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Who did best with £500? Best online investment platforms and robo advisors revealed

18/01/2019

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Investment fees are a bit like flying on a dodgy budget airline. Quite often the advertised price is bumped up by extra charges for sandwiches, the cheek of having a bag, and even needing a wee.

Frustrating, isn’t it? You muster up the courage and cash to start investing, choose some funds and investments you like the look of, but can’t figure out where to open your account and what it really costs.

More and more people are choosing ready-made investment solutions. Rather than agonising over all the individual components, we’re getting the investment provider to blend one for us. It’s like going to M&S to buy a ready-meal, rather than a basket of ingredients. But how to decide where to go?

One of the most obvious ways to compare them would be to look at what you stand to earn: the actual £ value of projected returns minus the charges. But some platforms have charges that others don’t, some call them by different names, and some seem to hide them completely. And most fund managers only tell you what they’re going to charge for the brainpower and administration, not including the additional charges you pay when they buy and sell.

It’s too hard. And it’s bloody frustrating. So we decided it’s time to do something about it.

 

1. We opened 20+ test accounts with different investment platforms and robo advisors.

2. We invested £500 into each of them, choosing simillar investments and portfolios.

3. We came back after a year to measure our new account balances.

 

The endless and complex industry debate around performance attribution, methodologies and cost disclosures is intellectual self-indulgence - all I care about as a customer is what is the £ balance left in my account at the end of my investing timeframe?

– Holly Mackay, Boring Money CEO

 

The difference between this and that is £120

2018 was a pretty rough year for the stock market, with values falling left, right and centre. As a result, all our test accounts lost money (though most of them still beat the FTSE 100), but some investments did remarkably worse than others once the charges were paid.

We’re not just talking a difference of £10, £20 or even £50 here. The gap between highest and lowest return was a whopping £120: our Wealthsimple account balance dropped 4% to £481 (including charges of £3.43), compared to Alliance Trust Savings’ drop of 28% to £361 (including charges of £120). More on charges shortly.

Here’s what that looks like on a chart:

 

Why such a big difference in account balances?

Does this mean some platforms are just rubbish compared to others? No. Not quite. There are a few variables in play here.

 

What’s actually inside these portfolios

Although we picked funds that were as similar as possible to each other – own-brand funds managed by the investment outlets with about 60% allocated to shares – the exact make-up of these shares differs from provider to provider.

• Some parts of the world did better than others so those with more in US shares, for example, will have done better.

• And some people got cold feet about shares during the year and reduced their holdings from 60%. Given the dodgy markets last year, this would have boosted their comparative returns. If something’s heading down, you do better if you own less of it! Our top three performers reduced their exposure to them by 15%–17% over 2018.

 

The way charges and fees are handled

Market movements affect the value of your investments – that’s a given. What’s surprising is just how big an impact the charges had too.

• As you can see on the chart above, the five lowest balances belonged to accounts with either a flat fee pricing structure or %-based fees with minimums. In proportion to an investment of only £500, these fees have a huge impact – Alliance Trust Savings charge £120 a year, for example, which is colossal here but a drop in the ocean for a larger investment.

• So to be fair to the guys with fixed fees or monthly £ minimum fees, we would expect them to look bad based on these small test account sizes. But if you’re Jeff Bezos, for example, paying £120 a year for your gazillions is not a bad deal!

• If we had invested £10,000 or £100,000 instead, these charges would likely have balanced out and our leaderboard would look quite different. After all, before subtracting the charges, our combo of Vanguard (investment) and Alliance Trust Savings (admin) was actually the third best performer, not the twenty-first.

 

Take a look at the rankings in this table for greater detail (best to worst: dark blue to dark red): 

Why did none of our investments grow at all?

Because we’ve only looked at 12 months’ performance so far, and investing is a long game. There will always be good years and bad years, ups and downs, which is why we always recommend you invest for at least 5 years. As long as you’re not forced to withdraw your money during a bad year, you should be okay.

 

When it comes to bad years, 2018 was a stinker.

January was particularly dodgy, with larger daily swings in market values than usual. They were peaking when we set up our test accounts (of course!), and then they started a tumble that hasn’t yet recovered. If we had waited until February to invest, our accounts would probably have been in the black by now. Typi-bloody-cal.

That’s not our way of telling you to try and time the market – nobody can read the future – but it’s worth noting that our reduced balance wasn’t entirely the fault of the online investment platforms and robo advisors.

 

Besides, the funds still beat the market

As we mentioned, it was a bad year for the FTSE 100 in the UK, which fell 12.75% over the same timeframe as our test accounts. It’s a similar story for the S&P 500 in America, which fell 10.9%.

Compare these figures to our test accounts, which spread our investments across these two markets and beyond, and we still get a small success story. Before accounting for charges, our test accounts fell by between 3.8% and 9%. So despite losing a little, we were still protected from the full force of the stock market’s slide, which shows the benefit of globally diverse portfolios that are managed by professionals. They can’t dodge every bullet, but they can certainly thicken your armour.

 

TLDR: What should you take from all of this?

1. Knowing how charges work is important. If you’re only investing a small amount of money, don’t choose a platform with a high annual £ fee that eats up your earnings. Do the maths to see if a %-based fee will leave you better off.

2. Diversify and spread those bets around. All our test accounts outperformed the FTSE 100 before charges were applied.

3. The best performers were Wealthsimple and Wealthify. Whether you include or exclude the charges, these two robo advisers always came out on top. Special mention too for IG Smart Portfolios, which came third after charges were applied. But (sorry to rain on a short-term parade) 12 months is just the start and not long enough to evidence skill over luck.

4. The industry needs a big kick up the jacksie. They need to cut the smallprint and tell us how they’ve done in a way which makes sense.

 

In the words of Holly Mackay, Boring Money CEO:

Conducting what should be a simple analysis was head-bangingly difficult. I needed to have over 20 test accounts, take a day to trawl through the data and to have 20 years’ experience of looking at platform charging models to produce these findings on a comparable basis. If you’re shopping around, have a look at our Best Buy tables to see what other customers have to say. And keep an eye on performance after charges. If you have any questions, send them our way.

 

The test account saga continues… see you in 2020

Come back next year to see how our test accounts fare as the economy rises and falls.

After all, a long-term view is the best one to take with investments. And who else is crazy enough to drop £10,000+ on an experiment like this to give you that view? Not Joe Public, and not Mr Moneybags of BigCorp. This is a job for your friendly neighbourhood money owls, so watch this space.

[CEO’s note: It’s actually more like £9,300 now. Scowl.]

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Got a Question?

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  • I'm the sole carer for my chronically ill and elderly mum, as well as a full-time police officer. I have no other family apart from her. Due to mum's condition, and the fact that I'm exhausted performing both roles, the only option is to go part-time, as mum won't accept help from anyone else. To allow me to go part-time, I will need about £25,000 until March 2020 when I will be retiring. I’m confident of getting another job shortly thereafter. In January 2021, I will receive a commutation lump sum of about £50,000. I have a sizeable fund portfolio under an ISA wrapper with Hargreaves Lansdown. That is doing very well, so I don't really want to sell any of these funds and 'lend myself money' from that. My ideal funding solution would be a bond-type IOU agreement, where 'someone' lends me the money. Are you aware of a peer-to-peer site that could assist? Thanks

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  • Do you have any recommendations for books that I can buy my 18 year old daughter for Xmas on the subject of pensions and investments so she can start to understand the subjects? She's young I know but I would like to get her started. Many thanks!

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    • Robo Adviser
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  • I was lucky enough to inherit a significant sum from my father... currently in Alliance trust platform in 10 investment trusts. They have delivered well in the last 20 years. But they are UK equity based. And highly risky. Do you offer a sanity check service for confused individuals like myself? I don’t know what to do...

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    • Private Pension
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  • I am 35 and working part time on a reasonable salary. I've recently taken out a Stocks & Shares ISA with Wealthify (from reading the recommendations on Boring Money) where I pay in £40 per month. However, I'm wondering if I should be doing more? Should I be diversifying and using more than just Wealthify? Or is it better to increase the amount into Wealthify?

    Holly | Sussex | 17/10/2018 | 1

    • Stocks and Shares ISA
    • Online Investment Platforms
    Lesley James's Response

  • I am 25 and starting to seriously financially plan out my future. I would really welcome a 'sense check' on my thinking as well as some help on which investment choices to make. My goals are: To invest for 15 years - my risk appetite is very high (i.e. I could afford to lose all my money). Goal 1 - More Important: To have an investment pot of £1,500,000. Goal 2 - Less Important: To be mortgage free. My plan is: 1) Open an annual Stocks and Shares ISA each of the next 15 years. 2) Open Share trading/dealing account. 3) Reduce my mortgage term to 6 years by 2025. I appreciate the above is a lot to go though, but I'd welcome any help and guidance.

    Mo | London | 15/10/2018 | 3

    • Stocks and Shares ISA
    • Shares
    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Funds
    • Other
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I shall have £10k to invest shortly, and I want to use an actively managed portfolio in a quality company. How would you rate - Investec Click & Invest/True Potential Investor/Nutmeg on the basis of ROI/customer relationship/quality/risk factors etc? I would class myself as a mid-grade risk-taker/reasonably adventurous if appropriate, with a high quality company. I presently use Hargreaves Lansdown and Wealthify but feel the need to diversify. What do you recommend?

    Richard | Shropshire | 03/10/2018 | 1

    • Online Investment Platforms
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • The recent Metro article which Holly participated in has really inspired me and made me think that investing in shares is something which I would like to do. Unfortunately I am completely thrown about where to start. I would be grateful for any advice you could pass my way. Realistically, I would only have about 2k to invest, so any tips would be gratefully received.

    Sarah-Jane | London | 12/09/2018 | 3

    • Stocks and Shares ISA
    • Cash
    • Online Investment Platforms
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • Is there a reason you don’t list Saga in your Best Buys? Additionally, I have purchased a few investment trust shares but can’t work out how the dividends are paid. Scottish Mortgage is an example. I wasn't given an option to choose how to receive the dividends. It would be useful if you could provide some clarity on how investment trusts pay their dividends.

    Carl | Buckinghamshire | 07/09/2018 | 1

    • Shares
    • Online Investment Platforms
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • Can you advise me on the best approach when looking to invest in a product that offers compound interest? I’m thinking about funds rather than bank accounts. I also have 4 different pensions on the go. Should I keep them separate to diversify the risk? Or consolidate them? How will these pensions be treated when I retire? Will they be considered in aggregate by the tax man?

    Craig | Clackmannanshire | 16/08/2018 | 1

    • Private Pension
    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Funds
    Helena Wardle's Response

  • I have about two thirds of my ISA in funds with Charles Stanley Direct and about one third left with St James's Place. I was planning to transfer the remaining one third to Charles Stanley Direct. However the recent platform price increases seem to put me in the worst position possible. I also have a private St James's Place pension. Would I be correct in thinking the fees are also high on this, and I could do better elsewhere? Can I transfer into an SIPP for example?

    Gerry | Bedfordshire | 15/08/2018 | 6

    • Private Pension
    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I invested my money in a St James's Place managed fund, split into ISAs and bonds, after advice from an adviser who was a St James's Place partner. My investments have done reasonably well, but I've read disturbing reports about St James's Place. Should I have concerns? Should I have found an independent financial adviser?

    Glyn | Essex | 09/08/2018 | 6

    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I wanted an investment trust with an income, so I put £10,000 into The Investment Company. It delivers a reliable quarterly dividend but the capital value has dropped by 10% since I invested 2 years ago. What are your favourite investment trusts?

    Fran | Greater London | 08/08/2018 | 4

    • Shares
    • Funds
    Mark Dampier's Response

  • Is there an average number of funds that one should ideally hold? I have in excess of 20. I am happy with my portfolio and coverage, but wonder if I have too many funds. The second part to the question is how long should you leave an underperforming fund?

    Richard | Hertfordshire | 06/08/2018 | 3

    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I'm 24 and would like to begin investing. Am I better off using a robo advisor such as Wealthify/Wealthsimple or a fund such as Vanguard LifeStrategy?

    Amanda | Greater London | 06/08/2018 | 6

    • Shares
    • Robo Adviser
    • Online Investment Platforms
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I am 73 and cautious. There are two areas that your advice would be helpful..what if you just spend thousands on buying the gold standard footsie companies like shell and the rest and keep them for five years and then cash them in ?

    DB | UK | 24/07/2018 | 6

    • Robo Adviser
    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Funds
    • Pension
    Holly's Response

  • Nutmeg require a minimum investment of £5,000. As I have less than £5,000 per annum income I am a bit confused about how much I can put into a pension. I know the government will only gross up a maximum of £2,880 per year but can I put more than this in and forgo the gross up?

    Barbara | HRT | 10/07/2018 | 1

    • Robo Adviser
    Richard Allum, MD, The Paraplanners's Response

  • I hope you can help. I recently consolidated two modest pensions into a SIPP in readiness to start UPFLS drawdown in May (2018). Whilst I was hoping for growth in my investments I wasn’t expecting it to rocket and now find I could well be looking at exceeding the lifetime allowance, possibly even before my first annual drawdown in May, and I’m unsure what, if anything, I should do.

    John | LDN | 03/07/2018 | 1

    • Private Pension
    • Funds
    Richard Allum, MD of The Paraplanners's Response

  • What are the differences between income and accumulation income funds? How do you declare income reinvested in a fund on your tax return?

    C | 05/06/2018 | 0

    • Funds
    Helena Wardle's Response

  • We have a portfolio of ISAs/ PEPs worth around £250k, currently invested via Cofunds, managed by Chelsea and Bestinvest. I'm told this is quite an expensive option regarding platform charges. Are there better options?

    John | BRK | 08/05/2018 | 6

    • Robo Adviser
    • Online Investment Platforms
    Helena Wardle, Certified Financial Planner's Response

  • I would like to open a Junior shares ISA for my Grandson for about £50/month. How do I go about it and can you recommend some reliable companies?

    Roger | Surrey | 26/04/2018 | 2

    • Junior ISA
    • Shares
    Founder and CEO's Response

  • Can you recommend some very basic books for a 69-year-old widow who is now having to manage her money? Thanks

    Martha | 12/04/2018 | 0

    • Shares
    • Funds
    Helena Wardle, Chartered Financial Planner, Sterling and Law's Response

  • I just found your web site (recommended in Andy Bell's book on Do It Yourself investing). Could you say why you do not review Halifax Share Dealing in your list of ISA providers? Is there anything wrong with this ISA provider for you not to include it?

    Gerald | 11/04/2018 | 0

    • Shares
    Dr Richard Bradley's Response

  • Hi, I've got an old D.B. pension, approximate value £12k. I would like to invest & top up each month. Who would you recommend? Also I would like to make an investment, & don't know where to start? Thanks

    Eve | 04/04/2018 | 5

    • Funds
    • Pension
    Helena Wardle's Response

  • I am post-divorce with a good settlement which I have only partially invested. Are there any courses you can recommend? I have sat in a number of meetings with accountants and financial advisers feeling somewhat patronised! I am sure that there are plenty of women in a similar position to me (aged 55!).

    Ellie | 14/03/2018 | 3

    • Shares
    • Funds
    • GIA
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • How can I find a good financial adviser?

    Byron | Greater London | 01/03/2018 | 0

    • Shares
    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I am in the very lucky position of just having received a gift of £800k which I want to invest for our retirement. My husband and I are in our late 40s and aim to retire in around five years. We have 11 more years of school fees to fund, then hopefully university fees for two after that. I've put together a plan for us - can you have a look and see if it makes sense?

    Fiona | UK | 18/01/2018 | 6

    • Private Pension
    • Stocks and Shares ISA
    • Junior ISA
    • Shares
    • Cash
    • Online Investment Platforms
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • We have four grandchildren (2 English living in UK, and 2 Irish living in Eire). We have decided to start savings plans for their futures. Their ages are 18yrs, 11yrs, 8yrs and 4yrs respectively. My age is 75yrs, and my wife is a little older. What should we do, please?

    John | Buckinghamshire | 01/01/2018 | 1

    • Junior ISA
    • Lifetime ISA
    • Shares
    • Funds
    • Inheritance
    Martin's Response

  • Given the recent poor performance in Woodford Equity Income, do you think I should sell it or wait for the fund to recover?

    Jenna | Cornwall | 17/12/2017 | 3

    • Funds
    Mark Dampier's Response

  • I am already receiving a pension from a final salary scheme and I am retired. I have a sum of money I want to invest. Can I start another pension as a saver and, if so, how much can I put in every year?

    Collette | Greater London | 25/11/2017 | 0

    • Private Pension
    • Online Investment Platforms
    Danny Cox's Response

  • How do I start investing, buy stocks, bitcoins, etc with £100.00?

    Claudette | BDF | 18/11/2017 | 1

    • Shares
    • Other
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I am a 59 yr old retired lady with no income but I have reasonable equity..is it worth starting a pension or is it too late?

    LL | NFK | 10/11/2017 | 2

    • Private Pension
    • Shares
    • Pension
    Cherry Reynard's Response

  • I am getting long in the tooth at 79, a little forgetful and I am going through a painful divorce. This has shattered my confidence and I need help.

    Richard | Kent | 05/11/2017 | 3

    • Private Pension
    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I have just sold my house and have a significant sum of money I want to invest. I may want to draw some income but also want to achieve capital growth. Are there funds that aim to achieve both or should I just invest for growth and draw money as I need to for income?

    Jon | SRY | 13/09/2017 | 1

    • Funds
    Peter Matthew's Response

  • I have a delightful 12 year old daughter and she has just opened her first bank account. I am dreadful with money but I would like to know what I should teach her so that she does not pick up my bad financial habits. Do you have some top tips of things to teach our children so they are wise and responsible with money please?

    Louise | Greater London | 11/09/2017 | 1

    • Junior ISA
    • Shares
    • Cash
    Lesley James's Response

  • I am interested in the Fund piece that Holly refers to in today's Money Supplement in the ST’s with 'Lindsell Train Global Equity'. I am looking for a fund for myself (54 yrs old) but also my son (19 yrs old). Is this fund suitable for either of us with an investment strategy of 10 years +.

    Richard | 22/01/2017 | 0

    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I am confused about index funds, e.g. Vanguard Equity fund. Do they track an index or include the yield? In the case of Vanguard, their low cost is attractive but their portfolio is made up of other Vanguard funds. I assume these probably each carry a fee structure - is this correct?

    Robin | Gloucestershire | 03/09/2018 | 0

    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Funds
    Mark Dampier's Response

  • Is it worth using a financial adviser when it comes to switching pensions funds, or should I do the research and pick the funds myself? I am no expert in stocks and shares.

    Helen | Dorset | 10/08/2018 | 4

    • Private Pension
    • Shares
    • Funds
    Helena Wardle's Response

  • I've got £20,000 from an endowment policy (astonishing, I know), and I'm looking into how best to invest to get a reasonable return without excessive risk. Any thoughts much appreciated!!

    Penny | Peterborough | 09/08/2018 | 1

    • Stocks and Shares ISA
    • Cash
    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Life Insurance
    Danny Cox's Response

  • I am looking for a fund for myself (54 yrs old) but also my son (19 yrs old). Is this fund suitable for either of us with an investment strategy of 10 years +.

    | 29/05/2018 | 3

    • Robo Adviser
    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • I use H&L and although they are a bit 'plumy' on the phone I quite like their website and the costs are OK. So I was thinking of H&L for [my son]. I would be telling him to open these two funds and regularly invest and forget about them for 10 years!

    R | Greater London | 29/05/2018 | 1

    • Lifetime ISA
    • Robo Adviser
    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • Given the recent poor performance in Woodford Equity Income, do you think I should sell it or wait for the fund to recover?

    | 29/05/2018 | 2

    • Funds
    Boring Money's Response

  • I have a bit of excess money to play around with and I have been looking at Investment funds. What is the typical % growth rate of an investment fund?

    David | Greater London | 07/09/2017 | 7

    • Online Investment Platforms
    • Funds
    Cherry Reynard's Response

  • Should I be even thinking about the stock market?

    Lysa | Greater London | 06/09/2017 | 0

    • Stocks and Shares ISA
    • Shares
    Holly Mackay's Response

  • What funds could my millennial children invest in?

    Anthony | Greater London | 06/09/2017 | 2

    • Funds
    Holly Mackay's Response