In the UK, Interactive Investor is a reputable stock broker with a background reaching back to 1995. They are a well-known brand among UK traders and one of the most popular options in the industry, with a stellar regulatory track record and UK FCA monitoring.
Here, we'll examine the broker's offerings in a non-nonsense fashion so you can quickly decide if they satisfy your demands in many of the crucial areas to take into account when choosing a stock or trading broker.
Interactive Investor Review — Overview
Positives — Lots of pricing plans for all traders, solid selection of mutual funds, both a browser and mobile platform, FCA-regulated.
Drawbacks — Fees can be greater than some competitors, and no desktop platform is available.
Trust Level: High
Never compromise on this point. Your chosen broker must always offer a trustworthy and safe trading environment.
Interactive Investor meets that benchmark, and they take trust extremely seriously.
You’ll find a proven track record of adhering to regulations, and the FCA in the UK has continuously monitored them since they first started doing business. With strict compliance regulations in place, the Financial Conduct Authority is a top-tier regulator and one of the leading players in international financial regulation.
This strongly suggests that you can put your trust in the broker regarding its upholding of standards in the markets. They have been in business since 1995, and in their current configuration since 2003, with no significant problems or breaches of confidence reported. Even though their trading system does not now support 2-factor authentication, it is safe and protected in general.
Furthermore, as Interactive Investor is a UK-based business that is subject to FCA regulation, you will also be covered by ICF insurance, which will safeguard your money up to £85,000 in the eventuality that there are any unanticipated problems with the company's finances.
Investments Available: Competitive Range
Interactive Investor offers a range of products, with a pricing plan based around which accounts you have and how much money you hold in them.
When you open your account, you’ll automatically start on one of their ‘Essentials’ prices plans. If the total value of your accounts rises above the plan's limit, you’ll be upgraded as needed. Their plans start from £4.99 a month and go as high as £29.99.
In addition to trading accounts, Interactive Investor also offers ISA and SIPP accounts. What types of accounts you are interested in plays a part in determining the monthly fees.
If your sole interest is a trading account, then there are three plans to be aware of:
The “Investor Essentials” plan is the first fee arrangement design. Your transactions on UK/US shares, funds, ETFs, bonds, and gilts will cost £3.99 each, while transactions on overseas stocks will cost £9.99 each. This has a set monthly charge of £4.99. The Investor Essentials plan allows you to invest up to £50,000.
The second plan is the “Investor” plan, and it has a fixed monthly price of £11.99, with much the same UK/US shares costing £3.99 each trading and overseas stock trades (learn more… Stock Trading Apps) — costing £9.99 per transaction. The Investor plan has no limit in how much you can invest, and also offers 1 free trade per month, as many Junior ISAs as you have children, and up to 2 family members can join for free.
The third pricing option, dubbed “Super Investor”, has a fixed monthly charge of £19.99. This plan has everything on the Investor plan, but also offers 4 free trades per month, a lower international trading fee of £5.99 per transaction, and up to 5 family members can join for free.
Altogether, these choices, along with the industry-standard fees and charges, give you a wide range of customisable options to choose from based on your personal trading preferences. Additionally, the dealer does not impose any withdrawing, depositing, or inactivity fees.
Platform: Solid, but…
Interactive Investor provides a unique trading system that may be accessed through a browser or mobile. There isn't a desktop app offered.
You will discover that the browser trader looks good and is simple to use, and is all-around user-friendly. When picking assets from the available order kinds, the simple search bar feature comes in handy.
These orders include “Good till date” ones and “fill or kill” ones that are not the typical ones you may anticipate. The software offers a wide range of plotting features and indicators that will be useful to more seasoned traders.
Expect your platform interaction on a smartphone to be comparable. Once more, it is simple to use and intuitively organized, and it offers comparable functionality to the webtrader platform. Use either an iOS or Android device to access the Interactive Investor mobile version.
Service: Decent
If you require support from Interactive Investor's customer care, you will find them to be quite useful and competent. You can reach the support staff via call / email. Their customer service over the telephone is outstanding, and the lines normally connect swiftly.
Emails are also immediately responded to with pertinent, beneficial replies to your queries.
The customer service team may be reached from 7:45 Am until 5:30 PM GMT. However, this does rule out 24-hour help, and at present, there is no live chat feature. All things considered, the company provides excellent assistance.
Learning Resources: Excellent
Any investing journey should include ongoing learning, so finding a brokerage that can support your drive to learn is quite beneficial. On this subject, Interactive Investor has a bunch of great information. Along with informative and often updated instructional articles and videos, there are investing interface guides that walk you through each stage of the procedure.
These materials are intended for both novice and experienced traders who wish to keep developing and enhancing their trading abilities and expertise. Additionally, you could benefit from the broker's demo account, which comes provided. It's a money-free way to study or practise trading methods.
Interactive Investor Review: UK Verdict
Overall, Interactive Investor offers UK stock traders a superb marketplace.
Many traders rely on their stellar track record, which is supported by high-calibre regulation and extensive experience in the field.
Second, they provide a reputable, user-friendly proprietary trading platform that gives exposure to their wide variety of assets.
A reasonable pricing structure and the chance to further your growth with some top-notch resources provide strong backing for these fundamental ideas. Together, you can see why the UK stockbroker Interactive Investor is a popular option.
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