Bestinvest offers one of the lowest trading fees among the mainstream platforms, with no trading fee for US shares. Its platform fee is higher than some of its peers but competitive for ready-made portfolios and US shares. Here’s a closer look.
Pros
- Low trading fee for UK shares
- No trading fee on funds or US shares
- Lower platform fee on US shares and ready-made portfolios
- Wide choice of investments
- Excellent fund research
- Free individual investment coaching
Cons
- High platform fee for self-invested portfolios
- Only UK and US shares offered
- High annual fund charges on some ready-made portfolios
- More limited company research
Wide choice of investments
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Bestinvest: a round up
Bestinvest is owned by wealth management firm Evelyn Partners (previously Tilney Smith & Williamson) and has over 46,000 clients.
Bestinvest charges one of the higher percentage-based platform fees for self-invested accounts among the larger providers. However, it has one of the lower share trading fees and charges no trading fee and a lower platform fee on US shares.
Investors benefit from a wide choice of over 3,700 investments including shares, funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and investment trusts. It is not possible to trade in fractional shares, cryptocurrency or foreign exchange.
Bestinvest also offers the choice of 19 ready-made portfolios, split by growth and income, level of risk, ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria and cost.
Bestinvest provides a high level of customer support, with phone support available six days a week, in addition to live chat and email. It provides a range of investing guides, together with live webinars and the option of free one-on-one coaching sessions.
Note: all investing is speculative, your capital is at risk, and you could lose some or all of your money.
What plans are available?
Bestinvest offers one main plan for customers across its range of accounts, including a general investment account, Individual Savings Account (ISA) and Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). Customers have the choice of self-invested or ready-made portfolios within these accounts.
What products are available?
- investment account
- ISA
- SIPP
- Junior ISA
- bare trusts
- discretionary trusts
- SSAS (small self-administered scheme) pensions
What are the investment choices?
Bestinvest offers the choice of over 3,700 investments, including:
- Over 1,480 shares from the UK and US, with around 1,000 UK shares and 400 US shares
- Over 1,580 funds
- Over 380 exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
- Over 280 investment trusts
What else does it offer?
- Ready-made portfolios: a choice of ready-made portfolios selected and managed by its in-house team. Investors can choose from defensive to maximum growth portfolios, income portfolios and sustainable portfolios. There are 10 portfolios in the ‘Expert’ range, 5 in the ‘Smart’ (low-cost) range and 4 in the ‘Direct’ range (which invests directly in individual companies and bonds). It is worth noting that the non ‘Smart’ portfolios have an ongoing charge figure (OCF) of around 1.5% per annum, which is at the upper end of average charges for active funds. The OCF drops to around 0.35% for the Smart portfolios
- The Best™ Funds List: a selection of around 130 funds, ETFs and investment trusts from third party fund managers across a range of sectors. Criteria for selection include outperformance against the benchmark, core investment principles, sustainability, fund size and longevity of the fund manager
- Spot The Dog: an annual publication of under-performing funds, along with ‘best of breed’ alternatives
- Coaching: Bestinvest offers free one-on-one coaching sessions with a qualified financial planner, covering investment goals, decision-making and strategy
- Education: Bestinvest offers a series of guides on ISAs, pensions and investments, together with live webinars on investing topics
- Apps: Bestinvest’s app is available on both Android and iOS devices
- Security: Bestinvest is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. The company uses third party banks and custodians to hold customers’ funds, which provides protection for customers in the event that the company went into liquidation.
What about fees and charges?
Bestinvest charges the following fees for its three main accounts:
Other fees include a foreign exchange fee on non-sterling trades of 0.95%. The above trading fees are online only and a fee of £30 is charged for dealing over the phone.
How does Bestinvest rank on customer service?
Research firm Fairer Finance does not rate Bestinvest on customer experience, however, it receives a rating of 4.3 on customer review site Trustpilot.
Who should choose Bestinvest?
Bestinvest may appeal to investors wanting to trade and hold US shares, as it charges no trading fee and a lower platform fee for these investments.
It may also attract frequent traders, charging no trading fee on funds and one of the lower trading fees on UK shares amongst the mainstream providers.
Overall, Bestinvest offers a good range of investments, together with individual coaching, app-based trading and excellent fund research.
