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AJ Bell: Best investment platform all-rounder

Insiders score

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This is the score our team have awarded the platform based on our own personal experiences and other important factors, such as fees and ease of use.

4.5out of 5

AJ Bell was formed in 1995 and is now one of the UK’s leading online investment platforms. AJ Bell serves more than 484,000 customers, providing them with investment portfolios within SIPPs, ISAs and dealing accounts. It holds £76.2 billion of assets under administration and is listed on the FTSE 250.

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By Clare West

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4.5out of 5

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The Verdict

  • Verdict4.5

Who do I recommend it for?

  • arrowVerdict
    4.5

* Wondering whether we get paid for writing good things about platforms? Good question! It's how many comparison sites get paid.

The answer is – no, we proudly do things a little differently at Investing Insiders. Our sole criteria is what's best for you – the consumer. So, although we do receive a commission if you choose to click through and open an account from any of our reviews, we will never bend our opinions to suit the requests of providers, or the needs of our bank balance. Bottom line – what you read on this page is what I'd recommend to my family, friends and colleagues, and indeed, what I choose for my own money.

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Updates

1 April 2024 AJ Bell improves the rates of interest paid on cash balances. Rates now extend to 2.70% for ISAs, and 3.95% for SIPPs.

1 April 2024 AJ Bell also announces reductions in dealing fees to £5.00 per trade, or £3.50 per trade if you trade more than ten times per month.

10 May 2024 Junior SIPP information updated based on feedback from James D.

Who do I recommend AJ Bell for?


AJ Bell is a great option for both experienced and inexperienced investors alike.

Although AJ Bell is pushing those who are new to investing towards their streamlined, ultra-low-cost investment service, Dodl, the main AJ Bell platform is still a solid option for beginners. The platform design is smart, making it simple to use, and oodles of FAQs, explainers, articles and guides mean it’s easy to get to grips with the hows, whys and whats of investing.

AJ Bell’s low-cost fees, charged on a percentage basis, means it’s a viable option for those with smaller portfolios, who won’t be disproportionately impacted by the flat fees charged by some competitors. A note of caution on fees, though: while custody fees are capped for those holding shares in their account, if you add funds, the custody fees on that proportion of your account value will not be capped until you reach the £500k threshold, beyond which, custody fees are no longer applied: that can work out pricey! (See my ‘Fees’ section for just how pricey.)

Even though AJ Bell provides some suggestions in the form of ‘Starter portfolios’ and ‘Favourite funds’, this is still very much a platform for those who have the time and confidence to manage their own investments. If you are looking for tailored advice on an investment strategy, this kind of DIY platform isn’t right for you. You could try a robo-advisor instead, such as Moneyfarm which offers human advice alongside its robo-advice.

Portfolio performance


We've conducted in-depth fund performance research, gathering data from 160 different funds across 24 different providers. Here’s how AJ Bell’s ready-made portfolios performed – and how they compare to the industry average:

AJ Bell's ready-made portfolios have averaged 32.6% returns over the past 5 years. Compared with the median industry average of 24.8%, that's a good average return rate.

However, there is some considerable variation across different portfolio risk categories. The more adventurous and Global Growth funds are performing well above the industry average. However, the more cautious funds are performing well under the industry average.

Of course, it's important to remember that past performance does not guarantee future performance and that you should not, therefore, base decisions entirely on this analysis.

4.5out of 5

Trading platform


Mobile platform

The AJ Bell mobile app is great. You can manage and monitor your portfolio, apply for new accounts and fund your account. You can deal on the go with ‘at best’, ‘stop-loss’ or ‘limit’ orders, create watchlists and view the live prices of shares.

It’s available on both iOS and Android and is well-designed with a clean and tidy user interface, making it worthwhile downloading for use on the go. It doesn’t have exactly the same functionality as the website, however, so if you want to research a trade, or dig deep into your assets, then you’re better off using the website.

Biometric authentication can be enabled to protect you in the event someone tries to hack into your account.

On the Google Play Store, the AJ Bell app scores an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars.

AJ Bell Tesco plc

Web platform

I find the web platform very intuitive and easy to navigate with a bit of practice. The same amount of information is accessible on the mobile platform, but there’s more space for more data to be displayed on one screen on the web platform, making it my preference.

AJ Bell  my account

Demo account

There is no AJ Bell demo account.

4.5out of 5

Fees


On the whole, AJ Bell’s fees are very low. Charges primarily consist of a custody charge, paid monthly, with an additional ‘dealing charge’ which you pay each time you buy or sell shares or funds.

I’ve discovered a couple of areas you don’t want to get caught out on, however. I’ll explain more in my verdict on fees, below.

SIPPs / Junior SIPP / Stocks and shares ISA

For A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of private pension that allows you to control the specific investments that make up your pension fundSIPPsinfo,A junior self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a way of investing money for your child’s future retirement, free from capital gains and dividend tax. As it is designed to be started before a child turns 18, it must be opened by a parent or guardian although anyone can contribute. Once the beneficiary turns 18, they take control of the account, however, the money within the account cannot usually be accessed until age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028 and likely to rise further)Junior SIPPsinfo and Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAstocks and shares ISAsinfo, the same fees apply, and they consist of:

Custody fees

  • For shares / ETFs / investment trusts / gilts / bonds: 0.25% (max £10 per month)
  • For funds: 0.25% on value up to £250k
  • 0.10% on value £250k – £500k
  • 0% for value over £500k

Share dealing fees:

  • Standard share dealing charge: £5.00
  • Frequent shares dealing charge (10 or more trades in the previous month): £3.50
  • Funds dealing charge: £1.50
  • AJ Bell fund: no dealing charge

AJ Bell charges calculator

Lifetime ISA

If you open a Lifetime ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (LISAs) are designed to help you save for your first home or retirement and come with an automatic 25% government bonus on all contributions up to the value of £4,000. There are stocks and shares LISAs – where you invest your savings – and cash LISAs – where you earn interest on your savings. You must be between 18 and 40 to open a LISA and all income, capital gains and interest earned within LISAs is tax-free, although these funds can only be used to purchase your first home or for retirement. Ensure you are familiar with the rules surrounding this account before utilising itLifetime ISAinfo, you’ll need to pay:

Custody charge:

  • For shares / ETFs / investment trusts / gilts / bonds: 0.25% (max £3.50 per month)
  • For funds: 0.25% (no cap)

If you want to trade, you’ll need to pay dealing charges:

  • Shares dealing charge: £5.00
  • Frequent shares dealing charge (10 or more trades in the previous month): £3.50
  • Funds dealing charge: £1.50
  • AJ Bell fund: no dealing charge

Junior ISA

Unlike Hargreaves Lansdown, which offers a fee-free Junior ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (JISAs) are tax-free savings accounts for children under the age of 18. Only a parent can open a JISA but anyone can contribute. You can choose to save for your children through either a cash Junior ISA where you will earn interest on any cash in the account, or a stocks and shares Junior ISA where you will invest your child’s savings on their behalfJunior ISAinfo, AJ Bell charges fees of:

Custody charge:

  • shares / ETFs / investment trusts / gilts / bonds: 0.25% (max £2.50 per month)
  • Funds: 0.25% (no cap)

Shares dealing charge:

  • Regular shares dealing charge: £5.00
  • Frequent shares dealing charge (10 or more trades in the previous month): £3.50
  • Funds dealing charge: £1.50

The verdict?

AJ Bell’s custody fees come with one of the lowest headline rates in the UK market – 0.25% – and thanks to a recent reduction in dealing fee rates, it’s possible to keep overall fees lower than those of most other investment providers.

However, there are a couple of things it’s worth noting:

  • Funds!

You may have noticed from the fee listings above, that there is a cap on how much you can be charged when your account consists of shares / ETFs / investment trusts / gilts / bonds. This is not the case where you hold funds. Therefore, if you intend to solely invest in funds, beware: your custody charge could work out far more expensive with AJ Bell, than with their competitors. Just take a look at these examples to see the differences I’m talking about:

£625 to hold funds vs £42 to hold shares is crazy! Of course, this is assuming you only hold shares / ETFs / investment trusts / gilts / bonds, or funds. Many people will hold a mixture of assets so your fees will be somewhere between the two extremes listed in the table above.

I should also point out that once you own over £500k of assets in funds, AJ Bell scraps the custody charge on anything above that amount, so you won’t find yourself paying ever increasing amounts if you hold £millions. For those somewhere in the middle, however, it’s a pricey way to hold funds.

  • Dealing fees

Dealing fees of £5 / £3.50 per trade soon add up. If you want to trade shares regularly, it might make more financial sense to look at one of the newer trading platforms offering zero commission. Trading 212, Freetrade, and AJ Bell's pared-back, no-frills investment app Dodl, offer zero dealing fees on shares. More on Dodl, below.

  • There is a cheaper way to trade with AJ Bell

If you’re happy having a slimmed down selection of assets to trade, you could check out AJ Bell’s ultra-low-fee brand, Dodl. It’s well-suited to those wanting to start small and keep costs to the bare minimum (custody fees are 0.15% vs 0.25% with the mainstream AJ Bell accounts). And, as I pointed out above, there are no dealing fees on shares and funds either.

Interest paid on cash

AJ Bell pays interest on uninvested cash in SIPPs and ISAs, and additionally, doesn’t apply its annual platform custody charge to cash balances.

Current rates are:

Although not bad at the top end, these are far from the highest rates available, especially for those with smaller balances. For comparison:

All figures were correct at the time of publishing. While we attempt to update figures as soon as we become aware of changes, the most accurate way to obtain the latest data is to check with the provider directly.

Transfer fees

There are no fees for transferring in or out of your AJ Bell account.

Deposit fees

There are no charges for depositing money into your AJ Bell account.

Minimum deposit

The minimum amount you can deposit into a cash savings account is £1,000. For all other accounts, there is no minimum; you can pay in what you want, when you want. If you want to save smaller amounts regularly, you’ll need to commit to a minimum of £25 per month.

A foreign exchange (FX) fee is added to all trades involving foreign currencies. If you buy a stock that trades in US dollars, for example, and your home account is in GB pounds, you'll need to pay an FX fee.FX feesinfo

A foreign exchange charge is levied when trading in an international currency. At AJ Bell, the rates charged are:

  • 0.75% for the first £10k
  • 0.50% for the next £10k
  • 0.25% on values over £20k

Those rates, especially on the higher amounts, compare very well to other providers:

4.5out of 5

Research and tools


AJ Bell provides excellent research tools that will more than meet the needs of the average investor.

With the help of a stock screener, you can select the stock you want to research and view insights such as:

  • Price data including P/E, P/S, P/B, P/C ratios
  • Recent news about the company
  • Interactive and customisable charts

Events and indicators including:

  • Simple Moving Average (SMA)
  • MA Envelope
  • Exponential Moving Average (EMA)
  • Momentum
  • Bollinger Bands
  • ULT Oscillator
  • Parabolic SAR
  • Directional Moving Index
  • MACD
  • Money Flow Index
  • Relative Strength Index
  • On Balance Volume
  • Rate of Change
  • Volume Accumulation
  • Commodity Channel Index
  • UP/Down Ratio
  • Williams %R
  • Volume by Price
  • Slow & Fast Stochastic
  • Fast Volatility
  • Price Channel
  • Weighted Moving Average
  • Accumulation/Distribution
  • Volatility
  • Mass Index
  • Force Index
  • Average True Range
  • Keltner Index

There are also customisable and interactive charts which give you the ability to draw trend lines, Fibonacci Arcs, and Fibonacci Fans, among others.

You won’t find any analysts ‘Buy’/’Sell’/’Hold’ ratings or forecasts for stocks, however. But those can be accessed externally without cost quite easily.

You won’t have access to some of the bells and whistles of an advanced trading platform like Interactive Brokers. But that isn’t what AJ Bell is set up to do. AJ Bell products are designed primarily for people looking for medium- and long-term investments and not day-traders.

 

AJ Bell chart

All round, an excellent research offering that is designed to be clear enough on first view to be helpful to new investors, with a toolset which allows that first view to become so much more detailed for those seeking in-depth data.

4.5out of 5

Trade execution


Executing a trade is clear and simple with AJ Bell.

You can set up a limit order which automates trades to happen at specific buy or sell prices. I couldn’t, however, find any way of setting price alerts which is a real shame as they’re useful for keeping an eye on prices without committing to a limit order.

For shares, investment trusts and exchange traded funds (ETFs), your deal will be processed immediately, but it could take 1-2 working days for the deal to settle after a trade.

Trades on funds are processed each business day at a time that is dictated by the fund in question (check the research page for that particular fund for more details). Trades placed after the dealing cut off time, will be executed the next working day.

Order types

You can execute trades using the following order types at AJ Bell:

  • At-best order
  • Limit order
  • Stop Loss order

AJ Bell  deal confirmation

5.0out of 5

Safety


When selecting a provider for your investments, it is very important to first ensure they meet certain minimum safety standards. We judge AJ Bell to meet the threshold for a ‘safe’ provider because:

  • AJ Bell is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
  • It is part of the AJ Bell Group, which is a financially secure and regulated company. AJ Bell has 499,000 customers who trust the company with £81.6 billion in assets under administration. This makes it one of the biggest low-cost online investment platforms and stockbroker services in the UK.
  • AJ Bell is part of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). That means, in the unlikely event that something were to happen to AJ Bell, your money would be protected up to a maximum of £85,000 per eligible person and claim.
  • Cash is held in FCA-approved banks.
    • Account safety

      AJ Bell uses biometric authentication to secure mobile app login, and two-factor authentication whenever you login using a new device or browser.

      Remember that investing involves risk. The value of your investment can go up as well as down, and you could get back less than you put in.

      More information on AJ Bell and whether this platform might be a good addition to your portfolio can be found here:

      AJ Bell: Company performance analysis

Awards


5.0out of 5

Education


AJ Bell’s new ‘Learn to Invest’ hub contains a mountain of helpful information and insights on useful topics. There are detailed investment guides, a ‘jargon buster’ feature, and two podcasts: the Money and Markets podcast; and the Money Matters podcast aimed at closing the gender investment gap with advice tailored to women.

It’s all delivered in a welcoming and easy-to-digest format. As AJ Bell describes it: it’s the “hows, whys, and whats of investing, from the basics to the nitty gritty.” Perfect for beginners.

You'll also have the chance to join regular webinars on a variety of useful topics, which are recorded so you have the opportunity to watch back at your convenience if you miss the live event. Again, these are pitched just right considering their audience includes investors at all different experience levels.

AJ Bell  investing essentials

 

5.0out of 5

Customer service


AJ Bell does really well on customer service with a very quick response time when I called their UK-based customer service phone line, and a similarly quick response when I used their web chat service.

AJ Bell has an exceptional score of 4.8 stars on Trustpilot (at the time of writing) from over 5,000 reviews.

The three options for contacting AJ Bell are:

  • Webchat in the app
  • Email
  • Telephone: 0345 54 32 600
  • Monday to Friday: 8am to 7pm
  • Saturday: 10am to 2pm

Phone lines are open 6 days per week and there’s a choice of email addresses to help you get straight to the department you need:

A solid 5 out of 5 for AJ Bell’s customer service.

5.0out of 5

Account opening


Account opening

Opening an account with AJ Bell is straightforward and fully digital. You’ll just need your personal details, National Insurance number and details of any account you want to transfer.

Watch this video to view the AJ Bell account opening journey:

*Video is in Loom*

Closing your account

It’s not possible to close an account without getting the help of AJ Bell customer services. You can either log in and contact them via a secure message in your account, or via the customer services team at help@ajbell.co.uk.

You can only cancel a A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of private pension that allows you to control the specific investments that make up your pension fundSIPPinfo within the first 30 days if you haven't made any investments in it. Unfortunately, for an account you close within the first month, you’ll still need to pay AJ Bell’s custody charges on a pro rata basis from the beginning of the month.

Transferring accounts

Transferring into AJ Bell is easy. First you’ll need to open the account you want to transfer to, if you haven’t opened it already. It takes less than ten minutes to open an account, and you can do it online. During the application, you'll be asked to enter the details of the account(s) you want to transfer.

If you already have an account you want to transfer into, you can start the transfer process by logging in and from the ‘My account’ menu, choosing ‘Transfers’ and entering the details of the account(s) you want to transfer.

info

AJ Bell vs interactive investor


AJ Bell and interactive investor (ii) are two of the largest UK-based investment platforms. Both have been around for three decades and have reputations for high standard of customer service, bringing a sense of reliability and trustworthiness. The two providers offer the same product range, with the exception of the Lifetime ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (LISAs) are designed to help you save for your first home or retirement and come with an automatic 25% government bonus on all contributions up to the value of £4,000. There are stocks and shares LISAs – where you invest your savings – and cash LISAs – where you earn interest on your savings. You must be between 18 and 40 to open a LISA and all income, capital gains and interest earned within LISAs is tax-free, although these funds can only be used to purchase your first home or for retirement. Ensure you are familiar with the rules surrounding this account before utilising itLifetime ISAinfo, which ii doesn’t currently offer its customers.

On price, both are known for being low-cost platforms. But how much it’ll cost you to become a customer does vary significantly depending on the amount you have to invest. While AJ Bell charges fees as a percentage of invested assets, ii is a flat-fee platform. That means that for those with larger portfolios, ii could work out cheaper. It also means that for investors with smaller pots, the inverse could be true. To test both theories, I calculated the costs of a A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of private pension that allows you to control the specific investments that make up your pension fundSIPPinfo and Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAISAinfo, imagining I was investing, first £20k, and then £250k. Here are the results:

AJ Bell is cheaper for Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAstocks and shares ISAsinfo, assuming you invest in stocks and shares, whatever portfolio size you have. (If you invest solely in funds, AJ Bell is crazily expensive once you tip into a large portfolio because the £10 monthly custody fee cap that applies to shares, doesn’t apply to funds.) AJ Bell also works out cheaper for a A self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is a type of private pension that allows you to control the specific investments that make up your pension fundSIPPinfo, whatever portfolio size you have, unless you’re completely investing in funds.

In interactive investor’s favour, it is unbeatable on asset selection, offering 40,000 UK, US and international shares on 17 global exchanges plus funds, ETFs, investment trusts and VCTs. AJ Bell can’t compete with that range of assets although its offering is also plenty wide enough to satisfy the average investor, with almost every share from the London Stock Exchange and 24 other global markets.

Ultimately your choice will probably come down to how much you have to invest and which is therefore the best on price, as there isn’t much between them in most other respects.

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AJ Bell vs Dodl


Wondering about the difference between opening a Dodl account and opening an AJ Bell account?

Well, despite the latter being owned by the former, there are some quite big differences between the two brands.

All the shares and funds you can trade on Dodl are taken from AJ Bell’s full menu of tradeable assets – there are just far fewer of them. That’s the first major difference; the amount of investment options you have. Think of a Dodl as a simplified, slimmed down version of AJ Bell. Great if you’re new to investing and don’t know where to start: not great if you want to invest in some under-the-radar Asian stock you think will go on to achieve great things. You won’t have access to anything other than seven AJ Bell funds, and the most popular US and UK stocks with Dodl.

Because of that simplicity, however, you’ll pay less to invest through Dodl. Dodl’s annual account fee is just 0.15%, whereas the minimum you’ll pay to invest on the main AJ Bell platform is 0.25%. Of course there are fund fees to add on top for both, but the other major advantage of Dodl is the absence of dealing fees. You’ll have to pay these separately with AJ Bell.

Trade execution tools and research tools are very basic on Dodl. As basic as they can be. AJ Bell has all the research capabilities and different order types you’d expect from a large, well-established investment house.

Think of Dodl as a platform to build confidence as you learn what kind of investing works for your future. You may choose to graduate onto AJ Bell or one of its competitors in time, or you may decide Dodl suits your needs just fine.

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AJ Bell vs Vanguard


AJ Bell and Vanguard are both large, well-established, well-regarded investment brands, and both offer a quality service for a reasonable price.

Vanguard might suit you better if you don’t want to face too many choices and don’t want a lot of maintenance to keep your portfolio ticking over. That’s because while AJ Bell offers a wide choice of assets, Vanguard only offers funds, and only offers its own funds. They are incredibly popular funds, however, making them a solid choice whether you have an adventurous approach to risk, or more on the cautious end of the scale.

If you do decide to go for a ready-made portfolio, data on past performance can be helpful in making a decision (while obviously not being a guarantee of future performance). In the case of AJ Bell and Vanguard, both providers have performed equally as well over the past five years – around the industry average, so there’s not much between them there.

Both offer well-designed, user-friendly platforms and websites, although Vanguard inexplicably doesn’t have a mobile app, so if you live on your phone and want instant access to your accounts wherever you are, AJ Bell is your one.

On cost, both are hard to beat on price, but Vanguard’s no-frills service is generally cheaper. You don’t get as much as you do with AJ Bell though, so it really does depend on what you’re looking for. And, as I’ve pointed out in my Vanguard review, it’s actually possible to get Vanguard funds cheaper on other platforms than directly through Vanguard. So it’s worth reading the full review if you’re considering a Vanguard fund.

FAQs

AJ Bell is good for those looking for an investment platform offering a wide range of products and assets to invest in, at a reasonable price. It offers great customer service, helpful education materials and a strong selection of research tools for investors of all experience levels.

No, AJ Bell does not offer a A cash ISA is a type of individual savings account where you can earn tax-free interest on your saved cashcash ISAinfo. It offers a Sometimes called an investment ISA, a stocks and shares ISA is an individual savings account that allows you to invest in shares, unit trusts, investment funds, and bonds. You will not need to pay tax on any income or capital gains earned on investments within an ISAstocks and shares ISAinfo, and a stocks and shares Lifetime ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) (LISAs) are designed to help you save for your first home or retirement and come with an automatic 25% government bonus on all contributions up to the value of £4,000. There are stocks and shares LISAs – where you invest your savings – and cash LISAs – where you earn interest on your savings. You must be between 18 and 40 to open a LISA and all income, capital gains and interest earned within LISAs is tax-free, although these funds can only be used to purchase your first home or for retirement. Ensure you are familiar with the rules surrounding this account before utilising itLifetime ISAinfo instead. With a Stocks and Shares LISA, rather than earning interest like you do with a Cash LISA, you invest your money in funds.

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This review is the result of my first-hand experience as an account holder at AJ Bell and in no way represents financial advice.

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