AJ Bell Youinvest Review
This AJ Bell Review…
Written by:
Michael Englefield
Content Manager at Drewberry
Founded
1995
Company Overview
Founded in Manchester in 1995, AJ Bell has grown over the past decades to become one of the UK’s largest providers of online investment platforms and stockbroker services. AJ Bell has more than 180,000 clients and manages in excess of £40 billion in assets.
AJ Bell is split into and operates under four distinct brands:
- AJ Bell Youinvest
- AJ Bell Investcentre
- AJ Bell Platinum
- AJ Bell Securities
This review deals with AJ Bell Youinvest’s platform, products and services, including the AJ Bell SIPP or self-invested personal pension, which was the first online SIPP launched back in 2000.
AJ Bell Youinvest was formerly known as Sippdeal. It’s a direct-to-consumer platform offering a low-cost SIPP, ISAs and a Dealing Account to meet a variety of investment needs.
Reviewing AJ Bell Youinvest’s Range
AJ Bell Youinvest SIPP
- Start an AJ Bell Youinvest pension from just £1,000 OR £25 per month
- Start a new pension or transfer an existing one into an AJ Bell Youinvest SIPP
- Invest up to £40,000 per year into your pension and get pension tax relief on contributions
- No setup fees, contribution fees or charges for transferring to an AJ Bell SIPP
- Fees are levied on a sliding scale depending on amount invested, starting at 0.25% and falling to 0.05%
- No charge on fund values of £2m+
- There are also underlying charges, dealing charges, income drawdown charges and others – please see the AJ Bell’s SIPP charges page for the latest figures
- Eligibility to invest in a pension depends on personal circumstances. Pension tax rules are subject to future change.
- This is a capital-at-risk product, so the value may fall as well as rise. You could get back less than you invested. Pension rules apply.
AJ Bell Youinvest Dealing Account
- Start saving into your AJ Bell Dealing Account with a minimum deposit of £500 OR from just £25 per month
- Choose a wide range of investments, including the FTSE 350, a selected range of funds, exchange-traded funds and investment trusts
- Choose your own investments, use AJ Bell’s Favourite Funds list, or leave it entirely up to AJ Bell’s specialists by investing in AJ Bell passive funds
- Fees for holding funds are tiered based on the value of the funds held, starting at 0.25% per year, with no charge for the value over £2m
- 0.25% per year fee on shares held, capped at £7.50 per quarter
- Underlying charges, dealing charges, fees for transferring out and other fees apply – see the AJ Bell Youinvest Dealing Account charges page for the latest figures
- This is a capital-at-risk product, so the value may fall as well as rise
AJ Bell ISA (Stocks & Shares)
- Open an AJ Bell ISA with a single contribution of £500 OR £25 per month
- Start a new ISA or transfer an existing one into an AJ Bell Youinvest ISA
- As with all ISAs, add your ISA allowance every year (currently £20,000 in the 2018/19 tax year)
- Pay no tax on any dividends or capital growth
- No setup fees, contribution fees or charges for transferring to an AJ Bell ISA
- Fees for holding funds are tiered based on the value of the funds held, starting at 0.25% per year, with no charge for the value over £2m
- 0.25% per year fee on shares held, capped at £7.50 per quarter
- No charge on fund values of £2m+
- Underlying charges, dealing charges, fees for transferring out and other fees apply – please see the AJ Bell’s ISA charges page for the latest figures
- This is a capital-at-risk product, so the value may fall as well as rise. You could get back less than you invested. ISA rules apply
AJ Bell Investment Solutions Explained…
AJ Bell Youinvest Pension
- Save for your retirement with the AJ Bell pension and pay in up to £40,000 each tax year
- You may be able to pay in more than £40,000 if you have unused annual allowance from previous years
- Get pension tax relief on contributions at your highest marginal rate
- Minimum single contribution of £1,000 or start investing from £25 per month
- Invest in shares; unit trusts and open-ended investment companies (OEICS); government and corporate bonds; permanent interest-bearing shares; warrants and covered warrants; investment trusts; exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded commodities.
- Start a Junior SIPP to get your children on the road to retirement saving
- Invest of a solely self-selection basis, or use AJ Bell’s Favourite Funds list to help choose the right investments for your pension. Alternatively, if you want to leave it to AJ Bell specialists, select from AJ Bell’s Passive Funds.
AJ Bell Stocks & Shares ISA
- As with all ISAs, save up to £20,000 in a tax year into your ISA and pay no tax on any returns you make
- Transfer existing ISAs to the AJ Bell Youinvest platform
- Minimum single contribution is £500 or start investing from just £25 per month
- Invest in shares; unit trusts and open-ended investment companies (OEICS); government and corporate bonds; permanent interest-bearing shares; investment trust; exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded commodities
- Access to a wealth of investment tools, videos, research and, for customers with more than £4,000 in their account, free access to AJ Bell’s Shares magazine
- Invest on a solely self-selection basis, or use AJ Bell’s Favourite Funds list to help choose the right investments for your ISA. Alternatively, for those who don’t wish to pick their own investments, there is the option to use the AJ Bell Passive funds.
AJ Bell Youinvest Dealing Account
- Open an account in just 10 minutes
- Manage and monitor your account online and research your next purchase using AJ Bell’s market tools
- Deal on the go with AJ Bell’s mobile app
- Open a Dealing Account on behalf of a child
- Access to a wealth of investment tools, videos, research and, for customers with more than £4,000 in their account, free access to AJ Bell’s Shares magazine
- Invest of a solely self-selection basis, or use AJ Bell’s Favourite Funds list to help choose the right investments for your account. Alternatively, if you want to leave it to AJ Bell specialists, select from AJ Bell’s Passive Funds.
AJ Bell Charges and Fees
AJ Bell Charges | AJ Bell SIPP Fees |
|---|---|
No setup fee | |
Annual Custody Charge – Funds | |
First £0-£250,000 | 0.25% |
Next £250,000-£1 million | 0.1% |
Next £1 million – £2million | 0.05% |
Value of £2 million+ | No charge |
Annual Custody Charge – Shares | |
0.25% (capped at £25 per quarter) | ISA |
No setup fee | |
Annual Custody Charge – Funds | |
First £0-£250,000 | 0.25% |
Next £250,000-£1 million | 0.1% |
Next £1 million-£2million | 0.05% |
Values of £2 million+ | No charge |
Annual Custody Charge – Shares | |
ISA | 0.25% (capped at £7.50 per quarter) | Dealing Account |
No setup fee | |
Annual Custody Charge – Funds | |
First £0-£250,000 | 0.25% |
Next £250,000-£1 million | 0.1% |
Next £1 million-£2 million | 0.05% |
Value of £2 million+ | No charge |
Annual Custody Charge – Shares | |
0.25% (capped at £7.50 per quarter) | |
Other fees and charges – including dealing fees – apply. Use the links above to visit AJ Bell’s product charges pages for more details.
Is AJ Bell Right for Me?
- The AJ Bell Youinvest platform offers a very low-cost way to manage your investments in ISAs, pensions and general dealing.
- AJ Bell offers a wide array of investment options that you can choose on a self-select basis, or opt for investment choices from AJ Bell’s Favourite Funds List. Alternatively, for those who don’t wish to pick their own investments, AJ Bell offers access to passive funds that track the markets.
- AJ Bell offers drawdown direct from its SIPP
- AJ Bell Youinvest offers no advice alongside its product ranges. For that, you’ll need to discuss your options with an appropriately-qualified financial adviser, such as one of the team at Drewberry.
Anything Else I Need to Know About AJ Bell?
- As with all UK investment providers, investments in AJ Bell are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £50,000.
- AJ Bell Youinvest won awards in the Best Online Pension Provider and the Best Online Investment Platform categories at the Consumer Investment Awards 2018.
- Also in 2018, AJ Bell Youinvest won the Best SIPP Provider Award at the City of London Wealth Management Awards; the Self-Select ISA Provider of the Year award at the ADVFN International Financial Awards; and the Best Direct Platform 2018 award at the Platforum Awards.
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