The Verdict
Wealthyhood offers a good range of stocks, ETFs money market funds (MMF). A MMF is a kind of mutual fund, and although you can still grow your investments, they're considered more low-risk investments and are therefore often used to store cash or save for short-term goals. It's a nice selection that will appeal to Wealthyhood's target audience of Millennials wanting to get some money invested. If you decide to branch out as an investor though, you'll end up needing to switching platforms though as there are no bonds, gilts, other mutual funds, investment trusts, IPOs or crypto trading, for example.
Pricing is good. The Basic plan comes with a 0.18% service charge, which is low but it's not a free account as is sometimes suggested. You'll also need to pay a relatively high FX rate (0.75%) to trade in overseas stocks/ETFs with the Basic account, so it could work out more expensive than an account at Dodl, for example, where the service fee is 0.15% and FX fees are 0.50%. As the other plans are subscription-based, these work out better value the more you have invested so small portfolio-holders might feel short-changed, while larger scale investors could discover Wealthyhood is a bargain.
My main problem is that there is no ISA, and no personal pension. Currently, your only option is to invest through a general investment account which means you miss out of all those lovely tax benefits that come with
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 ISAs
and
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 fundSIPPs
.
My other issue is that there's no ready-made portfolios - which would seem like a sensible option to offer those who are new to investing. You can create a portfolio either by starting from scratch, selecting individual stocks, ETFs or MMFs for yourself, or by using the portfolio builder tool to direct the app to choose the kinds of assets you want to hold. But even with the portfolio builder tool, you still need to understand what kinds of assets, sectors and geographies you want to invest in, and how to manage them. That requires a certain level of confidence which I'd suggest doesn't match with Wealthyhood's desired aim to appeal to absolute beginners. (Dodl or a robo-advice platform such as Moneybox might be better if that's you.)
Research tools are better than average if you're a beginner, but, as I say, you'll need to be a relatively confident beginner for Wealthyhood to be a good fit.
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Pros
- Low cost platform
- Simple investing for beginners
- Fractional shares
- Investing from £1
- Automated investing
- Up to 4.69% interest with easy access through a Money Market Fund
Cons
- Cannot invest through an ISA
- Only a general investment account
- No ready-made portfolios
- No bonds, gilts, investment trusts, mutual funds (other than MMFs)
- Need to be confident picking investment assets yourself
- No personal pension/SIPP
- FX fees for Basic account holders are expensive (0.75%)
Fees
Wealthyhood uses a variation on a Freemium subscription model, which usually means you can access some services for free but will need to pay a monthly sub to access all features. In Wealthyhood's case, however, the 'free' basic account has its own unique charge - a 0.18% annual custody fee. That's well below the industry average for an investment service charge however, so it's an attractive rate. Bear in mind, however, that you'll also be paying high
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 fees
(0.75%) to trade in non-GBP investments with this account, so your costs could add up.
Basic account: £0 subscription but 0.18% annual custody fee (charged monthly) & 0.75% FX fees
Plus account: £2.99 p/month (free trial for first 7 days) & 0.35% FX fees
Gold account: £12.99 p/month (free trial for first 7 days) & 0.25% FX fees
Reductions are available for paying annually (works out as £1.99 p/month for Plus, and £9.99 p/month for Gold)
With a free account, you get access to: Fractional shares, portfolio automation, 1M+ portfolio templates, learning guides, free deposits & withdrawals, and 4.19% interest with Money Market Funds (an alternative to a savings account).
With the paid-for accounts, you can get better rates of interest, bonus dividends, cashback, a lower FX rate, and priority customer service (with the Gold account).
Subscriptions can be excellent value for large portfolio-holders but disproportionately expensive for those just starting out with very small portfolios. Of course, if you are just starting out, you do have the option of using the Basic account, which is charged using a percentage rate instead.
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Pros
- No commission or dealing fees charged on trades
- Low service fee (just 0.18% p.a.) and zero subscription fee for Basic account
- Subscription fee for Plus account is low (especially if you pay annually instead of monthly)
- Reductions for paying annually (25% discount on Gold / 33% discount on Plus)
- £1 minimum trading amount
- Free trial week on Plus and Gold accounts - cancel anytime
Cons
- FX rates vary from 0.75% for Basic accounts, to 0.35% (Plus account) and 0.25% (Gold account)
- Subscription models can work out more costly than percentage-based models if you only have a small amount invested
Account Opening
Account opening was a very easy, smooth experience. I needed to scan my passport, take a selfie and give some personal details including my National Insurance number and income information. Identify verification took less than 20 seconds and there were no issues.
Pros
- Fully digital process
- Took just 5 minutes to register for an account
Research
Research tools are very rudimental - limited to charts showing performance over different stretches of time, 6 basic metrics (EPS, P/E ration, Beta, Market cap, Dividend yield and Forward P/E ratio) and a news stream. Giving Wealthyhood a slight advantage over other very basic apps, however, is the fact that it also includes analyst views and ratings.
These tools are enough for those wanting a very basic investing experience but will be nowhere near enough for more experienced traders.
Pros
- Stock and fund screener
- View past performance charts over 1M, 3M, 6M, 1Y, 3Y, and 5Y
- Key metrics and price information
- Dividends and earnings data
- Company information and related news stories
- Analyst consensus, projections, and stock price expectation
- Live pricing
Cons
- Not as well-suited to advanced traders as Saxo, Interactive Brokers, and IG
Safety
Wealthyhood is an appointed representative of RiskSave Technologies Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Your money and investments are covered by FSCS protection with this firm, of up to £85,000.
Your assets are also kept separately from Wealthyhood's own in segregated accounts. This arrangement ensures they remain protected and inaccessible to creditors should Wealthyhood cease to trade, and ensures your assets are returned to you.
Unlike some other investment firms, with Wealthyhood you are the legal owner of all your investments and cash holdings and everything is kept under your name. That means, they do not use your uninvested cash in any way or lend your assets to any third party to make money, which can be a worry with some of the low-cost platforms.
You can use biometric recognition, like fingerprints or facial scan, to access your Wealthyhood account and all data is encrypted.
Pros
- FSCS protection up to £85,000
- FCA regulated as an appointed representative of RiskSave Technologies
- Your assets are segregated from Wealthyhood's own ensuring they're protected from creditors should the firm go bust
- Your investested cash is not used to make money and your shares are not loaned out
- You remain the legal owner of your assets
- Biometric authentication and data encryption used
Customer Service
Wealthyhood doesn't offer telephone support, but it does offer human interaction through its online chat feature. That's a nice touch when so many providers are doing with AI-generated chatbots. There's also an email address where you can ask your questions. I liked the approach Wealthyhood took to onboarding customer support - I was sent an email offering me the chance to reply back directly to the Head of New User Onboarding at Wealthyhood if I had questions, or a call to walk me through the platform. That's a higher level of customer service than you'll get at many of the low-cost platforms.
Pros
- Human-led online messaging support
- Offer of a personal call to walk me through the platform when onboarding
- Email: hello@wealthyhood.com
- Online Help Centre (FAQs)
Cons
- No telephone support line
Social Trading
Degiro has no social trading features at this time.
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Cons
- No community forum
- No copy-trading or other social trading features
Corporate Actions
A corporate action is a change in a company that affects its shareholders. Some corporate actions give investors a chance to participate and have a say. If you hold a stock which is taking part in one of these corporate actions, Wealthyhood says it will endeavour to give you a heads-up that you can participate, but stops short of offering a firm reassurance on this.
T&cs say: Although we may inform you about significant corporate actions or related rights and obligations through the Wealthyhood app if deemed necessary, please remember it is your responsibility to proactively gather information about these rights, duties, and corporate actions. Wealthyhood is not obligated to notify you of every such event and is not liable for any damages, losses, or expenses incurred due to unawareness of these corporate actions or related rights and duties.
Pros
- Does notify shareholders of voluntary corporate actions
- Dividends are usually paid quickly
Cons
- Doesn't guarantee that you will always be notified - places responsibility with account owner
More info 
Fact Checked 
Disclosure 
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Verdict 
Fees: 
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Trading Platform: 
Account Opening: 
Research: 
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Education: 
Customer Service: 
Social Trading 
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Corporate Actions 
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