Frequently Asked
Questions

Flat fee brokers (like Interactive Investor or Lloyds) charge a fixed annual amount regardless of your portfolio size. This makes them excellent value for larger portfolios but potentially expensive for smaller ones.

Percentage fee brokers (like AJ Bell or Fidelity) charge a percentage of your portfolio value, typically 0.15%–0.45%. This is cheaper for smaller portfolios but costs more as your investments grow.

There's also a third category: zero-fee brokers (like InvestEngine or Trading 212) that don't charge platform fees. They typically make money through FX spreads, securities lending, or offering a more limited range of investments.

The crossover point depends on the specific brokers, but as a rough guide: if a flat fee broker charges £72/year and a percentage broker charges 0.25%, the flat fee becomes cheaper once your portfolio exceeds £28,800 (£72 ÷ 0.0025).

For Interactive Investor (Core at £71.88/yr) vs a 0.25% fee broker, the crossover is around £29,000. Our comparison tool calculates this precisely for your situation.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects your investments up to £85,000 per person, per financial institution if your broker fails. This covers the platform going bust — not your investments falling in value (that's market risk).

Your actual investments (shares, funds, etc.) are held separately from the broker's own assets in nominee accounts, so even if the broker fails, your investments should be safe. FSCS is a backstop for the unlikely scenario where there's fraud or administrative failure.

If your portfolio exceeds £85,000, consider splitting across brokers with different FSCS entities for maximum protection.

FSCS protection is per financial institution, not per brand. Some banks operate multiple investment platforms under the same banking licence.

The most notable example: Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Scottish Widows all share the same FSCS investment protection entity. If you have £85,000 with Lloyds and £85,000 with Halifax, you do NOT have £170,000 of FSCS cover — it's £85,000 combined.

Our comparison tool warns you about these overlaps when you compare brokers side-by-side.

Stocks & Shares ISA: Tax-free wrapper for investments. No capital gains tax or income tax on returns. £20,000 annual allowance (2025/26). Most people should max this first.

SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension): Pension wrapper with tax relief on contributions (20–45% depending on your tax band). Can't access until age 57 (rising to 58 in 2028). 25% tax-free lump sum on withdrawal.

GIA (General Investment Account): Standard investment account with no tax wrapper. Subject to capital gains tax (above £3,000 annual allowance) and income tax on dividends. No contribution limits.

JISA (Junior ISA): Tax-free ISA for under-18s. £9,000 annual allowance. Child can access at 18.

LISA (Lifetime ISA): For ages 18–39. £4,000 annual allowance with 25% government bonus. Can be used for first home purchase or retirement (age 60). 25% penalty for other withdrawals.

Yes. You can have accounts with as many brokers as you like. Since April 2024, you can contribute to multiple Stocks & Shares ISAs in the same tax year, subject to the overall £20,000 annual ISA allowance. This makes it easier to use different brokers for different purposes.

For SIPPs, you can have multiple, and there's no limit on how many you contribute to in a year (subject to your annual pension allowance).

Splitting across brokers can make sense for FSCS protection diversification, or to take advantage of different brokers' strengths (e.g., one for low-cost fund investing, another for share dealing).

An in-specie transfer means moving your actual investments (shares, funds, etc.) from one broker to another without selling them first. This avoids triggering capital gains tax events and means you stay invested during the transfer.

The alternative is a cash transfer: selling everything, transferring the cash, and rebuying. This means you're out of the market during the transfer (typically 2–6 weeks) and may crystallise taxable gains.

Most major brokers support in-specie transfers, but some newer platforms (like InvestEngine) do not allow in-specie transfers out. Check this before committing to a broker if you think you might move in the future.

Platform fees (also called custody or management fees) are what the broker charges you for holding your investments. This is either a flat annual fee or a percentage of your portfolio value.

Trading fees are charged each time you buy or sell an investment. These range from £0 (free trading) to £10+ per trade. Many brokers offer free regular investing (monthly standing order purchases) even if ad-hoc trades cost money.

FX fees are charged when you buy investments denominated in a foreign currency (e.g., US shares). The broker converts your GBP and takes a spread, typically 0.15%–1.5%. This can be significant if you trade internationally.

The OCF is the annual cost of owning a fund or ETF, charged by the fund manager (not your broker). It's deducted automatically from the fund's value, so you don't see a separate charge.

A typical global index fund has an OCF of 0.10%–0.25%. Actively managed funds can charge 0.50%–1.50%. Over decades, even small differences in OCF compound into enormous differences in returns.

Use our compound interest calculator to see how different OCF levels affect your long-term wealth.

Zero-fee brokers aren't charities. Common revenue sources include:

FX spreads: Charging a markup on currency conversions (even InvestEngine charges FX on non-GBP ETFs via the spread).

Securities lending: Lending your shares to short-sellers and keeping a portion of the interest (Trading 212, Freetrade).

Premium plans: Free basic tier with paid plans offering lower FX rates or more features (Freetrade, Revolut).

Interest on cash balances: Earning interest on uninvested cash in your account.

This doesn't mean free brokers are bad — many offer genuine value. Just be aware of the trade-offs, especially around investment range and FX costs.

Fees compound just like returns — but in reverse. A seemingly small difference in fees has a massive impact over decades.

Example: £500/month invested over 30 years at 7% growth:

With 0.15% total fees: ~£556,000
With 0.50% total fees: ~£509,000
With 1.00% total fees: ~£453,000

That's a £103,000 difference between 0.15% and 1% fees. The money didn't disappear — it went to the platform and fund managers instead of compounding in your portfolio.

Try our compound interest calculator to model your own scenario.

Fee data is primarily sourced from Monevator's broker comparison table (one of the most respected independent UK investing resources), cross-referenced with each broker's own fee schedules.

We cover 25+ brokers including all major UK platforms: AJ Bell, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown, Vanguard, Interactive Investor, InvestEngine, Trading 212, and many more.

We aim to update fees whenever a major broker changes their pricing. The last update was February 2026, incorporating changes from October 2025 and early 2026.

Broker fees change periodically, so always verify current fees directly with your chosen provider before making decisions. We do our best to stay current but cannot guarantee real-time accuracy.

No. BrokerFinder is an informational tool to help you research and compare broker costs. It is not regulated financial advice and should not be treated as such.

The tool helps you understand the cost of different platforms, but choosing a broker involves many factors we can't fully account for: your tax situation, existing investments, employer pension arrangements, risk tolerance, and more.

If you're unsure, consider speaking to a qualified independent financial adviser (IFA). You can find one through unbiased.co.uk.