DIY investing is a topic that’s come up more and more during my financial research in recent years, and that’s not really a surprise. The current financial climate and risks of inflation are clearly inspiring people to find new ways to make money on the side. As it happens, Wealthyhood is a curious app that might just change the way you see the markets.
Wealthyhood is one of several different investment apps that’s emerged in recent times to help give power back to the individual investor. The main focus of this particular platform is ‘trading without borders’ – which, thanks to the rise of crypto, is huge right now.
But how does Wealthyhood work in practice? How does it perform in terms of available options, fees, and general ease of use? I took a hands-on look for myself, and here’s what I found.
What exactly is Wealthyhood?
Wealthyhood started life as a new breed of DIY investments app, first launching in spring 2021. The service and brand were founded in 2020. Its main appeal is no-nonsense, no-jargon investing, offering opportunities for people to invest in ETFs from just £10.
While there are plenty of user-friendly investment apps out there, Wealthyhood strives to take things right down to the basics – which is by no means a bad thing. By scaling investment options back to ETFs, users have access to a range of diverse instruments packaged into investments that may be lower risk than most.
There’s also a nice focus on growing money long-term. The goal with Wealthyhood is to invest a little at first, and grow a lot over the years to come. This isn’t a ‘get rich quick’ platform – and I honestly like that a lot.
What does Wealthyhood offer?
Wealthyhood provides ETF investment options across a series of DIY portfolio-building templates. If the idea of building up an investment portfolio completely from scratch scares you a little, there’s no need to panic. Wealthyhood’s account tiers and intuitive interfaces will more than support you through uncertainty.
Right now, there’s only one active tier available for investors to choose from – the Beginner tier or plan. Two more are on their way, and I’ll update this guide as soon as they launch.
Once these plans launch, you’ll be able to fine-tune them to your investing experience and attitude to risk. All options give you a brilliant help library and on-demand support whenever you need it.
Otherwise, you can expect to grow your Wealthyhood portfolio via either ISA or GIA accounts as you see fit.
How much does Wealthyhood cost?
It’s free to register with Wealthyhood and take a look around, and you can start taking full advantage of investment tools from £1 per month. Further tiers will become available in the near future.
There are also no commission fees to pay on any ETFs you invest in. However, the provider advises that some fees may apply depending on the package you choose. As always, take care to read through all the applicable fine print before you spend a single penny.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the tiers:
Beginner
From £1 per month, Wealthyhood provides absolute beginners with commission-free investing across a series of ETFs. You can set up a portfolio based on more than a million different templates and personalise it to your needs.
You’ll also get to use Wealthyhood’s impressive AI service, which allows you to re-invest at a later date without having to physically make any awkward decisions on your own. You can also keep depositing and withdrawing without any extra fees on top.
Wealthyhood calls it autopilot, and I do agree. Your job is just to decide the amount and the frequency at which you want to invest. It handles the rebalancing of your portfolio and also auto-invests any spare cash. In that sense, this reminds me of Chip’s investment features.
ISA
The ISA plan will be available from £3 per month and will specifically provide you with ISA savings benefits, such as zero tax on any investments you make all the way up to £20,000. On top of this, you won’t have to pay any capital gains on any money you deposit or make.
The ISA plan will comprise of all the benefits you get at Beginner level, meaning the main bonus here will be the tax savings.
Pro
When it arrives, the Pro plan will give you access to unlimited ETF trading, all the tax benefits of the ISA plan, and access to premium ‘insights’ developed by the Wealthyhood team. This tier also promises ‘tax optimisation’, details of which will likely be available at launch.
There isn’t much information on when the new Wealthyhood plans will launch in the UK, but the service is always updating and has a growing following.
How does Wealthyhood actually work?
What’s really refreshing about Wealthyhood is that it’s not quite as dense or as fiddly as some of the more popular investment apps out there. All you need to do to get started is agree to the £1 per month subscription, log in and start building a portfolio.
It’s worth mentioning now that if you’re a day trader, Wealthyhood may not work so well in your favour. Its system hinges upon a trading window that runs to 3pm Monday to Friday.
Wealthyhood provides a range of asset classes, and you can fine-tune your portfolio depending on how you intend to grow your money. Again, there’s a swing towards long-term wealth growth here, but if you prefer a more volatile series of options, the templates allow you to take greater risks (at your own discretion).
You can then use the app’s insights to fine-tune your portfolio as you go. You can use the automation service to invest when your ETFs hit a particular value or when you have a certain amount of free money available. You can set targets and remove ETFs whenever you wish.
What sort of ETFs can I invest in with Wealthyhood?
Wealthyhood leans towards the passive investor, with a few options for socially responsible portfolio building. However, you can invest in real estate, bonds, traditional commodities and – of course – stocks.
What’s really impressive about Wealthyhood is the fact that you can diversify across themed ETFs. This means if you’d like to get behind artificial intelligence while growing your money in hydroelectric energy, you absolutely can. One of the most exciting things about using Wealthyhood is taking a dive through some of the diverse themes and collections available.
Is Wealthyhood a managed investment service?
No – Wealthyhood is a DIY investment program, which means you have complete control over what happens to your money. This may not be too appealing to all investors, as it means you don’t have a financial expert at the other end helping you make decisions.
However, Wealthyhood provides a ‘hands-off’ approach to investment support that may benefit lots of novice investors. Instead of a managed investment approach, Wealthyhood provides users with lots of resources, real-time insights and guides to help portfolio builders find their way through ETF investing for the first time.
Therefore, you can use Wealthyhood’s expert guidance as much or as little as you like. This is a great little option for beginners who prefer to learn through physical practice or reading instead of proceeding with a managed portfolio.
If you’re an investor who isn’t quite ready to go full DIY yet, Wealthyhood may provide you with an interesting stepping stone. Thanks to the intuitive layout of the app and its scores of great resources, you never feel as though you’re sinking at the deep end. For that reason, I think it’s well worth your time and money.
Is Wealthyhood protected and regulated?
Yes – Wealthyhood is a legitimate, fully regulated investment service with FSCS backing. That means your first £85,000 invested in the service is protected in case the platform folds unexpectedly and leaves you without assets.
Additionally, Wealthyhood’s app is bolstered by a fantastic security setup, and is partnered with several well-regarded financial experts. It’s worth looking closer at the app’s terms and conditions, as well as their FAQs, for more information.
Regulation for Wealthyhood arrives from the Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, who legitimises all investment and financial services that can legally operate in the UK.
Is it worth signing up for Wealthyhood?
Wealthyhood is an exciting new player in what’s become quite a complicated game. It strips ETF investing back to its absolute basics, while giving investors a fantastic amount of freedom to save money however they wish. The variety of ETF builds here is exciting, and that’s only likely to evolve as time goes by.
However, this is still a very ‘young’ app at the time of writing. It has the backing of some industry experts and is fully regulated (with FSCS protection for users), but it still has a way to go before it wins over a share of the public. Its single tier may not seem inspiring right now, but in time, three different packages should make things all the more appealing to newbies and seasoned investors alike.
I think Wealthyood is worth a look if you have a small amount of money to invest and you’re new to the DIY investing game. It may be worth holding on for the new tiers when they arrive, but in the meantime, give it a try on limited money and see how you get on.
Disclaimer: Capital at risk. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.