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Independent, no-nonsense ratings and reviews
Good for the less confident after a non-traditional approach. Wealthsimple is simple to use – there is a distinct lack of jargon, processes are smooth, and the app is simple, clear and useful. Use of celebrities in blogs will polarise users and some of the slicker website features cross over into ‘annoying’. Will suit those happy with a limited pre-packaged set of investment options – share traders need not apply!
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
Investments managed for you
Good mobile app
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 34 reviews
Have only been with Wealthsimple for just over a year but despite turbulent conditions my pension has been performing well. They keep in touch and it’s ideal for someone like me who has little experience. Charges seem pretty reasonable compared to others who offer a similar service.
12/02/2021
No comment.
12/02/2021
No comment.
30/01/2021
The drawdown service once setup worked well. Drawdown: it was not as easy as expected, they did not seem to be ready for people to withdraw the money on a monthly basis. Much more paperwork than I expected was required. I suspect someone has to do something manually each time, there is no automated system setup yet. I think they have not got many customers drawing money down yet. Setting up the account was easy. The Reviewer is Post-retirement age.
14/11/2020
Easy to apply on simple website. Once set up, contacted by a named adviser, which was very useful. Limited overall and basic info on your investments but presume this will be developed in future. Good for simplicity and annual review with advisor is a bonus.
23/10/2020
Simple and straightforward
17/10/2020
For me Wealthsimple is the holy grail I have been after. They combine an innovative and thoughtful approach to technology with outstanding human (this is key!) advice, as and when required. Underlining this is its simple but proven investment methodology that, given time, will set anyone up for the future. I hope they never change this ethos, and would encourage more people to give them a quick call. You shouldn't be surprised by the bundle of engaging and sage advice waiting at the end of a phone line! 5/5 for me.
12/02/2020
Wealthsimple certainly live up to their name. I began using Wealthsimple as a total financial novice but with the assistance provided I have grown more and more confident about the world of investment. I would have no reservations about recommending the services provided to friends and family.
12/02/2020
I really like Wealthsimple. As the name suggest they have made investing and managing your money simple through ease of use of their website and app, the transparent fees and great customer service. Highly recommend using them if you are an individual investor.
12/02/2020
Super simple to use for a first time investor. All gone well so far and has been cheap, efficient and more straightforward than anticipated. 10/10, would recommend.
12/02/2020
Very professional advice from the advisers for a person with a very limited knowledge of investing.
12/02/2020
Investing made easy! I would certainly recommend this service for anybody who doesn't feel confident about making their own investment decisions (like me!).
11/02/2020
I have failed dismally for years to get to grips with pensions, annuities, investments and the like. My fault? Not totally. Probably more to do with the ineptitude of the many advisers I have dealt with. And the ridiculous jargon employed to cover up the lack of knowledge (and hidden fees!). Wealthsimple? The complete opposite. Knowledgeable advisers. Simple investment strategies, easily explained. Handy website. Low fees. And, best, no silly financial blah-blah-blah! You know what? With help, people will behave like adults and invest for these supernaturally long lives we're all now living!
11/02/2020
A very useful tool!
10/02/2020
I've been using Wealthsimple for about a year now and I can only recommend based on a number of key things that I would look for when choosing a passive investment service. It's incredibly easy to use with a good range of investment options based on the key criteria such as time to invest and investment risk level. After shopping around Wealthsimple seemed to be very fairly priced for the quantum I was looking to invest. Obviously it's no guarantee for the future, but returns have been excellent so far and will be very happy to continue using Wealthsimple for the foreseeable future.
10/02/2020
Have been a Wealthsimple client for 2 yrs now and can't complain at all. The product is really easy to set up and use, has so far nicely outperformed most major benchmarks (especially when you include costs) and their team is really helpful on Qs. Recommended!
10/02/2020
I have been using Wealthsimple for the past year. Fees are reasonable and I have been pleasantly surprised at the returns. They are easy to contact and I would recommend them to anyone.
10/02/2020
The app is very easy to use and the Investment Adviser I spoke with was very helpful in choosing my portfolio and explaining the fee structure, which is much more reasonable than other options for my ISA. The performance so far has exceeded my expectations, so no complaints!
10/02/2020
I've been a client for around 9 months now and have been really impressed with the service that Wealthsimple offer. They have great website and spoke to a really helpful Investment Adviser who made sure my portfolio was set up correctly for me! Didn't realise investing could be so easy!
08/02/2020
I've been with Wealthsimple for over 2 years now and am very pleased with the service. Their customer service team is top notch and gets back to my queries so quickly. My performance has also been better than I could have achieved picking stocks myself, and I have had a couple of calls with a Wealthsimple adviser which has been helpful and informative. I've recommended them to several friends who have also had a very positive experience!
07/02/2020
Wealthsimple have been a brilliant service. The team are friendly, the app is easy to use and the portfolios have provided great returns. All for a very low fee. I highly recommend them!
07/02/2020
I have recently moved one of my pensions to Wealthsimple from Aegon after a long decision. I was concerned about the charges, but as I don’t have the confidence to manage it on my own, this seemed the best choice. So far I have no complaints, the move was very easy and so far my pension is doing ok with a return of between 3 % and 4%, It’s early days and I realise the markets can change rapidly but I’m ok at the moment. When I spoke to a work colleague and found out he is paying around 1.7% to an adviser to manage his pension, I felt much better! So far Wealthsimple are keeping me happy.
23/01/2020
No comment.
23/01/2020
Really easy to sign up and use.
23/01/2020
I have my pension with them, got the feeling that they have not got that many people with a pension. They use a secondary company to do the pension work, so that slows things down. Form filling to get things done seems to be best done via scanning and emailing. They do seem to assume that you don't know what you are doing, which can be frustrating, but at least they try and stop you doing something stupid. The website is great, the support people are very good, I like the ability to review my account easily. The extra level of security is good. I like their attitude. I set my risk level high!
07/01/2020
I personally felt extremely misled by their advertisements, they gave the impression of being almost like a personal broker, where you could assign money where you’d like, at what risk level you’d like. That’s not the case at all, it’s even more tightly locked down than my Royal London S&S ISA. They wouldn’t allow me to change my risk level (putting me at a poultry 3 out of 7, resulting in a projection of me doubling my money...in 28 YEARS...) despite stating it in writing that I’d like to do so.
03/12/2019
Aptly named - very nice website/app/platform with great content and simple interface. Only downside is the £5k minimum investment for the SRI portfolio, otherwise a solid product and financial advice service. Perfect for us millennials who like our digital products simple and transparent!
08/11/2019
The Wealthsimple Pension is very easy to use and transferring in your pensions is also very simple to do. The website is not perfect, but it is simple to navigate, but sometimes does not tell you that it needs more information to complete the action. The support team are friendly and easy to talk to/email. I have moved one pension over and am just about to move a second one in. The costs are very good compared to what my advisor was trying to get me to do - a whole 1% lower - that is a lot when you are talking about a pension that you need to live on for the rest of your life.
04/07/2019
Very helpful team.
20/01/2019
Low minimum investment. App is a bit dull
19/12/2018
Great customer service and very approachable.
06/06/2018
The best of all the robos I use, it's simple and transparent, easy to navigate.
06/06/2018
Simple to setup and use.
30/01/2018
Great company - even if only looking at their content and not the products and services. Nothing of note to improve.
30/01/2018
The presentation of information is with imagery that is animated but not over the top. Familiar language engages and even the more complex charts are clear to grasp. There is an Apple-esque attention to detail that’s missing from many other groups. However, the text colour merges into the background on some pages – fashionable? Yes! But may alienate older generations who need clearer text.
Account set-up, funding and transacting was all smooth and straightforward.
A really nice, easy to use and clean app.
It's simple and effective with the focus on checking the value of your investments and topping them up. You can now sign up through the app which is a bonus. Charts are not particularly interactive compared to others – a bit basic. But overall, a good experience.
Really informative links within the logged-in page, making a big effort to demystify the industry jargon. The risk profiler and questionnaire is straightforward enough and there are nice prompts throughout. There are clear projections to show what you might make with any given investment portfolio. It’s simple, slick and worked well. There is a lack of underlying detail in some places for those looking to know more.
Stocks and Shares ISA
Junior ISA
Investment Account
Pension
Ethical investments
Chosen for you
Robo advice / ready-made portfolios
Wealthsimple recently launched in the UK after a few years running in Canada and the US. As with many other robo-advisers, you answer a few questions and get a portfolio that's suitable. You therefore don't get to pick your own individual funds or shares. Wealthsimple is also offering socially responsible investing, with three portfolios which invest into companies that ‘further socially responsible initiatives’, as well as a new ethical portfolio.
It will suit less confident investors and those that want someone else to manage their money.
Fees start off at 0.7% for Wealthsimple, plus around 0.2% for the underlying investments they use. Those with more than £100,000 invested pay 0.5% and get access to investment planning and airline lounges.
Provider Size: | New robo-adviser, also serving clients in Canada and the US |
Minimum amounts: | £0 minimum monthly amount £0 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.
"Hello, I currently have a Stocks & Shares ISA and a Junior ISA with Wealthsimple. I am considering changing these to Vanguard, but I am unsure if transferring across providers is a simple process, and if they can transfer without issues. Also I am confused, as I would maybe like to invest over a few different platforms, but it seems you can only pay into one per year?"
Philip, County Antrim
21/05/2019
Read our replyHello, I currently have a Stocks & Shares ISA and a Junior ISA with Wealthsimple. I am considering changing these to Vanguard, but I am unsure if transferring across providers is a simple process, and if they can transfer without issues. Also I am confused, as I would maybe like to invest over a few different platforms, but it seems you can only pay into one per year?
Philip, County Antrim
21/05/2019
Hi Philip,
A good question and one that often pops up!
Generally the transfer process is fairly straight forward, especially when transferring between two online providers. You can transfer a Stocks & Shares ISA and a Junior ISA (JISA) without losing any of the tax benefits and the transfer of an existing ISA / JISA does not count towards your annual allowance.
As you may be aware, the overall ISA allowance for 2019/20 is £20,000, which covers contributions to Cash ISAs, Stocks & Shares ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs and Lifetime ISAs (LISA).
You are able to split your ISA allowance across the different ISA types, however you are correct that you would only be able to contribute to one of each type of ISA per tax year (i.e. you could split your allowance between one Cash ISA and one Stocks & Shares ISA, but not between two Stocks & Shares ISAs).
The 2019/20 JISA allowance is £4,368, and can be split between a Junior Cash ISA or Junior Stocks & Shares ISA.
However, for Junior ISAs you are only able to hold one of each type of ISA across all tax years.
As you have mentioned Vanguard I have attached a link to their transfer process here.
There are a few things you should be aware of:
As with any transfer, you should consider any transfer costs or penalties from your existing provider as well as any initial or set up charges on the new ISA. You should also consider the difference in ongoing charges between both providers, to include any ISA ‘product’ charge and fund management charges. The value of your investments can fluctuate and there is no guarantee the new ISA/JISA will provide a better return than your existing provider.
I hope this helps,
Tommy
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.
"I am a beginner investor and would like to invest in a "socially responsible" Stocks & Shares ISA. I have looked into the Nutmeg and Wealthify funds, having found out about them through the Money Saving Expert website. Is there information about any other such providers on your website? And do you have any advice about how to compare the "socially responsible" criteria on the different funds?"
Joy, Glamorgan
16/04/2019
Read our replyI am a beginner investor and would like to invest in a "socially responsible" Stocks & Shares ISA. I have looked into the Nutmeg and Wealthify funds, having found out about them through the Money Saving Expert website. Is there information about any other such providers on your website? And do you have any advice about how to compare the "socially responsible" criteria on the different funds?
Joy, Glamorgan
16/04/2019
Hi Joy,
Great to hear that you're eager start investing, and are particularly interested in ethical/socially responsible investing.
This is an area of the investment world that has been seeing a lot of interest recently. More platforms are introducing ethical ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) options for their customers to choose from.
There are many naysayers who dislike ethical investing because they feel that, while being a nice tree-hugging hippy thing to do, your investment returns will be poorer for it. However with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning in October 2018, that we only have 12 years to bring global warming under control and avoid a 'climate catastrophe' - the support for ethical is growing.
As is the performance of the ethical options which already exist. If we look at three different funds ranging from ethical to not-so-ethical, we can see that ethical performance has been on the up ever since 2014. (For more detail - take a look at our full article).
While the Vice Fund doubled investors’ money in its first five years (2002–2007), by the start of 2019 the FTSE4Good was the leading fund of these three. It even beat the benchmark set by the all-encompassing FTSE All Share.
This just goes to show the naysayers, that you don’t have to sacrifice returns anymore to invest in the future of the planet. But then again, nothing with the stock market is ever certain.
As we are pretty interested in ethical investing here at Boring Money (having written a report all about it in 2018), our Best Buys page and a few of our articles might be helpful to you. Why not take a look at:
Our Best Buys page - use our 'ethical investments' filter to whittle down the list providers to just those who market their own ethical options. As of April 2019, the only providers on our Best Buys page who offer ethical options are: Vanguard, Nutmeg, Wealthify, PensionBee, Barclays Smart Investor, Wealthsimple, and Moola.
Of these ethical options, we review all seven as suitable for beginner investors. However you can filter them again, using other filters such as: 'Low cost for small portfolios (<50k)' and 'Start with £100 or less', to find the best providers for you to explore further.
There is a lot of confusion about what counts as 'socially responsible', ‘ethical’ or 'ESG'. Some of this is due to the fact that one person’s ethics are not always in line with another’s.
Unfortunately, because of the relative youth of ethical investing, and all the confusion over how to define 'ethical' options, there is currently no easy way to compare the ethical options out there. Beyond reading up on them and doing your homework, there's no quick way to see at a glance how one ethical investing option differs from another. You just need to comb through the details yourself, and see how these ethical options measure up to your ideas of what 'ethical investing' means.
This being said, Morningstar are working toward creating a tool which could be really helpful for investors who'd like to do this. And we are hoping to have the functionality to help readers compare ethical investing products in the future. Unfortunately though, these projects are still in development.
Meanwhile, some investment platforms such as Fidelity, do offer investors helpful info to help them find out more about the ethical funds on their platform.
Take a look at the bottom of this page, to see the top 10 most bought and sold ESG funds on the Fidelity website in February 2019: www.fidelity.co.uk/funds/esg-investing
Hope this helps!
Phoebe
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.
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