What is the best investment app?

Fees can substantially eat into your investment gains and are therefore worthy of careful consideration when selecting which platform to invest with. Below I have provided you with a visual aid of how these platforms would compare on cost.

Remember, that fees should not be your only consideration. The main purpose of investing in an investment platform is to grow your money as much as possible. In this respect, the assets offered, and the performance of the ready-made portfolios on offer will also be relevant.

If you don’t have the confidence/time to choose your own investments or are simply seeking a more ‘hands-off’ approach, then you may want to consider the fully managed portfolios on offer.

But how do you know that the portfolio you are considering will provide you with decent returns? The answer is… you don’t! However, we can look at how well these platforms have managed their portfolios in the past 5 years. As you can see, results have been variable, but try to remember that the eToro option is very undiversified and therefore presents a big risk to your capital.

Managed or ready-made portfolios provide a hands-off alternative for investors lacking the confidence to choose their own investments. However, whether this is a good option or not comes down to the returns achieved. Whilst historical returns won’t guarantee future returns, they can provide an indication of how successfully the portfolio is being managed.

We have done all the analysis on ready-made portfolios for the past 10 years where information is available and pitched them against each other as a direct comparison. Head to the this page for comprehensive results.

1. Your level of experience is important! The app you choose must be appropriate for your skill level. You don’t want to feel overwhelmed by features that are only needed if you’re a pro-level trader, or equally under-resourced by a basic, beginner-level platform if you’re more experienced.

2. Pay attention to fees. Large portfolios will be best served with a flat fee structure, while smaller ones could benefit from percentage fees or zero fees. Even small differences on fees can add up over time and really eat into your returns to compare costs on the types of investments and transactions you’re likely to be making. Don’t forget to include: subscriptions/account fees, trading (dealing) fees, FX fees if you’ll be trading non-UK assets, withdrawal fees, and fund fees (although these vary very little across platforms as they are charged by the fund providers).

3. What sort of tools and resources do you need from your investment app? That will largely depend on your experience level.