It’s safe to say that the world of investment is always evolving. Not only can you easily build and diversify investment portfolios online, with the best investment apps, you can now also do so on the go. If you’ve not already noticed, there has been a real boom in stock investment apps lately. From simple ready made investment apps to all-singing, all-dancing self invested stocks and shares portfolio builders, plenty of people are getting into the investing game without having as much as a laptop to go by.
It’s the way things seem to be progressing. You can do more on apps nowadays than ever. But is investing really suited to app interfaces? Plenty of people would say yes, and in many cases, I’d be inclined to agree.
That’s why, for this guide, I’ve laid out the best investing apps 2020 has to offer. While there are lots of investment platforms and apps available, only a few of them are actually worth your time.
Before you go ahead and take a look for yourself, make sure to read my full lowdown of your best options here.
Choosing the Best Investing App for You
The very nature of a mobile app means that you should get a fairly easy route into investing. Apps aren’t designed to be confusing or to require much tweaking. With that in mind, plenty of the big names in investment apps take it easy on you if you’re just getting started.
The fact is, investing is very confusing at times. This is even the case for seasoned portfolio owners! Therefore, one of the criteria I’ve looked at with the apps listed here is how easy it is to get started. Not only that, but how easy it is for you to manage an investment portfolio, and how to push for fantastic results.
The best UK investment apps shouldn’t just give you access to a simple interface. They should help you understand the best choices you can make, and why it’s important to diversify. In any case, with all of that in mind, let’s start looking.
Best Investment Apps in the UK
‘Ready Made’ Investment Apps:
These investment platforms provide a straightforward way to invest with ready made, managed investment portfolios. Ideal for beginner investors or those who want a passive investment approach.
Moneyfarm
To kick things off let’s take a look at Moneyfarm.
You can invest via a pension, a general investment account or an investment ISA as you see fit. As the service is managed, there’s a maximum of a 0.7% fee available here, though funding fees are pretty low at around 0.2%. There’s nothing to pay on trading either. So it’s all very competitive in terms of fees.
Best For: Casual investors who want a simple no fuss approach
Wombat
Wombat is another popular investment app for beginners. Therefore, as you can imagine, it’s pretty simple to hit the ground running.
What will likely appeal to complete novices is the fact that you can sign up and start with Wombat for free. That means you can flexibly save up to £1,000 before you need to worry about paying any subs. There are fund provider fees that exist in places, however. The subscription model, when you do want to upgrade, is actually pretty competitive.
Pay £1 per month to invest more than £1,000, and adhere to 0.45% on anything you do choose to invest in. Wombat appears to be very good at providing a variety of different sectors for you to invest your money in, meaning it’s likely to be a good option for those who want to spread their money around while they narrow down their choices. Do expect to pay up to 0.7% on fund provider fees, though these can arise at as little as 0.07% depending on what you go for.
Above all, with investment available from as little as £10, and with a user interface that’s likely to appeal to anyone just starting out, it’s safe to say that Wombat is a very attractive option. It’s worth a look if you’re interested in finding an easy, quick investment app for either Android or iOS.
Best For: Beginners investing small amounts
Wealthify
I’ve looked at Wealthify in more detail elsewhere, and it’s safe to say that it does impress quite a bit. It’s probably one of the best money investment apps in the UK right now purely based on its freedom of choice.
Fund charges appear to level out around 0.22% for the year, and you can expect a maximum of 0.7% applied to your yearly investments. There are, however, transaction fees you need to look out for, with a rate of 0.7% applying on the flat.
The bright and breezy appeal of the interface, as well as the lack of a minimum investment requirement, is going to appeal to plenty of people. It’s one of many Android investing apps that’s worth looking at if you really don’t know where to start.
Best For: Ready made portfolios with guidance and support to get started
Nutmeg
Nutmeg is one of many stock investment apps in the UK that appears to have been getting a fair amount of press. Levelling itself to customers as a simple, friendly way to invest your cash in ISAs, pensions and general markets,
However, before you go ahead and download the app for iOS or Android, do be aware that you need at least £500 to invest before you can start. This is where other apps and programs are likely to take the lead – it’s a fairly high opening gambit. Choose a lifetime ISA for stocks and shares and this threshold falls to £100, but it’s still a bit of a peak from the competition. If you only have a smaller amount to start with then
Best For: Longer term investors looking for a solid all round platform with low fees
Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple is another investment app I’ve looked at in detail, alongside
Wealthsimple’s name suggest that it is one of the easiest apps to use for investing in the UK. It certainly strives to reach this goal, and it deserves a firm place on this list. You can expect annual fees to spike as high as 0.7%, and fund fees peter out, on average, around 0.18%. That’s pretty competitive.
Wealthsimple presents an interface and a series of account choices that should appeal to beginners who want to have a good feel around for what appeals to them. That’s always going to be a positive in my eyes.
Best For: Ready made investments with plenty of flexibility
Moneybox
Moneybox goes even lower on the opening investment threshold than Wombat. Here, providing you have £1 to your name, you can open an account. Tracker funds are the name of the game here, meaning that you are given a pretty simple platform to start from.
You have access to various ISAs, such as junior ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, lifetime ISAs and more. You can also invest in your pension as well as more general investments, too.
All Moneybox appears to ask for is a flat rate of £1 per month. However, that’s if you don’t go ahead and invest anything. Competing well with Wombat, you can expect to pay 0.45% a year on anything you invest.
As with Wombat, it’s available for iOS and Android phones, and you can expect to pay up to 0.3% in fund provider rates. That, at the very least, compares very well with Wombat. The interface, too, is likely to appeal to anyone new to investing who doesn’t want to have to fiddle around too much with awkward menus, drop-downs and charts. It’s an app that lets you invest your change and doesn’t mind if you don’t have stacks of capital available.
Best For: Getting started quickly with a hands off approach
‘DIY (Self Invested)’ Investment Apps:
The following investment apps offer a low cost entry for those who want to build their own stocks and shares portfolio. Ideal for more advanced investors and those who want a more hands on investing option.
Stake
Stake were born in Australia and are now taking aim at the UK. They are a digital brokerage platform who specialise in US stocks. In particular making is easy for those in the UK to trade US stocks and shares at very low cost. They boast an impressive 3,500+ US stocks and ETFs. More than any other commission-free investment platform available in the UK.
Yes you read that correctly –
What’s more you if you sign up using our link you can get started with a free stock. All you need to do is fund your account within 24 hours of sign up. You’ll then be allocated a random free share of either GoPro, Dropbox or Nike! If you want to find out more about how we got on when trying out the platform you can read our full Stake review.
Best For: Trading US stocks with no fees
Trading 212
Trading 212 is another trading platform which focuses on commission-free trading. There’s also a very low barrier to entry as you can start trading with as little as £1. Like
Another benefit of
Best For: Trading stocks in the UK, US and European markets
Freetrade
Best For: Beginners looking to try out stock trading
Conclusion
It’s easy to see that there’s tons of choice around for investment apps in the UK. It certainly seems to be more than a craze, meaning you’re likely going to need to look carefully at these apps if you want to move with the crowd.
The best UK investment apps around are likely to give you an easy leg-up into the complicated world of stocks – however, it’s always a good idea to drill down and look at how they each perform for you in the long run. Why not give some of my picks above a try?
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