting to view where my money is being invested and when they are bought and sold.
16/10/2020
Good. Simple and better returns than other providers.
16/10/2020
Simple and flexible investment platform.
16/10/2020
Excellent for the beginner
16/10/2020
I've only had this since October but I've made 3.5% which is a lot better than other places. I really like the fact that it is super accessible for a novice like me, everything is on an app which connects to my Yolt account (so I can see all my money in one place). It's helping me get over my risk-adverse nature - I'm the first to admit that I am no expert on it all.
24/01/2020
It's really easy to use and see where your money is being invested. The cashback is a great incentive to invest too.
23/01/2020
Easy to set up an ISA, easy to top up, user interface on both website and mobile app is excellent, clear pricing, easy to read charts, only positive experience so far. And I received a welcome call after a couple of months which was great service and was told SIPP coming soon.
03/01/2020
No comment.
14/09/2019
Excellent beginner platform for investing in stocks and shares
11/04/2019
No comment.
14/03/2019
Good overall. Felt investment returns slightly disappointing from manager funds.
16/02/2019
First stab at investing made easy - I was particularly impressed with the immediate response to Brexit announcements. Not made any money yet but the market is 'volatile '.
06/01/2019
19/12/2018
Easy to use, low investment threshold. Performace !
19/12/2018
Provide stronger account security through login notifications and 2fa
19/12/2018
App is quite clean Like the investment allocations and how they are published. Slow to invest from payment
19/12/2018
It is easy to access, simple to use and provides a modicum of information. The website is perhaps too simple and lacking in information. Despite indicating that I would receive quarterly reports and my asking when they would be available, after getting on for 6 months with them nothing has materialised. The funds have steadily lost value which to be fair may well reflect the economic position, but after a promising start I am becoming disenchanted and will probably close this account down. I was encouraged to join by their website and cost/value for money.
07/11/2018
I am a long term investor and continue to be a client of a well known large national organisation. I am impressed by Wealthify's approach as recommended by Starling Bank - low costs, straight forward robo based platform, clarity of the app, ease of use and support. All well to date, so lets hope the returns on my investment confirm and justify this enthusiasm!!!
05/06/2018
Fees can be a bit more expensive compared to other robo-advisors, but returns and user interface are better.
05/06/2018
Really easy to open my account in minutes. It’s a good website, easy to use and looks slick. The dashboard is great for a first-timer like me as it tells you just enough information without overloading you with jargon. I’ve set up a Direct debit to invest regularly and looking forward to the results!
11/05/2018
Like all stocks and shares you are taking a risk, this investment has ridden the recent crashes. If you have some money to gamble with I think it's a good risk.
05/05/2018
As a small investor it is nice to gain money from the markets, a bit disappointing when they drop, but the Wealthify system gives loads of information and even when they drop I feel confident my investment is well sourced and managed.
04/05/2018
Easy to use no frills service, good support from customer service. Love the app.
03/04/2018
I like that it uses a clear format to show how my account is doing. Nothing is phrased in such a way that I don't understand it. I like that I can add a small amount each month. Also I've only had to contact them once, the reply was quick and helpful. I find their circles a bit confusing. I don't understand how I should go about finding one.
30/01/2018
Great opening offer (£100 cashback on just £250 initial investment followed by 6 x £20 monthly deposits). Attractive website and minimal effort required by investor.
30/01/2018
Good returns and easy to use.
30/01/2018
I partially opened an account to see what the service was all about (I only have a small proportion of savings with them). I have had a positive experience, and returns have been good. I also joined to take advantage of an "early bird" discount. For improvements, I would suggest that they implement direct debits - as standing orders rely too much on the client to set up. It would also be useful to have an option for a "self directed" pot of money - that way I could hold other assets with them (e.g. shares from a share save scheme).
30/01/2018
So handy and unique!
30/01/2018
Clear, easy to understand performance data. Very user-friendly.
30/01/2018
They seem to be on the ball in the early days, yet have low returns at the moment.
30/01/2018
Simple to use, very low entry costs, it enabled me to gain better insight into my appetite for risk before proceeding.
30/01/2018
Great to have the passive account and simple setup. App is pretty crap when you have to type out a full login each time despite telling it to remember you and enable fingerprint recognition - everything else I use I can get straight into, this now feels like a hassle.
30/01/2018
Slick website and app, easy to use.
30/01/2018
Like other robo, easy to use. Decent return to date.
30/01/2018
Very simple to use and understand, plus good value.
30/01/2018
Fantastic!
13/10/2017
So far early days. But as the stock market has not been performing too well this year, hard to tell. I am in for the long term, so time will tell. Response back on questions very prompt. With updated stock allocations regularly supplied through the dashboard. Nice website.
03/10/2017
Prefer this company to Nutmeg but will wait a couple of years to see how they both perform overall.
26/09/2017
Simplicity.
26/09/2017
App is a bit limited.
04/07/2017
Slick app, particularly like the 'Activity' and 'Investment' allocation breakdown.
04/07/2017
Easy to set up account and regular payments; the dashboard is clear to read; downloaded mobile app today but haven't yet been able to open it at all.
04/07/2017
Easy to set up and access an account. Visually easy to understand your investments.
04/07/2017
Nice easy website to use. They make a few mistakes, e.g. emails in error. Takes longer to invest than other companies. Has a high cash allocation. The marketing is poor.
04/07/2017
It's nice and easy - I like it.
04/07/2017
Looks good.
04/07/2017
Very easy to use and makes investments simple.
04/07/2017
User-friendly interface, easy investing process. Would like more market data and analytics on chosen assets.
A
04/07/2017
About average
04/07/2017
Very easy investing service.
04/07/2017
Wealthify were the clear winners by a country mile.
We asked their fans why they rated their services, letting voters choose between Ease of Use, Price, & Service.
70% of Wealthify's voters chose Ease of Use, just 8% of their voters chose Price, and 22% of their fans selected Service.
What's good about it?
The service works really smoothly and is even a pleasure to use (which is rare!). The dashboards and reporting are clear, and information is very easy to find across the account page. Our only issue is it lacks some additional detail for a more experienced or engaged investor wanting to know a bit more about their investments, however there is enough information to suit most.
This wordcloud has been created from customer reviews of Wealthify.
Pink is positive and grey is negative. The size of the word indicates the frequency of mentions.
Ease of use shines out as a commonly held opinion.
Stocks and Shares ISA
Junior ISA
Investment Account
Pension
Ethical investments
Chosen for you
Robo advice / ready-made portfolios
Wealthify is a robo-adviser, that lets you invest as little as £1. Aviva recently completed its acquisition, so it has a big household name as an owner. Our testing shows that this really appeals to people who are fed up with the status quo and want to see something a bit different.
Investors are asked about their goal (they can select from a list, or choose freely), how much they want to invest upfront, how long for and whether they want to invest monthly. There are five different investment styles, each with their respective portfolios that are spread around the world and amongst different sorts of investments – you don't pick your own funds and shares.
Cost is around 0.8% per year, including Wealthify's fee and the cost of the underlying investments. This goes up to around 1.25% for the ethical investment portfolios.
Minimum amounts: | £1 minimum monthly amount £1 minimum initial amount |
"I currently have my children's Stocks & Shares ISA's with H&L however I am not that savvy with investing so I am thinking of moving it over to Wealth Simple and allowing them to do it for me. Would you recommend this or are there other roboadvisors you would suggest? I am happy to leave the money in long term until they are about 18 so looking at an 'ambitious' risk. I also have the same account with H&L and will potentially swap also."
Funmi, LDN
12/10/2020
Read our replyI currently have my children's Stocks & Shares ISA's with H&L however I am not that savvy with investing so I am thinking of moving it over to Wealth Simple and allowing them to do it for me. Would you recommend this or are there other roboadvisors you would suggest? I am happy to leave the money in long term until they are about 18 so looking at an 'ambitious' risk. I also have the same account with H&L and will potentially swap also.
Funmi, LDN
12/10/2020
Fidelity has recently announed no fees on Junior ISAs - they also have ready-made investment options. If you want to keep it super simple I would look at Nutmeg, Wealthify or Wealthsimple - you can read more about them on our Best Buys pages.
"Hi! Another question for my most trusted money info site! I am thinking of setting up a SIPP. I currently have a workplace pension and a S&S ISA with Wealthify (also two previous workplace pensions, one of which was 6 years in the Met Police). I am trying to diversify my investments and spread the risk, which is what led me to thinking about a SIPP. I looked at AJ Bell. They look fine, but I'm nervous about doing my own investments, given that Wealthify does all that for me, so I don't really know where to begin. Are there SIPPs which do it for you? Or if not, should I continue investing in my previous workplace pension pot which is with Aviva? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick? Argggg, so many questions! Thanks!"
Holly, Sussex
03/07/2019
Read our replyHi! Another question for my most trusted money info site! I am thinking of setting up a SIPP. I currently have a workplace pension and a S&S ISA with Wealthify (also two previous workplace pensions, one of which was 6 years in the Met Police). I am trying to diversify my investments and spread the risk, which is what led me to thinking about a SIPP. I looked at AJ Bell. They look fine, but I'm nervous about doing my own investments, given that Wealthify does all that for me, so I don't really know where to begin. Are there SIPPs which do it for you? Or if not, should I continue investing in my previous workplace pension pot which is with Aviva? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick? Argggg, so many questions! Thanks!
Holly, Sussex
03/07/2019
Hi Holly,
Good question.
Great to hear you’d like to add to your existing arrangements – and considering how you diversify your money is very sensible.
I don’t know how old you are, nor what your income tax status is, but you say you have 3 workplace pensions, one of which is public sector and I, therefore, assume comes with some salary related guarantees.
The pension you are in at the moment will be receiving at least 8% of your salary from contributions made by you, your employer, and tax relief from the Government.
You also have the Stocks and Shares ISA with Wealthify, but don’t say what that is worth.
The first thing to think about, then is the balance of your investments across pensions and ISAs.
A Stocks and Shares ISA may not offer you tax relief on the way in, as a pension does, but it does allow you to take benefits free of tax on the way out. And your money is not tied to any ‘age’ or date.
Notwithstanding the fact investment should never be considered for a timescale of less than 5, ideally 7+ years, if you needed to get your hands on money, you could access your ISA at any time.
With a pension, on the other hand, it is locked up until at least age 55 (age 57 if you are not yet 48 years old) and should actually be left alone until you finally retire. There are additional rules that make accessing it any earlier than actual retirement somewhat unattractive.
If you are:
then the pension plan does start to become more attractive.
But in the latter case, that question about potentially needing the money is still more important than a bit of additional tax relief.
For the ISA, you have an approach with Wealthify that you are happy with.
But how do you invest if you do go for the pension option?
Thankfully, virtually every pension plan now offers some form of multi-asset, passive investment approach.
The SIPP and pension designation is almost irrelevant from this point of view. Most workplace pensions are SIPPs these days.
What most SIPPs do now, workplace or otherwise, is segment the features of an all-singing (more expensive) SIPP, from the more basic offering of decent investment funds at a reasonable price. So please don’t feel just to diversify that you must go for an AJ Bell Youinvest-type approach, and manage your own investments within there.
However, to cover that off, AJ Bell Youinvest do offer access to a range of multi-asset passive funds that will do that work for you – from Vanguard, Architas, Legal & General, amongst others – and their own offering, called the Managed Portfolio Service.
You should also be aware that your existing workplace pension will accept top ups – and should also offer a managed option.
In auto-enrolment arrangements, these are usually called lifestyle funds. You may already be invested in one of those if your workplace pension is fairly new. These offer the added feature of managing risk exposure downwards, automatically, over the final 5-10 years ahead of your chosen retirement date.
In terms of using a previous workplace plan, or if your current one is quite old, whether to use it will depend on:
Whatever you decide, make sure you don’t tie yourself up in a high-fee or limited investment arrangement.
In that regard, pensions have (mostly) moved on.
Hope this helps,
Lesley
We are not regulated to give personal financial advice - This isn’t full-fat regulated financial advice. Boring Money is a publisher and not regulated by the FCA.
This means we can't help with specific personal circumstances or recommend specific investment products. It also basically means that if we say something daft, you have no recourse to come back and complain.
We’re only allowed to give you a steer or share an opinion or tell you the facts - That said, we promise that our answer to you is an independent unbiased perspective with no commercial gain to make. If you need regulated financial advice, you can find a good adviser via sites such as Unbiased & Vouchedfor.
"Hi. I am looking for a Junior ISA for my son and can't decide between a robo investor like Wealthify, or investing via Interactive Investor with an investment trust for my son's Junior ISA. I want to invest ethically and am happy to research investment trusts myself. The fees seem similar and both have fund managers. What would you do?"
Rick, Sussex
01/07/2019
Read our replyHi. I am looking for a Junior ISA for my son and can't decide between a robo investor like Wealthify, or investing via Interactive Investor with an investment trust for my son's Junior ISA. I want to invest ethically and am happy to research investment trusts myself. The fees seem similar and both have fund managers. What would you do?
Rick, Sussex
01/07/2019
If you’re happy making the selection yourself, and it sounds like you are, then I would suggest fund choice will be the important factor in deciding which way to go.
You mention that costs are similar, so it comes down to whether you feel the ‘robo’ option adds any value.
Investment trusts can work well for long-term investment, but there are two added complications to consider: leverage and the fact that they can run at a ‘premium’ or ‘discount’ to ‘net asset value’.
I would suggest that unless your son is within five years of turning 18 – and therefore having access to the money – then a global portfolio makes sense.
Just bear in mind that most research suggests the best ‘anxiety-adjusted’ return, is found in a diversified basket of shares and fixed interest, and only some funds will offer that.
As for the ethical side of things, your own research should reveal which funds cover the areas you feel are important.
There is definitely a wide range of ‘shades of green’ available.
Finally, it’s worth keeping in mind that the Junior ISA is a ‘locked box’, except for in extreme circumstances, until the child turns 18. Not even you can access it for your son’s benefit e.g. his education.
We are not regulated to give personal financial advice - This isn’t full-fat regulated financial advice. Boring Money is a publisher and not regulated by the FCA.
This means we can't help with specific personal circumstances or recommend specific investment products. It also basically means that if we say something daft, you have no recourse to come back and complain.
We’re only allowed to give you a steer or share an opinion or tell you the facts - That said, we promise that our answer to you is an independent unbiased perspective with no commercial gain to make. If you need regulated financial advice, you can find a good adviser via sites such as Unbiased & Vouchedfor.