Detailed platform costs
Find out about the different charges you'll pay for buying, selling and holding investment trusts on various platforms.
The table below shows you what you’ll pay to buy, sell or hold investment trusts on different platforms. There are different types of charge:
- Core charges. You pay these for using the platform, even if you make no trades. Typically, these will either be based on a percentage of your assets on the platform, or a flat fee.
- Pension charges. You will pay these in addition to the core charges if the account you hold on the platform is a pension (SIPP).
- Ad hoc investment trust transactions. These are the charges you will pay for buying or selling (“trading”) investment trust shares on the platform. The more you trade, the more you pay.
- Regular investing charge. Some platforms offer heavily discounted trading charges if you set up a regular monthly purchase. Be aware, the investment trusts you can buy using regular investing plans may be limited to larger trusts which are easier to trade.
- Automatic dividend reinvestment fee. Some platforms allow you to reinvest your dividends automatically rather than take the income and offer discounted trading charges for this. Others do not offer this service (indicated by “N/A”).
Where parts of the table are left blank, this indicates the platform in question does not offer the relevant service, or does not offer investment trusts.
| Platform | Core charges | Pension | Ad hoc investment trust transactions | Regular investing charge | Automatic dividend reinvestment fee | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Bell | 0.25% platform charge for non-fund investment (capped at £42pa for general investment account/ISA and £120pa for pension). | No additional charge | £5 a deal reducing to £3.50 if there were 10 or more deals in the previous month. | £1.50 | £1.50 |  |
| Aviva Consumer Platform | 0.35% for first £500k, 0% after | No additional charge | £4.99 | No discount | N/A |
|
| Barclays | Value : Charge (pa) Up to £200k: 0.25% | £31.25 + VAT per quarter (=£150 pa) | £6.00 | Free | £0 | |
| Bestinvest | Value : Charge (pa) Up to £250k : 0.40% | SIPP minimum administration fee of £120 | £4.95 | Free | Free | |
| Charles Stanley Direct | There is a charge of 0.30% for investment trust investment with a minimum of £60 and maximum of £600 per year. Free £100 in trading credits per year. | £120 annual fee applies, which is waived if you hold a total portfolio (across all investment and wrapper types) of £30,000 or more. | £10.00 | No discount | N/A | |
| Fidelity Personal Investing | There is no fee for holding investment trusts in a general investment account. For holding investment trusts within an ISA or SIPP, there is a "service fee" of 0.35% capped at £90 (£7.50 a month) if you have a regular savings plan. If you do not have a regular savings plan, you will pay a flat fee of £90 (£7.50 a month). | No additional charge | £7.50 | £1.50 | £1.50 | |
| Freetrade | There are three subscription levels: Basic, Standard and Plus. All tiers have access to investment trusts, as well as the Freetrade ISA and SIPP. Freetrade Basic is free. Freetrade Standard service costs £5.99 a month. Freetrade Plus costs £11.99 a month. If paid annually charges for the Standard and Plus services are £4.99 and £9.99 a month respectively. | No additional charge | £0 | £0 | N/A | |
| Halifax Share Dealing | £36 per year charge for ISA or share dealing account. | Value : Charge (pa) 0.25% on value - capped at £16.50 pm (£198 pa) | £9.50 | Free | 2% (max £9.50) | |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | 0.35% pa for investment trusts (capped at £150 per account for general investment accounts, ISAs and SIPPs) | No additional charge | £6.95 if less than 20 trades in the last month, then £3.95 if 20+ trades in the last month. | Free if direct debit set up | Free | |
| iDealing | 20p per security per month | No additional charge | £4.99 | No discount | N/A | |
| IG | No charge | £210 a year (provided by Options UK) | £0 | No discount | N/A | |
| Interactive Investor | Core - £5.99pm for investments up to £100k: includes an ISA, SIPP and trading account Plus - £14.99pm, 1 free trade a month Premium - £39.99pm, 2 free trades a month | No additional charge | £3.99 per trade for Core and Plus £2.99 per trade for Premium | Free | 99p for Core and Plus Free for Premium | |
| Santander | ||||||
| Scottish Widows Share Dealing | No account charge. | 0.25%, capped at £16.50 per month (=£198pa) | £5.00 | Free | 2% (max £5) | |
| TrinityBridge | Value : Charge (pa) Up to £500k : 0.25% | £180 annual service charge | £8.95 | No discount | N/A | |
| Willis Owen | Value : Charge (pa) Up to £50k : 0.40% | Value : Charge (pa) Up to £100k : 0.40% SIPP plans are subject to a different core platform fee | £7.50 | No discount | N/A | |
Source: AIC/the lang cat (last update 30/01/26)
Costs at a glance
Find out how much it costs to buy, sell and hold investment trusts on different platforms.
How to invest on a platform
Find out which platforms offer investment trusts, and which allow you to invest via an ISA or SIPP.
