In the back
[ PLATFORMS & PENSIONS ]
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interactive investor
Now the second-biggest platform
in the UK, ii has been running model
portfolios for almost a decade, but they
are getting harder to find on its site.
ii takes a slightly different
approach insofar as it only offers
four portfolios: growth and income
options, with an active and passively
managed version of each.
The active portfolios have eight
funds and the passive alternatives
contain seven. ii mixes it up with
investment trusts, too.
Funds are sourced from its Super 60
heavily researched shortlist. Behind
this is a robust investment committee
and selection process.
The big beef I have with these is the
cost for a relatively small portfolio,
such as a £20,000 ISA investment.
If I invest my allowance in the active
adventurous portfolio, my first year’s
costs are going to be £63.92 to buy eight
funds, with a £119.88 annual platform
fee and £224 in fund charges. That is
much higher than the other portfolios.
ii’s fixed price model is great for
larger portfolios, but it doesn’t work
well for multiple fund-buys and
small investment amounts.
The Share Centre
The Share Centre has gone the whole
hog with its own range of three multi-
manager funds which come in cautious,
balanced and adventurous versions.
Even better, they come in income and
accumulation variants.
They are run by the platform’s in-
house investment team and have the
benefit of being actively managed on
your behalf, meaning that you don’t
have the chore of rebalancing the
funds yourself.
TRUSTNET
The funds have been around
for almost 12 years, so have a
demonstrable track record which has
been positive, if not remarkable. But
that’s just fine by me.
Overall, The Share Centre offers
a straightforward and painless
process, with a fund cost of 1.62 per
cent (£324 per annum), and it looks
like there are no other charges to
pay (for example platform or dealing
fees) on these portfolios.
All of the portfolios help budding
investors take that first step onto
the ladder and get them into a well-
diversified selection of funds.
Although there are no stand-
out providers, I like the ongoing
simplicity and process of Bestinvest’s
ready-made portfolio, which invests
in a decent portfolio on an ongoing
basis at an acceptable cost.
trustnet.com