Best performing robo advisers of Q1 2023
Discover which robos were top of the pops
By Boring Money
21 April, 2023
Every quarter, Boring Money collects performance data from the UK's ready-made portfolio market - in some cases through its own test accounts - to bring you the latest insights into how robo adviser investment portfolios across different risk categories* have performed.
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How did robo adviser investment portfolios perform in Q1 2023?
2022 was an extremely bleak year for robo advisers. In fact, although results started to pick up in the last 3 months of the year, every single robo adviser investment portfolio we track recorded a loss in 2022.
So far in 2023, however, it's a pretty different story. All but one robo adviser investment portfolio booked positive growth between 1 January and 31 March, and the change was felt across the board too, as the top performers in each of the different risk categories - low, medium and high - all recorded similar growth.
The range of growth spanned from -0.06% from AJ Bell's 'Cautious' (low risk) - just about sliding into negative returns - to a significantly stronger 4.11% from Vanguard's 'LifeStrategy 100% Equity Fund' (high risk). High risk portfolios tend to have at least 70% in shares, and unlike the torrid year that was 2022, global stock markets have had a strong start to 2023 - so we'd expect the higher risk portfolios to be performing well around now. The majority of robo adviser investment portfolios we track recorded returns between 1-3% in Q1 nevertheless.
If you fancy diving into the details, we've rounded up the best performing robo adviser investment portfolios across all risk levels in Q1 2023 and beyond in the table below. They're ranked by their net growth (after charges). Click on each provider in the left-hand column to read more about what we think of them, which of our awards they may have won, and what their customers have to say.
Best performing UK robo advisers
Provider | Fund / Portfolio | Risk Level | Q1 2023 Net Growth | 1 Year net Growth (Apr 22 - Mar 23) | 2 Year Net Growth |
Vanguard | LifeStrategy 100% Equity Fund | High | 4.11% | -0.46% | 11.29% |
Vanguard | LifeStrategy 80% Equity Fund | High | 3.89% | -2.61% | 5.43% |
Nutmeg | Fully Managed - 8/10 | High | 3.64% | -4.61% | 2.65% |
Vanguard | LifeStrategy 60% Equity Fund | Medium | 3.60% | -4.71% | -0.04% |
Vanguard | LifeStrategy 40% Equity Fund | Medium | 3.37% | -6.76% | -5.06% |
Nutmeg | 5/10 | Medium | 3.27% | -6.64% | -3.87% |
Vanguard | LifeStrategy 20% Equity Fund | Low | 3.13% | -8.62% | -9.69% |
Santander | Multi-index Fund 4 | High | 2.75% | -3.14% | 1.30% |
Wealthify | Adventurous | High | 2.63% | -4.76% | 2.83% |
Hargreaves Lansdown | Balanced Class A | Medium | 2.54% | -2.55% | -1.16% |
Santander | Multi-index Fund 2 | Medium | 2.47% | -7.54% | -7.95% |
True Potential | Aggressive | High | 2.40% | -4.97% | 2.80% |
HSBC | Adventurous - Fund 5 | High | 2.34% | -4.84% | 8.22% |
HSBC | Balanced - Fund 3 | Medium | 2.28% | -5.66% | 1.02% |
Santander | Multi-index Fund 1 | Low | 2.24% | -10.16% | -12.14% |
True Potential | Balanced | Medium | 2.13% | -4.93% | -1.27% |
HSBC | Cautious - Fund 1 | Low | 2.12% | -6.58% | -7.39% |
Wealthify | Confident | Medium | 2.11% | -5.62% | -2.94% |
Nutmeg | 2/10 | Low | 1.94% | -4.30% | -4.67% |
Moneybox | Adventurous | High | 1.67% | -7.13% | 6.96% |
Wealthify | Cautious | Low | 1.57% | -6.32% | -8.42% |
Moneybox | Balanced | Medium | 1.36% | -5.83% | 4.98% |
AJ Bell | Adventurous | High | 1.25% | 0.12% | 11.37% |
True Potential | Defensive | Low | 0.88% | -4.63% | -4.35% |
AJ Bell | Balanced | Medium | 0.71% | -1.00% | 5.61% |
Moneybox | Cautious | Low | 0.17% | -2.95% | -1.63% |
AJ Bell | Cautious | Low | -0.06% | -3.47% | -1.45% |
Key terms:
Provider
The investment provider that manages your robo adviser investment portfolio.
Fund/Portfolio
The name of the robo adviser investment portfolio that is allocated to you by your investment provider. This will typically include a mixture of cash, bonds and shares at different proportions depending on your chosen risk level.
*Risk Level
The perceived level of risk associated with your robo adviser investment portfolio. There are three main risk categories - low, medium and high - which we assign to each. For the purposes of this exercise, robos with an equity exposure of under 30% are considered low risk, funds with 70+% equity are high risk, and the rest are categorised as medium risk.
Q1 2023
'1st quarter'. The period between 1 January 2023 and 31 March 2023.
Net Growth
The total growth of a portfolio minus charges.
