Trading 212 ETF portfolio experience

Trading 212* provides an innovative, zero-commission investing platform that’s available online and via their mobile app.

Trading 212 fees

It couldn’t be simpler: you pay nothing to invest in ETFs on Trading 212*. There aren’t any platform fees. There aren’t any trading fees. There is a 0.15% currency conversion charge. However, that’s easy to avoid simply by investing in the many GBP-denominated ETFs available. You can also use Trading 212’s multi-currency account to invest directly in an ETF’s home trading currency. USD, EUR, Swiss Francs and good old GBP are all supported. Also beware that there’s a charge of 0.7% if you deposit more than £2,000 via bank cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. But again, there’s an easy workaround. You can fund your account for free via bank transfer. Finally on fees, there’s no charge for investment account transfers or cash withdrawals.

Trading 212 ETF savings plan

An ETF savings plan enables you to automatically invest in the ETFs of your choice. Trading 212’s automated investment feature is called Pies. A pie is a diversified portfolio of ETFs. You can invest from £1 per day, week, or month for no charge as described in the ‘Trading 212 fees’ section above. Brilliantly, Trading 212 facilitates fractional investing. That means you don’t have to worry about finding the money to buy an entire share of your favourite ETF. You can buy a fraction of a share instead from as little as £1. You can invest in ready-made pies suggested by others, or build your own. And of course, you can automatically invest into a single ETF, too.

Investment and deposit protection

Trading 212 is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, [FRN 609146]. Moreover, Trading 212 states on its website that customer assets are protected by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for investments. The usual £85,000 limit applies. Uninvested cash is separately covered by the FSCS deposit protection scheme. In this case, the limit is £85,000 per Trading 212 partner bank. You can see what percentage of your cash is held by each bank via the app. However, if you opt in to earning interest on uninvested cash held outside of an ISA, then this money is not covered by the deposit protection scheme. Instead, your cash is held in money market funds which are not covered by the FSCS investment compensation scheme. That means a single limit of £85,000 applies to all your Trading 212 investments, but it does not include any cash lodged in money market funds. As ever, the terms of the FSCS’ investment compensation scheme do not protect against fluctuations in your investment’s market value.

Trading 212 customer support and services

Trading 212 stocks an excellent range of ETFs, and you won’t have any trouble at all assembling a diversified, low cost portfolio. You can invest in a flexible stocks and shares ISA, or a General Investment Account (GIA) but not in a pension or Junior ISA at the present time. It won’t take you long to get the hang of the app which is packed with useful and innovative features. What’s more, Trading 212 has laid on plenty of extra support in the shape of their help centre, video tutorials, active user community, and built-in social tools that enable you to follow other investors. Customer service is available via email and via chat but not over the phone. Trading 212 is well regarded for the responsiveness of its team - a commitment that’s reflected in a Trustpilot review score of 4.6 out of 5. The platform also does a good job of joining up the cash and wealth-building sides of its customers’ lives. For example, the combination of £1 minimum deposit, £1 minimum trade value and fractional investing makes it easy to invest even when money is tight. On top of that, Trading 212 typically offers competitive interest rates on uninvested cash. That’s handy, especially if you decide to sit on the sidelines for a while. Finally, the Trading 212 debit card enables you to spend uninvested cash in your account - while earning cashback into the bargain. It’s all very well thought through.

Trading 212 review summary: superb value

Trading 212* have cut their investing fees to the bone without sacrificing service. They make investing easy for beginners and experienced old hands alike, and have earned a solid reputation for improving their platform to boot.