Our research led us to conclude that Interactive Investor is one of the best investment platforms in the UK. You can invest in over 40,000 local and overseas stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and investment trusts.
You can do so by creating a stocks and shares ISA, a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), a general trading account, or a combination of these. Then you can enjoy the flexibility to trade from multiple accounts with different tax breaks and limits.
Who is it best for?
The platform will suit both beginners and experienced investors. The £25 minimum deposit makes it very accessible, while tax-advantaged accounts and learning resources make the platform perfect for long-term financial planning.
Investment Products
Interactive Investor offers several investment products that match the requirements of different age groups in the UK. With multiple account types and the option to invest in diverse asset classes at transparent fees, Interactive Investors could help you find the right financial balance while helping you save on taxes.
In this section, we detail the assets you can invest in using ii and the account types available with the broker.
- Option to open a shares ISA, SIPP or full trading accounts
- Access to IPOs and new issues
- Access to stock splits on day 1
- No option to invest in internationally listed ETFs/funds, cryptos, derivatives, OTC shares, or CFDs
- No spread betting options
- It doesn’t offer readymade pension plans like Hargreaves Lansdown.
Assets Available
Interactive Investor allows you to invest in a wide range of both domestic and international asset classes. Let’s see what they are:
Shares
You’ll get access to more than 40,000 UK, US, and global stocks on 17 stock exchanges. This allows you to take portfolio diversification to a whole new level. When you buy overseas stocks, you are tapping into a new market governed by different economic factors, regulations, and growth prospects.
Such dynamics could give your portfolio an edge during trying times.
Funds
With ii, access to funds becomes easier on their intuitive app or website. You have the option to choose from more than 3,000 funds.
But what kind of funds are we talking about? The ones that give you exposure to a range of companies with one investment. The money you invest becomes a part of a capital pool, which is either actively or passively managed. Generally, they are structured as unit trusts or open-ended investment companies (OEICs).
Active funds could be costlier to invest in and often have premature exit loads since these are companies managed by professional fund managers. Passive funds track a stock market index, where investors receive units representing holdings of the fund. These are cheaper to invest in.
Interactive Investors’ Super 60 investments offer exposure to three asset classes that are equities, fixed-income bonds, and alternatives such as real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Investment Trusts
Investment trusts also diversify your investments into several companies. However, unlike OEICs, these are closed-ended, listed firms with a fixed number of shares. They invest in the shares of other companies, fixed-income securities, or property. As listed, an investment trust’s shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Share prices then move based on supply and demand.
The underlying assets could be securities, debt, property, or mixed assets designed to cover a wide range of investors. Investors in a trust proportionately share the gains or income as well as the losses.
You’ll find 600 investment trusts on ii.
Exchange-Traded Funds
On Interactive Investor, you have access to more than 1,000 ETFs. They are cheap to invest in and can be easily traded on stock exchanges. With ETFs, you could go beyond traditional allocations. You could invest in a predetermined index that tracks environmental shares, mixed asset classes, or the popular FTSE 100 index. ETFs are passively managed and, hence come cheap.
How do index funds work? They follow an index and take positions in the underlying assets in the same weights as that index. It helps to know that you avoid stamp duty fees on ETF buying since it's cleared by the ETF.
If you're interested, we also list the best brokers to buy index funds as well as the best index funds to invest in.
Bonds and Gilts
Interactive Investor allows you to select up to 37 bonds and 59 gilts. Bonds or gilts are debt issued to raise money and are often deemed safer investments.
The UK government issues gilts to raise money for economic development, while corporations could float corporate bonds to raise funding. Investors are paid a regular income, which could be monthly or biannually, for a certain duration. The coupon rate is determined during the issue.
Venture Capital Trusts
VCTs were launched to promote investments in nascent-stage firms via lucrative tax advantages to investors. VCTs offer a 30% tax break for investments up to £200,000 a year, for shares held for five years. What’s more, there are tax-free dividends and no capital gains tax on profits from selling VCT stocks.
VCTs are complex, high-risk/reward products that generally attract the wealthy who have either reached their pension contribution limits or are running out of annual dividend tax allowance.
Derivative Products
As of now, ii doesn’t allow you to participate in the derivatives market or facilitate spread betting. You also don’t have access to crypto investments, commodities, contracts for difference trades (CFDs), globally listed ETFs or mutual funds, and even Russian-sanctioned stocks.
Market Reach
With ii, you have access to an array of global investments on the market. You can trade shares on 17 international exchanges worldwide, covering most developed economies.
In North America, you can buy shares in the US and Canada. In Europe, you have access to the local shares of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, and The Netherlands. In the East, you can access shares listed in Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Know that you can only place phone orders for trades in Sweden and Switzerland.
Given ii’s access to global markets, they can offer you access to new shares and stock splits on the first day. For trading in overseas markets from the UK using ii, you pay 1.5% in forex fees for up to £25,000 when you trade in pounds. The good news is that this fee goes down as your transaction size grows.
Also, trading US shares will cost you £3.99 per trade, and up to £9.99 for other countries.
Account types
Interactive Investor allows you to open up to seven types of accounts. These are as follows:
Stocks and shares ISA
Junior ISA
Self-invested personal pensions (SIPP)
General trading account
Cash savings account
Company account
Stocks and Shares ISA
An Individual Savings Account (ISA) lets you save up to £20,000 a year for a range of tax benefits. There are several types of ISAs. However, on Interactive Investor, you will find the stocks and shares ISA and Junior ISA (we’ll discuss this next).
You can use the shares ISA to invest in equities, bonds, funds, or trusts and not pay a penny on profits or any interest earned, including dividends. The money can be withdrawn at any time, completely tax-free. Even better, you are not required to declare your ISA on your annual self-assessment tax return. Inheriting them also is an easy process.
The low, flat fees make ii an attractive platform to open an ISA. You can open a stocks and shares ISA with the cheapest Essentials plan, but you’ll be moved up to the next plan if your investments exceed £50,000.
Just keeping cash in your stocks and shares ISA will net you 2.02% AER in interest for up to £10,000 and 4.85% for balances over £1 million.
Reinvesting dividends can be automated and can be done for under a pound. The minimum amount is £1. You can set up a monthly direct debit as well as enjoy zero trading fees with regular investing.
Junior ISA
A Junior Stocks and Shares ISA (JISA) allows you to contribute up to £9,000 annually without tax implications for your children under the age of 18. A parent or guardian can open Junior ISAs. However, anyone can add funds to it after that, which can be invested in a variety of stocks or bonds.
With Interactive Investors, you must have a stocks and shares ISA or a trading account on their Investor or Super Investor plan to take advantage of a Junior ISA. After that, you can open as many JISAs as you have children.
Self-invested personal pensions (SIPP)
A SIPP allows you to claim tax relief for contributions up to 100% of your earnings, capped at £60,000 annually. In short, for every £100 you contribute, you can claim 20% or £20 back from HMRC, if you pay tax at basic rates. Higher- and additional-rate taxpayers can claim back an extra 20% or 25% via their self-assessment tax returns.
Interactive Investor offers a Pension Essentials plan at £5.99 a month. Investors are upgraded to the £12.99 Pension Builder plan when investments surpass £50,000.
If you already have an ISA and/or Trading Account with the broker’s Investor Essentials plan, you may add a SIPP for an extra £5 a month. This way, you can invest up to £75,000 across your accounts. If you cross £75,000, you will be further upgraded to ii’s Investor + SIPP account for £21.99 every month.
You can even raise the annual upper contribution limit by carrying forward any unused annual allowance from the last three years. You earn an AER of 3.04% for cash balances of up to £10,000, and an AER of 4.85% for over £1 million in reserves.
General Trading Accounts
Interactive Investor’s general investment account enables uncapped investment across stocks, trusts, funds, and ETFs for a flat fee. You pay tax only when gains surpass £3,000 (for the 2024/2025 tax year).
This broker offers a lightweight, feature-rich trading app for investors who want to stay on top of
their trades. With a range of technical tools and expert insights, you can trade and cash in seamlessly in a secure way.
Interactive Investor also offers a joint trading account with the same benefits. All assets in a joint account are registered in both names. However, each account holder has a different password and view of any personal accounts. If you are on ii’s Investor Essentials plan, you must upgrade to take advantage of this trading account.
Cash Savings Account
If you want your idle money to work for you in a no-risk environment, you could opt for ii’s cash savings account for a minimum balance of £10,000. The upper limit is £250,000.
In partnership with FCA-regulated Flagstone, Interactive Investor taps into its cash deposit platform tech to let you choose the best deposit rates from over 25 top UK banks and building societies.
For a 3-year period, you benefit from an AER of 4.39%. For smaller durations like 18 months, the AER notches up to 4.79%. You get your money back at the end of the tenure. Note that Flagstone shares income from the interest on funds deposited via the Flagstone platform with ii.
Company account
Interactive Investor also offers a company Account to trade in the name of a UK limited firm in a range of assets. You can appoint up to four of your partners, directors, or business colleagues to place trades and manage the company account. With ii, you can also place trades over the phone.
Having a company account could unlock certain asset classes and tax breaks like claiming subscription fees as a tax-deductible expense.
There’s an additional fee of £30 a month that ii charges for operational costs in maintaining services for company accounts.
Features
Interactive Investor offers an easy-to-use mobile app that helps you store and view all information in one place. Their trading tools, vast resources, and investor newsletter help you make well-informed trades. Let’s dive into the details.
- Extensive research tools
- In-depth newsletter with a proven track record
- A knowledge centre full of educational resources
- No copy trading feature, unlike e-Toro
- No fractional shares investing available
- No spread betting or forex, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown
Trading Tools
The tools, charting features, and company financials can appeal to beginners and passive investors. Frequent traders might not find the necessary filters or parameters required to gauge markets over a short time.
Order Types
When placing a trade, you can choose from market orders, limit orders, and stop loss orders on ii. You can even set up automatic investments on the app for a hands-free investment experience. You can also cancel orders on the app, and keep an eye on the pending ones.
Stock Screeners
The platform allows you to monitor the performance of your accounts and the overall market. You can filter stocks based on financials and categories or check out ii’s curated investments list covering ethical and sustainable funds overseen by Morningstar.
When analyzing a stock, you can use charting features to customise parameters that align with your investment goals and risk appetite.
Streamlined Cash Management
You can add or withdraw cash from your nominated bank account easily from the app or website. You can even convert currency or transfer holdings from a different provider. Setting up dividend reinvestments or monthly direct debits is a hassle-free process as well.
Market Research
To keep track of your favourite assets, you can create customised watchlists, and view all account details with ease. Track market performance and details of holdings on all your accounts in simple figures and concise snippets. Make changes where necessary, but remember to consult a financial advisor when your portfolio needs an overhaul. You can even get a quote without logging in.
ii’s in-house finance experts form the backbone of its award-winning newsletter and the daily updated newsfeed. With troves of data stored in its online research centre, investors can learn about a wide range of assets, the latest developments, and macroeconomic landscapes. ii’s link with Morningstar for sourcing market data and fund management ensures real-time accuracy across the app and web platform.
Educational Materials
ii believes in financially empowering everyone. Keeping that in mind, they have simple yet detailed guides for kids, beginners, and regular traders. Right from the technical jargon to signing up and trading,
ii offers detailed insights on all major aspects of investments, taxes, and saving money. Their news section offers technical analysis of individual shares, the latest happenings, and podcasts with industry leaders.
Fees
When trading assets using a brokerage, you incur fees of different kinds. These costs might look insignificant for a single trade but can add up to a significant amount over time. This could prominently affect active traders or those dealing with large amounts of money. Here, we detail all there is to know about fees for ii when trading from the UK.
- Transparent pricing with a flat fee model
- Tiered pricing to suit a range of investors
- The regular investing service is free
- Extra trading fee for UK and US trades over £100,000
- Charges annual fees for portfolios worth over £2 million, unlike Hargreaves Lansdown
- No commission-free trading like competitors
An overview of all fee types:
Fee Type | Value |
|---|---|
Trading UK shares and funds, US shares | £3.99 per trade for all plans |
Other international shares | £5.99 per trade for the Super Investor plan £9.99 for all other plans |
Trade UK securities of over £100,000 | Additional £40 |
Trade US shares of over £100,000 | Extra 0.04% of trade value |
Telephone trades | £49 |
Failed payments or late settlement fees | £25 |
Issuing paper certificates and statements | £3 + VAT |
Cash charges on the next Day UK withdrawals | No fees |
Share certificate withdrawal | £35+VAT |
UK stamp duty | 0.5% |
UK PTM levy | £1 |
Foreign exchange margin rate | £0 - £24,999 - 1.5% of amount £600,000 and above - 0.25% of amount |
VCTs processing fees | £30 per application |
Fee By Subscription Tier:
Plan Type | Fees |
|---|---|
Investor Essentials plan | £4.99 per month |
Investor plans | £11.99 per month |
Pension Essentials plan | £5.99 per month |
Pension Builder plan | £12.99 per month |
Super Investor plan | £19.99 per month |
As you upgrade tiers, you get access to more free trades, higher investment limits, and lower fees for several services.
Interactive Investor Trading Fees
Trading fees stem from buying or selling investment products on a brokerage. Let’s understand them better.
Online Trading Fees
When you trade UK or US securities on ii, you pay a flat fee of £3.99 per trade for all plans. The amount goes up to £9.99 for all other overseas transactions, excluding the Super Investor plan that charges £5.99.
Currency Conversion Fees
When converting currencies using ii for foreign trades, a forex margin rate fee of 1.5% is applied to your trade amount for up to £25,000. The fees decline as your trade amount goes up.
Additional trading fees
You incur an extra £40 for UK trades exceeding £100,000. A 0.4% of the trade amount is charged for US trades exceeding the same amount. For trades above £25,000 in other international markets, you pay 0.1% of the trade amount. Bear in mind, these fees are in addition to the flat fee applicable to your subscription tier.
You also pay 0.5% of the trade amount toward stamp duty fees for UK buys. A £1 fee is applied as a UK PTM levy on UK equity trades over £10,000.
Fee Type | Interactive Investor | e-Toro | Hargreaves Lansdown |
|---|---|---|---|
Online dealing fees | £3.99 | No commission fees | £11.95 per trade for 0 to 9 deals £5.95 for over 20 deals |
Deposit fee | None | None | None |
Withdrawal fee | None | $5 | None |
Subscription fee | £4.99 to £19.99/month | None | Up to 0.45% (just funds & SIPPs) |
Interactive Investor spreads
A spread of 0.25% to 1.5% will be applied to trades involving currency conversion. The amount of spread depends on the transaction value and decreases as the transaction value increases.
Interactive Investor Non-trading fees
Non-trading fees could be costs of maintaining an account, withdrawing cash, and prolonged inactivity.
ii doesn’t charge any withdrawal fee if you are okay with receiving the money in pounds or euros the next day. For same-day withdrawals, you will have to shell out an extra £15. Also, you are not obliged to keep using the account for fear of inactivity fees.
Late settlements will cost you another £15. Requesting paper certificates and contract notes by post have their own costs as well. Company accounts are also required to pay £30 on top of their existing fee structure for monthly maintenance of accounts.
While VCTs could be risky, they can become costly on ii with a £30 processing charge per application.
The broker earns money in several ways.
Monthly subscription fees
General trading and non-trading fees
Forex fees
Late settlement fees as well as charges for paper documents
Possible transaction fees arising from noticeable bid/ask spreads
Usability
The ii desktop platform is simple and offers top features for long-term investors like those with families. Short walkthroughs for each feature empower investors to easily create accounts, fund transfers, and trade assets securely.
You can use the platform to get a free, quick quote or to learn the fundamentals of finance available on their research and news sections. For trading and growing investments, ii offers a comprehensive view of all your accounts and performance over time.
- User-friendly interface for beginners
- Learning guides available in a click
- Not over-crowded with products
- Peers offer advanced features for frequent traders
- A lack of structured learning content
Interactive Investor Web Trading Platform review
ii explains every product in detail while making all required regulatory, security, and fees disclosures to investors.
Multiple Language Support
Interactive Investor offers support in several languages such as German, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian.
Creating An Account
The sign-up process takes almost 15 minutes, and a decision is given to you in a day. You can easily upload documents for identity and address verifications by following on-screen instructions.
Charting
The stock charts have a minimalist touch. You can check performance over multiple timeframes or modify chart patterns and use several indicators. Several technical figures and company financials are available for regular investors.
Easy Access To Curated Funds
Interactive Investor offers access to funds created in-house and managed by Morningstar. New users can easily navigate to the Super 60 list, ACE 40 sustainable funds, Quick Start Funds, or pre-built model portfolios. The goal of these funds is to offer maximum diversification for minimal risk and decent returns.
You can fine-tune portfolio allocation based on your risk appetite and the advice of a financial advisor. This way, you benefit from the combined effect of multiple investment strategies, geographies, and asset classes.
Is Interactive Investor beginner-friendly?
The broker’s top products could best suit families seeking long-term growth. This is reflected in their web interface with easily identifiable features and a straightforward approach.
Interactive Investor Design and Navigation
The Interactive Investor website is built on a strong and secure back-end system that is capable of handling high traffic without crashing or slowing down. Fast navigation between features and watchlists could help users stay aware of current trends and market movements.
Login and security features
You can log in using your password or recovery codes. Two-factor authentication can be enabled for better protection on the app or web platform.
Search functionality
You can search for a fund really quickly using the name of the fund or its ticker symbol to access charts, financials, and regulatory documents. To track multiple assets at once, you may create several watchlists and categorize them for quick access.
Alerts and notifications
ii also allows you to set up price alerts for the price of up to 10 investments. You can tap on the portfolio icon to access price alerts in your account menu. Set the price, stock exchange, and the ticker of your stock before confirming. Alerts arrive via email or SMS.
Portfolio management
You have access to prebuilt, model portfolios that are actively managed by fund managers. ii is not a robo-advisor that could rebalance your portfolio without human intervention. However, it can automate many kinds of trades that suffice for pension plans and ISAs.
Earning reports & fees breakdowns
You can see fees for some account types right on the homepage of ii. You can click on “open an account” below the description for an ISA, trading, or SIPP account to find details of benefits, fees, and eligibility requirements. You can find security and company information and more
Interactive Investor App Review
If you want to manage your investments on the move, the Interactive Investor app could be just what you need.
Smooth functionality
ii offers a fast, responsive app interface that enables a fast sign-up process and secure deposits. Users can place different types of trades in a few taps. If you have any doubts, simply use the app to get in touch with an ii expert.
Security
The ii app allows you to secure your account with facial recognition and fingerprint locking. You can also use recovery codes for logging in.
Platform Support
The ii mobile app is supported on Apple devices running iOS 13 or higher. It also runs on Android devices with version 8.1 or higher. Existing app users with older devices can still use the app, but won’t receive future updates or features.
Latest News Feeds
In-house experts at ii ensure you have the most important and relevant information available easily on the news feed section. Read the latest news on the go or dive into technical guides when analyzing stocks or investment products in a swipe.
Customer Satisfaction & Reputation
Interactive Investors is known for its quick turnaround times for email and low wait times over phone support. Their dedicated support team is available to help you on weekdays during business hours.
- High ratings on app stores
- Multiple mediums of support
- Offers a guide to register a free complaint with the FCA-appointed Financial Ombudsman Service
- 64.77% of SIPP complaints, mostly delay-related, between July-December 2023 were upheld
- Query resolution could take weeks
- Not many details on the process of transferring assets to another provider
Safety & Regulations
Interactive Investor safeguards user data with industry-leading 128-bit and 64-bit SSL encryption protocols. It also allows users to protect their accounts using 2FA and backup codes. It is a regulated brokerage compliant with UK regulations.
Is Interactive Investor regulated?
ii is authorised and regulated by UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Is Interactive Investor Safe?
The broker has stringent policies and controls in place to ensure accurate recording of assets. Top-end encryption and multiple security levels on both the server and user end ensure protection from any bad actors. However, investors must avoid phishing scams or clicking suspicious links/emails to avoid losing sensitive data.
How is Your Money Stored?
Your money is not mixed with funds for other purposes, nor is it lent out or traded. It is deposited in separate bank accounts with statutory trust status. This is unlike a bank that will take your money and use it for mortgages, trading, or personal loans.
ii is the direct custodian for your shares. Your money is deposited across multiple banks. The first deposit is made in an initial account setup with Barclays Bank UK.
Daily Reconciliation of Data
Reconciliation of data is done every day to ensure accuracy between assets held and account records. The process is monitored by ii’s compliance teams and annually reviewed by external auditors.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Standards
Interactive Investors conducts automated checks on the personal data of new users as part of AML regulations. It also retains a copy of your data for up to six years after you have ended your contract with the broker.
Similar to UK banks, Interactive Investor, as your broker and custodian for funds, covers you under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This protects your funds up to £85,000. The protection scheme entitles you to a compensation claim by default if your financial services provider fails.
Interactive Investor Background
UK-based Interactive Investor was incorporated in 1995. With a proven track record of over two decades, the broker was finally acquired by the £3 billion investment firm Abrdn in 2022. Abrdn is a public company with a place on the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE 250 Index. It is rated BBB+ by S&P Global and Baa1 by Moody’s.
Sherry Coutu founded the brokerage nearly three decades ago. Currently, it is run by CEO Richard Wilson, who has steered the company since 2017.
Customer reviews
Having thrived in the market since the last century, ii has bagged multiple accolades and awards for its products and services.
Interactive Investor Reviews From Trustpilot
ii has a 4.7 rating out of 5 on Trustpilot based on 24,040 votes. Most reviewers praised the prompt resolution from customer support teams for complex transactions and general queries. Some even claimed the iOS app functionality has markedly improved since the merger with Abrdn.
In contrast, some called out prolonged maintenance outages and delayed price updates on the app. Several were confused with the subscription fee model
Interactive Investor Google Play Reviews
On the Android store, it was surprisingly rated 2.7 with 2,071 votes. Users complained that the app had been poorly formatted for mobile users, making it fiddly to navigate. However, others praised the variety of tools and features on the app, making it a one-stop shop for their investment needs.
Interactive Investor App Store Reviews
Interactive Investor had a 4.4 rating out of 5 based on 9,400 voters. There were several complaints about the smooth functioning of the facial recognition feature as well as the presentation style in the updated version of the app. Some even faced issues during version updates.
However, many were content with the increased app speed and steady improvement of existing features. There were hardly any complaints about security issues.
Customer service
Support Option | Timings | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|
Phone call | Between 7.45 am and 5.30 pm on all business days | 0345 607 6001 |
Direct message | Between 7.45 am and 5.30 pm on all business days | Via the app |
Contact via post | Between 7.45 am and 5.30 pm on all business days | Customer Services, Interactive Investor, 2nd floor, One Embankment, Neville Street, Leeds, LS1 4DW. |
5.30 pm to 9.00 pm (GMT) on all working days (for international trading) | +44 113 346 2309 for international calls | |
Financial Ombudsman Service | All working days | 0800 023 4 567 Or |
What Is The Support Response Time?
Interactive Investor strives to respond to complaints within three working days. Sometimes, complaints could prolong for weeks depending on the complexity. ii makes sure to send you an update by the 5th working day as an acknowledgment if there’s a delay, and follows up with regular updates.
Interactive Investors Alternatives to Consider
There are several alternatives to Interactive Investor that you may consider for your investment journey.
Hargreaves Lansdown: If you are looking for advisory services along with investment options, Hargreaves Lansdown could be a better option
eToro: More exposure to asset classes like crypto, derivatives, and CFDs is available on eToro, which is regulated by the FCA and authorities worldwide.
MoneyFarm: For a hands-off investing experience, you can choose to go with the MoneyFarm robo-advisor that comes with a human touch.
Should you invest with Interactive Investor?
If you are looking for tax breaks and have plans to save money for your children or grow your retirement funds, an Interactive Investor account could be your go-to option.
With the option to educate yourself using their trove of guides and the latest research, you stand a better chance to make well-informed, long-term decisions.
Once you have narrowed down your investment products, simply set up recurring payments and track your progress in real time. However, the broker could work on adding more technical indicators and studies for charts to suit more seasoned traders.
