Interactive Investor Reviews, Fees, Comparisons & More

Interactive investor is an award-winning online investment service where both newcomers and experienced investors can open and manage several trading accounts.

In this article, we’ll go over what the platform offers, how it works, and how interactive investor reviews rate its service.

What Is Interactive Investor?

interactive investor, sometimes referred to as ‘ii’, is the largest subscription-based, online investment flat-fee service in the UK.

It offers a wide range of investment products, including index funds, shares, bonds, gilts and investment trusts.

How Does Interactive Investor Work?

ii is one of the few investment platforms that charge a fixed flat fee. The company currently has three service plans, the lowest one starting at £9.99/month.

The fixed-fee model is great for those with medium-to-large portfolios, such as people who trade shares regularly or have over £60,000 to invest. Those with a smaller portfolio might not experience the same cost benefits and may be better off with a site that implements a percentage-based fee, like AJ Bell Youinvest.

Is Interactive Investor Safe?

Interactive Investor is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Customers’ funds are also secured by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which covers assets of up to £85,000. 

What Products Does Interactive Investor Offer?

interactive investor offers several types of accounts. 

1. Individual savings accounts (ISAs)

With ii, customers can open a Stocks and Shares ISA and several Junior ISA for one flat fee, a feature that interactive investor ISA reviews particularly praise. 

Stocks and Shares ISA

A Stocks and Shares ISA allows you to invest up to £20,000 in a variety of instruments, without paying tax on your returns. (which is just one of the many benefits of an ISA).

With ii you can open or transfer a Stocks and Shares ISA in under 10 minutes, there are no withdrawal penalties, plus the platform’s experts can provide you with ready-made portfolios and investment ideas on where to put your money.

Junior ISA

In addition to regular ISAs, ii customers can open Junior ISAs for as many children as they have, allowing you to put aside up to £9,000 tax-free every year, which your child can access once they reach 18 years of age.

2. Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs)

With an interactive investor SIPP, you have complete control over your account and the freedom to choose and manage your own investments. 

The platform gives you access to over 40,000 UK and global stocks, funds and trusts, as well as expert impartial advice on where you can invest your money. 

Best of all, interactive investor’s fixed SIPP charges means that new customers can open a SIPP for only £12.99 a month, while users who already have an ISA or Trading Account can add a SIPP to their portfolio for £10/month.

ii SIPP accounts also provide options to those who choose to move some or all their pension money in a drawdown pot. These clients can either choose their own investment or follow one of the platform’s Investment Pathways (four straightforward and low-cost investment options chosen by the company’s in-house team of experts). 

Pension Trading Account 

This account is designed for users who have a SIPP or SSAS with another provider, but link their Pension Trading Account to ii and use it to buy and sell a variety of investment products available on the platform. 

With a Pension Trading Account, you can manage all or part of your pension investments, as well as transfer some or all of them to your ii account, while all other aspects, including making contributions and updating personal details, are carried out by your regular pension provider. 

3. Trading accounts

This is the company’s general investment account that lets you invest in a wide range of products, such as UK and global shares, gilts, tracker funds, ETFs, bonds and more.

There are no upper limits to how much you can invest, which means you can opt for higher investment amounts than the limited annual ISA contribution. You can also withdraw funds whenever you like and manage your money in nine different currencies, significantly cutting down on FX costs.

ii has a flat monthly fee of £9.99, which also lets you open a Stocks and Shares ISA and several JISAs without paying any additional fees. 

On the other hand, ii’s trading account is not tax-free, which means you will have to pay tax on any gains above £12,300 a year.

Other general investment options by interactive investor include:

• Joint Trading Account, which as the name suggests, can be controlled by two individuals. Both account holders can easily access the funds and deposit certificate share holdings in both names. 
• A Company Account  allows up to four people to trade on behalf of a UK limited company. As with other trading accounts, users can trade in international and UK equities, funds, EFTs, and investment trusts, as well as claim back expenses, access certain asset classes and pay salaries in connection with pension contributions. 

4. Cash Savings Account

interactive investor’s Cash Savings account, powered by Flagstone, lets you hold your cash savings in one place. All you need to do is deposit money into the Cash Savings account directly from your nominated bank account, choose the best interest rates from more than 25 banks and building societies in the UK, and put the money in your chosen deposit accounts. 

Once the term ends, the funds will be transferred back to your holding account. 

Worth noting: Long-term investors interested in mutual funds and ETFs in particular, should take a look at what Vanguard has to offer.

How To Open An Interactive Investor Account?

To open an account on interactive investor, you need to:

1. Go to ii’s official website.
2. Find the type of account you want to open under ‘Services’ in the main menu.
3. Click the ‘Open [type of account]’ button.
4. Enter your personal and employment details, as well as tax information
5. Verify your identity.
6. Apply for an account.

Unlike Barclays and Charles Stanley Direct, which usually take between 3-7 working days to open an account, ii’s application process usually takes around 5 minutes, while registration is complete within 24 hours.

ii Review: Features

1. Investment ideas

interactive investor offers ready-made portfolios and expert advice to help you choose the best investment for your risk appetite and experience.

• Quick-start funds are ready-made portfolios that have been pre-selected by experts for newbies to investing. Based on your goals and the risk you’re willing to take, you can choose between passive and active/sustainable investing.
• ii Super 60 is basically a rated list of investment options, including a wide range of funds, ETFs, investment trusts and more. The list is regularly updated based on impartial expert reviews that look at performance, return rates, and track record.
• ii ACE 40 investments is a list of over 140 sustainable investment options, perfect for anyone who wants to get involved in ESG investing. 
• Model portfolios are five ready-made portfolios, managed by Morningstar and reviewed by ii’s team of experts. You can choose between growth or income options, as well as active and passive investments.

2. Easy transfer of accounts

Interactive inventor allows you to transfer all your investments to the platform, including Cash ISAs, pensions, shares, funds and ETFs. 

The entire process is quite simple; the only downside is that you won’t be able to withdraw your pension while the transfer takes place.

3. Mobile app

interactive investor also has a slick and easy-to-use mobile app that enables you to use the platform’s services while out and about. 

What can you do with the ii mobile app?

• Manage your account(s)
• Search for investment products 
• Keep up-to-date with the latest news
• Create watchlists that let you keep track of shares and funds right in the app.

More than one online interactive investor app review has praised its straightforward and intuitive design as well as the number of features the app provides.

4. Advice & education

The platform really goes all out to help new investors get their bearings. 

To that end, ii has a demo account (research account) available for newcomers, maintains a ‘Knowledge Centre’ where you can find useful educational materials such as podcasts, relevant articles, webinars, and general educational videos, and has a set of investment ideas that can make it easier to manage your finances.

That said, Barclays also has an extensive knowledge hub which could provide invaluable advice to new investors, although it lacks some of ii’s other features.

5. Security

Users can log into their account with their username and password, but interactive investor also offers an extra layer of safety, including a two-step verification login and biometric authentication, both on the website and the app.

6. Live pricing

With Quotestream, you can get real-time access to market data, analytics and research on up to 30 portfolios of up to 300 symbols each. You can customise your stream by changing colour and font settings or implementing custom layouts that will help you get organised and start creating your portfolio. 

7. Shareholder voting & information

Since 2021, interactive investor clients can vote at company annual general meetings and have a say in the way the company they have invested in is being managed. You will be notified when you are eligible to place your vote, although this is not mandatory by any means. 

8. ii  regular investing

With this feature, users can top up monthly (from as low as £25) instead of investing a lump sum at once. This way you are less at risk if the market is going through a rough patch, while at the same time increasing your chances of making a bigger profit. 

9. Dividend reinvestment

With interactive investor you can reinvest the dividends you receive for just 99p per trade. ii lets you set up automatic dividend reinvestment for most UK shares, ETFs and investment trusts. 

10. Order types  

Placing orders in the app or on the website is a quick and easy process. Once you’ve set up a trade, all you’ll need to do is click on ‘order list’ in the ‘trading’ menu.

Some of the types of orders available include market, limit, stop-loss, as well as limit orders, such as fill or kill and good ‘til Date (GTD).

Interactive Investor Fees

One of the platform’s major selling points is that it charges a flat fee for all trades, which means you can open several trading accounts and ISAs without paying additional interactive investor ISA fees. 

The company has three service plans to choose from:

Other fees include:

• Buying or selling UK shares over the value of  £100,000: 0.04% of trade value
• Buying or selling international shares over the value of £25,000: 0.10% of trade value
• Extended settlement (buy orders greater than T+2): £5
• Telephone trades: £49
• Foreign Exchange fees, ranging  from 0.25% to 1.5% 
• Urgent withdrawals (UK, EUR and other currencies): £15
• Share certificate withdrawal: £35 (+VAT)
• Failed payments or late settlement: £25
• ​​Operational costs for Company and Trust Accounts: £30 a month

UK taxes and levies apply as does financial transaction tax in the countries where you buy and sell international stock.  For the full list of fees, take a look at the interactive investor site. 

Worth noting: Investors with portfolios up to £50,000 could pay less in fees with Hargreaves Lansdown, another great ii alternative.

Deposits and Withdrawals 

You can fund your account via debit card or by monthly Direct Debit. If you want to add non-sterling currencies, you can do so via bank transfer. 

Withdrawals, on the other hand, are only possible via bank transfer. 

The cash will be transferred to your account the same day if you requested it before 2 pm. Otherwise, you will receive the funds in two working days. There is an urgent withdrawal option as well, although this costs an additional £15.

To withdraw funds:

1. Log into your account and select ‘Cash & Transfers’.
2. Click ‘Withdraw/Transfer Cash’.
3. Click the ‘Withdraw/Transfer Cash’ button for the bank account you want to transfer the funds.
4. Enter your bank account details.
5. Enter the amount.
6. Click ‘Check and Preview’.
7. You will receive an SMS to confirm your payment.

Worth noting: To withdraw funds in other currencies, you will need to pay a fee of £15. ii lets you withdraw funds in euros, US dollars, Canadian dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Singapore dollars, Australian dollars, Swiss francs and Swedish krona.

Interactive Investor Customer Support

Customers can also reach ii’s customer support via

• Live chat (only available to those with an existing account).
• Phone: (0345 607 6001). The lines are open Monday to Friday.
• Post: at ‘interactive investor, 2nd floor, One Embankment, Neville Street, Leeds, LS1 4DW.’

interactive investor also maintains a Help Center and Customer Hub, which can give you answers to the most common questions. 

Ii’s support team is highly-rated, although if you are looking for a company whose customer service is second to none, consider Charles Stanley Direct

Interactive Investor Reviews

interactive investor has a 4.7-star rating on Trustpilot based on 20,626 reviews, most of whom have positive comments about the helpful customer service, efficient procedures and the features the platform offers.

Bottom Line 

interactive investor is a top-notch investing platform that offers a variety of accounts, fair pricing, and flat fees. The best part about this platform is that it has excellent investing tools that can help both amateur and experienced investors create a portfolio that matches their needs