A new tax year has arrived and for investors who are feeling brave amid market turmoil, it could be an opportunity to buy while the stock market is on sale.
A fresh £20,000 annual Isa allowance has landed and starting early and investing through the year can pay off, rather than leaving things to the last minute.
Stock markets sank last week as Donald Trump announced his US tariffs, but you could consider lower share prices as offering an opportunity to buy while investments are cheaper.
Investing legend Warren Buffett has long advised being greedy when others are fearful and there’s certainly a lot of fear around right now.
For investors keen to get money into an Isa but worried by uncertainty, it’s also possible to pay cash into a stocks and shares Isa and then drip feed it into investments.
But with so many different accounts on offer, how do you pick the right one for you?
I’ve been writing about investment platforms for almost two decades and have tried out many of the main players, these are my things to consider – and some tips to get the best deal.
Buy the dips? Investing legend Warren Buffett advises being greedy when others are fearful
Investment platforms
Investing offers a fantastic opportunity to make your money work harder and investment platforms and apps make it easy to do.
Whether sitting at your desk, relaxing on your sofa, or taking advantage of a quiet moment in your lunch break, they let you buy and sell investments or keep an eye on your portfolio.
Investing platforms offer a simple and cheap way to tap into the profits that good companies can make and use the magic of compounding to grow your wealth over time.
Many will give you a helping hand to pick investments and if you use a stocks and shares Isa, then you can make sure tax doesn’t eat into your hard-won returns.
Why a stocks and shares Isa pays off
An Isa is a tax-free wrapper that goes round your savings or investments and protects them completely from the taxman.
So, cash Isa interest faces no savings tax and stocks and shares Isas face no capital gains tax on investment profits or income tax on dividends.
Other than the special tax-free element and an annual limit of £20,000 for money that can be paid in, a cash Isa or stocks and shares Isa is the same as a normal savings account or investment account.
Read our essential guide to Isas to learn more
What kind of investor do you want to be?
A DIY investing platform is your gateway to investing around the world at a low cost.
You can use one to buy funds, investment trusts, and exchange traded funds, and shares traded on stock markets at home and abroad.
These platforms offer easy to use desktop and mobile sites and many have apps too. In fact, some platforms are even entirely app-based.
With most investment platforms there will be information to get you started or help you along the way, but some offer more assistance than others.
This can range from details on funds and shares, to ready-made portfolios, or investment-picking tools to help you decide what to invest in.
Some DIY investing platforms are better for those who want to pick their own shares or funds, while others will help you work out your risk profile and can then suggest suitable investments for you.
Consider how engaged with investing you want to be and what sort of platform would suit you.
Picking your own investments
Platforms where you pick your own investments will usually have two costs.
The first covers the cost of having an account and is usually either a percentage of investments held or a flat fee.
For example, Hargreaves Lansdown* charges 0.45 per cent on investments, AJ Bell* charges 0.25 per cent and Interactive Investor* charges from £4.99 per month.
The second cost is a charge for buying or selling investments and this can be different depending on whether you are dealing in funds, or stock market-listed shares, investment trusts and ETFs.
Hargreaves Lansdown has free fund dealing but charges £11.95 for shares and ETFs, while AJ Bell charges £1.50 for funds and £5 for shares, and Interactive Investor charges £3.99 on all investments.
A few app-based platforms stand out for having no charges for holding an account or dealing, these include Trading 212*, InvestEngine* and Prosper*.
Some platforms will cut charges if you hold their own funds. For example, Charles Stanley Direct* ordinarily charges a 0.3 per cent platform fee and £4 for fund dealing, but has no platform or trading charges on its own multi-asset funds.
Fund charges also need to be considered by investors. Platform costs are separate to the management charges levied by funds, investment trusts and ETFs themselves. These should also be taken into account.
To work out what your total cost of investing will be, you need to consider how you will invest and all the charges you will incur.
You can find more detail and compare costs using our guide to investment platforms.
Stock picking: Do you want to choose your own investments or have someone do it for you?
Platforms that pick investments for you
If you would prefer not to choose investments yourself, platforms known as digital wealth managers offer a cost-effective way to get someone else to do the work.
The idea is that by harnessing technology, these platforms can help investors work out their risk profile and the type of portfolio that is right for them. They then provide a managed portfolio service or selection of ready-made investments.
Some of the biggest players in the market are Wealthify*, Nutmeg, Moneyfarm, Moneybox, and Netwealth.
They offer slightly different services, but the common thread is easy investing with access to professional expertise at a relatively low cost.
All-in fees for the services including fund management charges can come in between around 0.65 per cent and 1.5 per cent annually.
This is more expensive that the cheapest possible DIY platform options but tends to be cheaper than fully-regulated personalised independent financial advice or financial planning.
It is always worth comparing digital wealth managers to the ready-made portfolio options DIY investing platforms have, as they may offer a similar service at a lower cost.
Simple and cheap multi-asset funds are also an option, such as Vanguard’s LifeStrategy range and BlackRock’s MyMap funds. These allow you to choose your risk level and invest around the world in shares and bonds accordingly.
How to keep costs down
If you are starting small and only investing in funds, then a platform combining a low percentage annual fee with free fund dealing can keep costs very low.
In contrast, if you have large investments, then you may benefit from a flat fee rather than percentage-based charging.
If you plan on buying and selling regularly, then dealing charges can add up substantially, so factor that in too.
It’s worth all investors considering investing apps with no account charges and dealing fees. Investing with Trading 212*, InvestEngine* or Prosper* can effectively be done at zero cost in terms of platform or dealing charges, with only investment charges to pay. Prosper will even currently refund charges on a shortlist of selected funds.
When comparing some of the cheapest platforms, just remember they have a more limited range of investments and will seek to make money somewhere, so watch out for where the costs are. Check things such as currency conversion or any other fees.
It’s now possible to pay into multiple stocks and shares Isas with more than one provider in the same tax year, so you can try out different services. This means you could keep the bulk of your investments with your current platform and try out another, or you could run a shares portfolio separately at a free trading app, such as Trading 212.
Always consider the level of service you need. Cheapest isn’t always best, but costs compound over time and keeping them down can make a big difference in the long run to how your returns grow.
For example, This is Money calculations using our long-term saving and investing calculator show that if you invested £200 per month for 20 years and earned an average annual return of 6 per cent, you would have £92,400 without charges.
An average annual charge of 0.5 per cent would reduce this to £87,125, but a chunkier annual charge of 1 per cent would cut it to £82,200.
Check all charges carefully and think about how you will invest and whether any features really do make a platform worth paying more for.
Read More: Feeling brave? How to find the right stocks and shares Isa to grow YOUR wealth in the new