The Verdict
Average Success Rate
Natwest Invest 1-Year Avg The following dataset includes the performances of ready-made portfolios/funds offered by investment platforms and may include both actively and passively managed ready-made portfolios/funds. Performance indicated is also net of all fees to 31st January 2024, unless stated otherwise; any tiered fee structure will be disclosed. Ready-made portfolios/funds that include cryptocurrencies or any other securities outside cash and equities are not included in the dataset. The dataset only includes ready-made portfolios/funds which are explicitly advertised by their respective platforms as being for ‘beginners’, and which are exclusively offered by the platform itself. Funds which are managed by other providers and may be identically offered across multiple platforms were not included in this dataset. For example, the Vanguard UK All Share Acc. ETF was offered by Plum, but as it is not directly managed by Plum and customers could reasonably access it on multiple platforms, it was not included for the purposes of this research. Other discretely advertised securities or investments are not included.
Industry avg. The industry average is the median average of all fund/ready-made portfolio performance figures we collated from 23 investment providers. To see the full dataset, visit X page.
NatWest's investment service is known as NatWest Invest. It's a simple - and remarkably cheap - way to get into investing if you're an existing NatWest customer, or you're willing to open a NatWest current account to access the investments.
A quick note here - whatever I say about NatWest Invest in this review applies to RBS Invest too, as RBS is a NatWest Group subsidiary and runs an identical investment service as far as I can see.
For a very low annual fee of 0.15-0.05% (determined by your portfolio value), your investments are managed for you and you gain access to five risk-rated,
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 portfolios
. With just five portfolios, you're getting a very limited choice. However, this approach makes sense for anyone who might feel overwhelmed by the thousands of different funds, and individual stocks and shares offered by providers such as Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, or AJ Bell. This is a pared down offering, from a famous name, so could simultaneously provide peace of mind and easy entry into investing.
As there are just five funds on offer, the question of fund performance becomes important. Unfortunately, we don't have much historical data on NatWest's ready-made portfolios on which to make any judgement, as the five ready-made portfolios currently offered by NatWest have only been in existence for a short time. It should also, of course, be remembered that past performance does not guarantee future performance in any case. However, should you be interested in how well the funds offered by NatWest have performed so far, and how their results compare with competitors', we have compiled complete datasets
here.
The headline is that they're not doing too well so far, falling far below the industry 1-year average of 13.8%, with returns of just 4.7% on average. However, I would caution strongly against basing any decision on 1 year's worth of returns, as investing is intended to be viewed through a long-term lens - at least 5 years.
The platform itself is modern, well-designed, and intuitive, and information on the different funds is helpful and clear. For those looking for more help understanding the most suitable path to take, NatWest also offers an automated advice service, which is very well-priced at just £10.
That said, it will only be a viable solution for those happy to go for a ready-made portfolio: investors wanting a more bespoke portfolio, including individual stocks, bonds, funds or ETFs, will need to look elsewhere.
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Pros
- Very low annual fees - 0.15%
- Fund fees no higher than 0.40%
- Simple choice of five funds
- Investments managed by Coutts
- Automated advice service for just £10
Cons
- 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 poor
- Customer service should be made easier to access
- Transfers of CTFs to a Junior ISA not accepted for children 14+
Ready-made Portfolio
Average Success Rate
Natwest Invest 1-Year Avg The following dataset includes the performances of ready-made portfolios/funds offered by investment platforms and may include both actively and passively managed ready-made portfolios/funds. Performance indicated is also net of all fees to 31st January 2024, unless stated otherwise; any tiered fee structure will be disclosed. Ready-made portfolios/funds that include cryptocurrencies or any other securities outside cash and equities are not included in the dataset. The dataset only includes ready-made portfolios/funds which are explicitly advertised by their respective platforms as being for ‘beginners’, and which are exclusively offered by the platform itself. Funds which are managed by other providers and may be identically offered across multiple platforms were not included in this dataset. For example, the Vanguard UK All Share Acc. ETF was offered by Plum, but as it is not directly managed by Plum and customers could reasonably access it on multiple platforms, it was not included for the purposes of this research. Other discretely advertised securities or investments are not included.
Industry avg. The industry average is the median average of all fund/ready-made portfolio performance figures we collated from 23 investment providers. To see the full dataset, visit X page.
We have, unfortunately, not got as many years' data to look at with NatWest Invest as is optimal when making judgements about investment performance. We'd always advise that you give investments at least 5 years to mature before assessing their overall performance. NatWest's five, ready-made Personal Portfolios were only launched in 2023, therefore it is too soon to say whether the intended objectives of the fund managers at Coutts are being met.
However, based on the one years' worth of returns investors have so far accumulated, fund performance has been solid, achieving average returns of slightly over the industry average. The Adventurous fund has performed particularly well, averaging 16.6%, but it is worth stressing again, that although existing investors may well be pleased with how their NatWest portfolios are performing, we do have just one years' worth of data to look at.
Fees
With a guarantee that your total fees will never be higher than 0.55%, this is a potentially cheap way to invest. You may be wondering if I've taken my meds today as 0.55% certainly doesn't sound cheap when compared with other platforms' advertised annual fees. But that's because those fees almost never include fund fees - the charge levied by your fund provider for the ongoing management of your fund. My usual caveat when talking about fees is that "these don't include fund fees, however, which vary depending on the fund you choose and can range from around 0.05% to over 1.5%." Having the reassurance of knowing your fee already includes fund fees gives peace of mind that there are no further 'hidden' costs to factor in.
If you exclude the fund fees from NatWest's price, you're only actually paying 0.15% (or 0.10% on portfolios holding £1m - £5m, and 0.05% on £5m+) which is one of the lowest annual fees in the entire market. If you're investing in the region of £500k+, however, be aware that there are some providers which don't charge annual fees at all. (See full 'Fees' section below for details.)
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Pros
- Very low annual fees - 0.15% - 0.05%
- Guarantee of fund fees no higher than 0.40%
- Minimum deposit: £50
Cons
- If you're investing very large sums, it is possible to get 0% annual fees at other providers
Account Opening
You'll need to be an existing banking customer to access NatWest Invest. Would I go through opening a bank account just to get to the investment products? This is probably the only high street bank I would say yes, I'd do that. The fees are outstanding and the service is top notch. However, this will only be a service suited to those looking for a simple investing proposition. There are no stocks and shares or individual funds; just 5 ready-made portfolios to choose from.
Once you're a customer, applying for the ISA or general investment account is really very easy. The SIPP is not as straightforward as it's done through a third party and, as such, there are better SIPPs with easier application processes than this one.
Pros
- Quick and easy application process for ISA / general investment account
Cons
- Must be an existing banking customer to apply for investments
Research
Again, as there are just five ready-made portfolios to choose from with NatWest, there is minimal research to be done. You'll need to understand what your appetite for risk is, and the fund factsheets that accompany each portfolio in the NatWest Invest platform can help with that, explaining the breakdown of assets within each portfolio, the fund performance to date, and its objectives. NatWest Invest also offers a robot-advice service which, for £10, will ask you targeted questions and then advise on which portfolio is likely to best meet your profile based on your answers.
NatWest also offers good educational materials and money market updates so if you wanted to understand more about investing, there is the potential to do that.
As there is no possibility of adding individual stocks or funds to your portfolio, you won't find all the sophisticated charts and analysis you'll find on some other platforms, but that's not accidental. This is a service intended to keep things very simple.
Pros
- Fund factsheets for each ready-made portfolio
- Information on asset breakdown, geographical breakdown of assets, fund costs, performance, and objectives
- Keeps research simple
- Market analysis updates are available on the NatWest website
Cons
- Just five ready-made portfolios means no chance to research individual stocks and funds - too simple for keen investors wanting to be actively involved
Safety
As one of the big 4 UK banks, NatWest is considered a very safe place to hold money and investments. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE All-Share, FTSE 350 High Yield, FTSE 350, FTSE 100 indices.
NatWest Invest's five funds are covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), meaning your money is protected up to a maximum of £85,000 per person.
Coutts acts as investment manager for the NatWest Invest funds, but your investments are held separately from Coutts' own money and investments. That means, if Coutts failed, your investments would still be secure.
Pros
- One of the 'big 4' UK banks
- Listed on the London Stock Exchange
- Authorised and regulated by the FCA
- Protected by the FSCS
- Investor funds held separately from the banks' own
Education
NatWest makes available a range of free articles and guides, although they are very basic. Even the guides designed for 'experienced' investors are pretty simplistic. I would definitely substitute with other free guides from providers with more extensive libraries of resources such as Hargreaves Lansdown and interactive investor if you are new to investing and want to find out more.
There is a good amount of market analysis available on the NatWest website, however, for those who want to keep abreast of the financial landscape.
Pros
- Investing for beginners - articles
- Guides on investing
- Investment calculators
- Market analysis news updates
Cons
- Information only provides a basic level of information
- Need to supplement with other educational materials
Customer Service
NatWest Invest does offer a dedicated phoneline, which is available Mon - Fri, 9.30am to 5pm, and customer in-app chat. That's good, as, in common with most other banks, ratings by banking customers on review sites such as Trustpilot are not great, so it's good that the two services are kept separate.
I've recently been pleasantly surprised by how good the customer service on Barclays', Halifax's, Lloyds', and HSBC's dedicated investment customer service phone lines has been. I was therefore hoping for something similar with NatWest. However, I was slightly disappointed. Whereas with NatWests' rivals' investment phone lines, I experienced zero waiting time, I was kept on hold for 5 minutes before having my enquiry answered here. Also, annoyingly, I had to enter my customer number and remember my telephone banking PIN to be able to access the service. Rivals offer access without needing to remember any account details. When I did get through, however, the customer service agent I spoke to, in a UK-based department, was very helpful.
If you're not already a customer and just want to make an initial enquiry, NatWest does very poorly here. There is no recourse to seek help other than the website. That's really not good enough and other providers do better here.
Pros
- Dedicated NatWest Invest phoneline available Monday - Friday
- In-app chat for customers
- FAQs help section on the website
Cons
- Phone support is not available outside of office hours
- Delays getting call answered
- Need to enter your customer number and telephone banking PIN to access phone support
- No email option
- Non-existing customers have only the website for information - no access to phone or in-app chat support
More info 
Fact Checked 
Disclosure 
Share 
Natwest Invest 1-Year Avg 
Industry avg. 
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Verdict 
Ready-made Portfolio: 
Natwest Invest 1-Year Avg 
Industry avg. 
Fees: 
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Trading Platform: 
Account Opening: 
Research: 
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Education: 
Customer Service: 
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