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Best high street bank for investing

Your usual bank also offers investing. It’s a name you trust, one of the biggest names in UK finance, and you’re already registered for an account. For many people, it makes sense to keep investments tied up with banking.

But which banks get top marks and which are my ‘must avoids’ for 2024?

check Fact Checked
  • By Clare West
  • Published: September 30, 2024
  • Edited by: Antonia Medlicott
  • Disclosure
  • Last Update: 4 weeks ago

My quick list

4.0/5

Natwest Invest – Very low platform fees and guarantees on fund fees that mean you gain certainty over what you’ll be paying. However, with just five A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfoliosinfo to invest in, this won’t be the right solution for everyone.

Capital at risk.

4.0/5

Barclays Smart Investor – One of the better high street banks for investing with comparatively low platform fees, no dealing fees on funds, and a wide choice of assets.

Capital at risk.

3.5/5

Lloyds Bank Share Dealing – Possibly the widest choice of funds, shares, and other investable assets on the high street and low fixed platform fees. But watch out for the high UK dealing charges and FX fees if you’re a DIY investor.

Capital at risk.

3.0/5

Halifax Share Dealing – Flat account fees of just £36 per year could make this a bargain for high-value portfolio-holders. However, for it to remain a bargain, you’d need to avoid the extraordinarily high FX and dealing fees.

Capital at risk

3.0/5

HSBC Investments – HSBC can be a cheap way to invest but only if you invest in funds as there are some astronomical dealing charges on shares and gilts.

Capital at risk.

2.0/5

Santander Investment Hub – Santander provides customers with access to a range of investment funds via a stocks and shares ISA, general investment account or self-invested personal pension.

Capital at risk.


4.0/5

Natwest Invest

– Very low platform fees and guarantees on fund fees that mean you gain certainty over what you’ll be paying. However, with just five A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfoliosinfo to invest in, this won’t be the right solution for everyone.

Capital at risk.

check

Reasons to use

  • Cheap annual fees – 0.15%
  • Fund fees – max. 0.40%
  • Simple choice of five funds
  • Investments managed by Coutts
  • Automated advice service for just £10
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Reasons to avoid

  • Choice of just five funds will be too limiting for some investors
  • Fund performance is falling behind industry average in first full year of results
  • Cash ISA interest rates are low
  • Customer service should be made easier to access
  • Transfers of CTFs to a Junior ISA not accepted for children 14+

Clare says

“HSBC

On price, NatWest Invest has by far the lowest platform fee of all the high street banks I’ve reviewed – just 0.15% (0.10% if you’re investing £1m+, or just 0.05% if you’re investing £5m+). And with ongoing fund fees guaranteed never to top 0.40%, that means you’re assured a maximum total fee of just 0.55%.

The reassurances here are only possible, however, because there are so few funds on offer: just five ready-made portfolios. Each has a different risk rating so there’s an option for every profile from ‘defensive’ investor to ‘adventurous. And, of course, with a ready-made solution, virtually all of the hard work is done for you as there’s no researching different investment strategies or individual investable assets. It’s an out-of-the-box solution that can have you investing in super quick time. And if you need help working out which portfolio is best for you, NatWest provides a robo-advice service that you can access for just £10, which will assess your risk profile for you.

But, of course, this won’t suit everyone. If you want more control over your investments and the full range of stocks, shares, funds, investment trusts and ETFs to choose from, you’ll need to look outside of your NatWest app.

I should also say, it is possible to get lower ongoing fund fees at other providers, but NatWest offers funds managed by Coutts which have so far (although we only have one full year’s worth of data) out-performed the industry average.

Use this if

You are a NatWest customer looking for a very low cost, easy entry into investing and you want a prestigious name managing your funds.

Fees

The platform fee varies depending on how much you invest:

Up to £1m = 0.15%
£1m – £5m = 0.10%
£5m+ = 0.05%

Fund fees vary according to which ready-made portfolio you choose but are never more than 0.40% of the amount you have invested.

There are no additional dealing fees or FX fees with ready-made portfolios.

Account types

  • General investing account
  • Stocks and shares ISA
  • Junior stocks and shares ISA
  • Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)
  • Cash ISA

Assets

Five ready-made portfolios spanning the following risk profiles:

Defensive
Cautious
Balanced
Ambitious
Adventurous

Scores

Fees:

4.5

Trading platform:

5.0

Account opening:

4.0

Research:

3.5

Education:

2.0

Customer service:

2.5

Read Clare’s full review of NatWest Invest

Read full review

4.0out of 5

4.0/5

Barclays Smart Investor

– One of the better high street banks for investing with comparatively low platform fees, no dealing fees on funds, and a wide choice of assets.

Capital at risk.

check

Reasons to use

  • 8,000 different assets inc stocks, ETFs, funds, investment trusts and bonds
  • Reasonable annual fees – 0.25% – 0.05%
  • Above average A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfolioinfo performance
  • Great educational resources
  • No dealing fees for trading funds
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Reasons to avoid

  • High dealing fees
  • High FX fees
  • Trading platform isn’t the most user friendly
  • SIPP is administered by third party so incurs extra fees
  • No Fractional shares are portions of shares (or ETFs) that are smaller than one whole share. They are designed to make ownership of large, expensive shares more accessible. fractional sharesinfo
  • No Junior ISA
  • High ready-made portfolio costs

Clare says

Barclays has a few things going for it which might make it a good option if you’re an existing Barclays customer: reasonable annual fees, no dealing fees on funds or ready-made portfolios, a wide range of assets to choose from, and above-average historic returns on its ready-made portfolios.

However, if you’re a customer who wants to trade in stocks, ETFs, investment trusts, or bonds/gilts, then you could find your costs ticking up thanks to dealing fees and FX fees that are far from the cheapest around.

Use this if

You’re a Barclays customer, and you want to invest in a ready-made portfolio.

Fees

Platform fees:
Up to £200,000: 0.25% of your portfolio value
Over £200,000: 0.05% of your portfolio value

Dealing fees: £6 per trade (excluding funds which incur no dealing fees)

Fund fees: Paid to the fund provider directly, these fees vary according to the fund you choose.

FX fees: First £5,000: 1%
£5,000 – £10,000: 0.75%
£10,000 – £25,000: 0.5%
£25,000 – £250,000: 0.25%
Value over £250,000: 0.1%

SIPPs: Additional third-party admin costs of £150 apply for investments in SIPPs.

Account types

  • General investing account
  • Stocks and shares ISA
  • Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)
  • Cash ISA

Assets

  • UK stocks
  • US stocks
  • European stocks
  • ETFs
  • Ready-made portfolios
  • Bonds and gilts
  • Investment trusts
  • Funds

Scores

Fees:

4.0

Trading platform:

3.5

Account opening:

4.0

Research:

4.5

Education:

4.5

Customer service:

4.0

Read more about why we rate Barclays one of the best high street investment options

Read full review

3.5/5

Lloyds Bank Share Dealing

– Possibly the widest choice of funds, shares, and other investable assets on the high street and low fixed platform fees. But watch out for the high UK dealing charges and FX fees if you’re a DIY investor.

Capital at risk.

check

Reasons to use

  • Excellent choice of stocks, funds and other investable assets
  • Low, flat service fees could work out superb value for those with large investment portfolios
  • No dealing fees on international stocks
  • No platform fees for 18-25 year olds
  • Wide selection of account types including Junior SIPPs and Junior ISAs
  • Regular investing discounts
  • Strong on education and research materials
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Reasons to avoid

  • Flat platform fees could work out more expensive than percentage-based fees for smaller scale investors
  • Very high dealing fees on UK stocks
  • FX fees on international trades are high
  • No fractional shares

Clare says

If you’re a Lloyds customer, it is possible to invest relatively cheaply with a flat platform fee of just £20 per six months and low fund dealing fees. The best deals, therefore, are to be had by those with large portfolios who will benefit most from a flat fee, and only invest in funds.

If you’re aged 18-25, or you’re a Lloyds Premier or Private banking customer then the twice-yearly £20 admin charge is waived, which is a nice bonus.

If you’re planning on buying and selling shares, however, watch out for the above-average stock dealing fees and FX fees. With a 1% FX fee added on to all international trades, and £11.00 charged every time you trade a UK asset, costs will soon mount for regular traders. That said, Lloyds does offer reductions on costs for those willing to set up a monthly investment plan.

Use this if

You’re an existing Lloyds customer with a large portfolio, wanting to buy and hold funds, and not planning to buy/sell often.

Fees

  • Twice-yearly administration charge of £20.00
  • No administration fees for Premier and Private Banking customers
  • No administration fees for 18-25 year olds
  • No dealing fees on international shares but 1% FX fees apply
  • Very high dealing fees on UK stocks – £11.00 per trade
  • Regular investment plan eradicates dealing fees

Account types

  • Stocks and shares ISA
  • Self-invested personal pension
  • General investment account
  • Cash ISA
  • Junior Cash ISA
  • Junior SIPP
  • Trust account

Assets

  • UK Stocks
  • US Stocks
  • European Stocks
  • Rest of World Stocks
  • ETFs
  • A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.Ready-made Portfoliosinfo
  • Bonds and Gilts
  • Funds
  • Investment Trusts
  • REITs

Scores

Fees:

3.5

Trading platform:

3.5

Account opening:

2.5

Research:

4.5

Education:

4.0

Customer service:

4.0

Read Clare’s full review of Lloyds Bank Share Dealing

Read full review

3.0/5

Halifax Share Dealing

– Flat account fees of just £36 per year could make this a bargain for high-value portfolio-holders. However, for it to remain a bargain, you’d need to avoid the extraordinarily high FX and dealing fees.

Capital at risk

check

Reasons to use

  • Flat account fee of £36 per year good value for large portfolio holders
  • Account fee is waived for 18-25 year olds
  • 8,000+ investment options
  • Above average A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfolioinfo performance
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Reasons to avoid

  • High dealing fees if you’re not a regular investor (£9.50 per trade)
  • Very high FX fees (1.25%)
  • £500 minimum lump sum to get started (or £50 per month)
  • SIPP is administered by third party so incurs extra fees
  • No fractional shares

Clare says

£36 per year flat platform fees could be a potential steal if you’re a high-value portfolio-holder. And Halifax offers a decent range of stocks, funds, ETFs and ready-made portfolios.

However, 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 – which you’ll incur every time you trade a non-GBP asset – are an extraordinarily high 1.25%. They don’t reduce in value with the size of your trade either. That’s an high price to pay when you consider that Trading 212 charges just 0.15% for its FX fees.

Dealing fees on UK trades are also very high – £9.50 per trade. There is a way to avoid these fees, however, by signing up to a regular investing plan whereby you agree to pay money into your investment account every month. But this may not suit your investing style or strategy.

On the plus side, Halifax waives service fees for 18-25 year olds, so this could still be a very cheap option for existing customer if you’re young and not planning to buy and sell often.

Use this if

You already have a Halifax bank account and you’re happy to invest via the regular investment service – and only in UK stocks.

Fees

  • Service fees

One flat fee of just £36 p.a.

  • Dealing fees

£9.50 per trade for all UK assets (including funds!). Dealing fees can be avoided by setting up a regular investing plan, however.

£0 per trade for non-UK assets. However, a 1.25% FX fee will be applied to all these trades.

  • Fund fees

Paid to the fund provider directly, these fees vary according to the fund you choose.

  • Ready-made portfolios

Fees for a ready-made solution are £3 per month plus ongoing fund fees and transactions costs that range from 0.32% for a Cautious portfolio, to 0.37% for a Progressive portfolio. That’s considerably more than NatWest Invest charges for a wider range of ready-made solutions as this chart shows.

Account types

  • General investing account
  • Stocks and shares ISA
  • Junior stocks and shares ISA
  • Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)
  • Cash ISA

Assets

  • UK stocks
  • US stocks
  • European stocks
  • Funds
  • ETFs
  • Bonds and gilts
  • Ready-made portfolios

Scores

Fees:

3.0

Trading platform:

3.5

Account opening:

3.0

Research:

4.5

Education:

4.0

Customer service:

3.0

Read Clare’s full review of Halifax Share Dealing

Read full review

3.0/5

HSBC Investments

– HSBC can be a cheap way to invest but only if you invest in funds as there are some astronomical dealing charges on shares and gilts.

Capital at risk.

check

Reasons to use

  • Some excellent historical portfolio returns
  • Low annual fee for investing in funds
  • Low quarterly flat fees for investing in shares
  • Excellent customer service for investors
  • Cheap A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfoliosinfo
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Reasons to avoid

  • Funds and share dealing are managed separately so you cannot combine them within one ISA or GIA
  • Exceptionally high dealing fees on EU shares, US shares and gilts
  • Can only invest in small number of funds within SIPP
  • No fractional shares
  • No junior accounts

Clare says

It’s possible to keep costs low with HSBC if you adopt a buy-and-hold approach and only invest in funds or ready-made portfolios.

Ready-made portfolios are well-priced, costing between 0.45%-0.50% including fund fees, and for that, you’re getting some strong, high, historical returns (although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, of course).

However, there are some ridiculously high fixed-priced charges to watch out for if you’re investing in stocks or gilts: £29.95 – £39.95 per trade. Even the absence of any FX fees can’t make amends for those charges, especially if you’re a relatively small-scale investor.

There’s a headache-inducing separation of funds and stocks too with HSBC. You can’t hold both in the same account so you basically have to pick one asset class and stick with it, or life becomes very complicated.

Use this if

You’re an existing HSBC customer wanting a cheap ready-made investment portfolio with good historical performance.

Fees

  • Flat service fees of £10.50 per quarter for investing in shares
  • 0.25% annual fees for investing in funds
  • No 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
    No dealing fees on funds
  • Minimum investment: £50
  • Ready-made portfolios cost 0.45%-0.50% inc fund fees
  • Very high dealing fees on UK stocks: £10.50 per trade
  • Astronomically high dealing fees on EU and US stocks, and gilts: £29.95 – £39.95
  • No interest paid on cash held in your accounts
  • Fund fees: Paid to the fund provider directly, these fees vary according to the fund you choose.

Account types

  • General investing account
  • Stocks and shares ISA
  • Investment trust account
  • Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)

Assets

  • UK shares
  • US shares
  • ETFs
  • Ready-made portfolios
  • Funds
  • Bonds and gilts
  • Investment trusts
  • REITs

Scores

Fees:

3.0

Trading platform:

3.5

Account opening:

3.0

Research:

5.0

Education:

5.0

Customer service:

4.5

2.0/5

Santander Investment Hub

– Santander provides customers with access to a range of investment funds via a stocks and shares ISA, general investment account or self-invested personal pension.

Capital at risk.

check

Reasons to use

  • Average pricing
  • Can access low-cost online financial advice when choosing Santander funds
  • For those investing £20,000+, access to Santander’s personalised financial advice
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Reasons to avoid

  • Can only invest in funds – no share dealing
  • Account minimum – £100
  • Other providers offer cheaper ways to invest in funds
  • Account opening for non-Santander customers isn’t easy
  • No collated lists of popular funds to help with choosing investments

Clare says

“HSBC

Sadly, there’s little that I can find to recommend about Santander’s Investment Hub. It’s a decent range of funds, but you can find better selections elsewhere. Pricing is around average, meaning it’s possible to find cheaper elsewhere. And although you don’t need to be a banking customer to open an investment account, the process I had to go through to get an investment account open was overly lengthy and frustrating.

There’s nothing terrible about Santander, but nothing that makes me want to recommend it, either.

Use this is

You’re an existing Santander customer and you want a quick way to invest in funds.

Fees

Annual fees:

0.35% for the first £50,000 invested
0.20% on anything between £50,000 and £500,000
And, 0.10% on amounts over £500k

There are no dealing fees with Santander, which keeps things simple and means there are no ‘hidden’ costs. You will still incur ongoing fund charges with Santander funds and A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfoliosinfo, however. These are paid directly to the fund provider from your investment.

Ongoing fund charges for the ready-made portfolios range from 0.34% – 0.49%.

Account types

  • Stocks and Shares ISA
  • Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
  • General Investment Account (GIA)
  • Cash ISA
  • Junior ISA

Assets

  • Funds
  • ETFs
  • Ready-made portfolios

Scores

Fees:

2.5

Trading platform:

3.5

Account opening:

1.5

Research:

2.5

Education:

2.5

Customer service:

3.5

Discover whether Santander is the investing platform to meet your goals with Clare’s full review.

Read full review

What should I be looking for in an investment provider?


When choosing an invesment provider, you should factor in the following considerations:

  • Cost
  • Choice of assets (does the provider offer what you want to invest in)
  • Suitability of the platform for your skill/experience level
  • How much help you want making decisions and whether you can receive it
  • Your feelings about risk and whether your risk profile is catered for
  • Past portfolio performance – if you wish to invest in a A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfolioinfo, this will be important

You’ll find details on each of those factors in the mini reviews we feature on this page, but you’ll find them discussed in greater detail in the full reviews for each provider. Before making a final decision, I strongly advise reading the full review.

How do the high street banks compare on price?


The following cost examples assume £20,000 is invested over one year, in the case of the stocks and funds, in 20 deposits of £1,000. This allows you to see the different trading fees can make to overall costs. I have broken down costs into their constituent parts; platform fees, dealing fees (where they are applied), and FX fees (where they are applied. In doing so, you can make adjustments for how many times you envisage trading and what impact that would have on your personal costings.

I have not included ongoing fund charges, which are levied by fund providers and taken directly from investments as they vary depending on the specific fund chosen. The exception to this is in my ready-made portfolio cost comparison chart where it has been possible to include them.

Investing in stocks

Investing in funds

How do the high street banks compare on investment performance?


This is an important question to consider if you’re thinking about investing in a A ready-made portfolio is a pre-made collection of investments that have been put together by investment experts. They are designed to be a simple option for those who don’t want to choose individual stocks or funds for themselves.ready-made portfolioinfo.

If you don’t have the confidence or the time to pick your own investments, then these pre-packaged solutions could work well for you.

But how do you know whether the fund managers choosing your investments will achieve good returns on your investments? The answer is, sadly, you don’t! All investments come with a degree of risk and there are no guarantees. However, providers of ready-made portfolios should provide you with information on past performance. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance, and all investments should be viewed through a long-term lens, but you may find it valuable to see how your investments would have performed in a particular portfolio and over a particular time-frame.

The data

We’ve analysed the performance of more than 220 different ready-made portfolios from 24 different providers over 1Y, 3Y, 5Y and 10Y (where portfolios have been established for that long) and these are the returns that have been achieved for investors, once fees are deducted:

You can read more about how we compiled these figures, here: Ready-made portfolio performance tables

* 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.

FAQs

They can be, but it really does depend on what kind of an investor you are. If you want access to the widest possible range of shares, funds and other inevitable assets then you’re much better off with an investment specialist such as interactive investor, AJ Bell or Saxo. However, if you just want to get an ISA set up and invest in funds, then your regular bank could serve you pretty well – and cheaply. Scrutinise the pricing if you plan to trade stocks though and check the FX fees on international trades as this seems to be where banks make their money with some rogue, outrageous fees here among the big banks.

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