On the surface, it is easy to categorise investment trusts as you would open-ended funds. After all, both are collective investment vehicles, which give you access to a range of securities overseen by a fund manager. However, investment trusts are companies and as such investment platforms treat them as they would any other stock. 

This has its advantages. For starters, it gives you more providers to choose from. Certain platforms, such as Trading 212, do not offer funds but they do let you buy investment trusts. It could also save you money. Traditional platforms, such as AJ Bell, typically offer lower fees for portfolios holding investment trusts than for portfolios which hold funds. 

Recent changes 

The platform landscape has remained broadly unchanged over the past year. However, providers have made some small tweaks that could influence your portfolio choice.  

Halifax, for example, has altered how it charges for its Sipp. Previously, you were charged a flat fee of £90 for portfolios under £50,0000 and £180 for portfolios over £50,000. This has now been replaced by a 0.25 per cent fee, capped at £16.50 per month. The change makes it a more expensive option for larger portfolios, as you could be charged up to £198 a year if you reach the capped threshold. However, for small portfolios the platform will now be cheaper. 

Elsewhere, iWeb has removed its £100 one-off account opening fee. The platform has ended its pension partnership with AJ Bell, and existing Sipp account holders have been transferred to a Scottish Widows Sipp. Consequently, Sipp admin fees have been waived until November 2028. Following this date the Sipp fee regime will be changed to a percentage fee offering. In the meantime, iWeb is not accepting new applications for Sipp accounts. 

Barclays Smart Investor is also not accepting new Sipp applications currently as its team is developing a new product offering. 

Meanwhile, earlier this year, IG introduced free trading for investment trusts, making it a good option for frequent traders.

Aside from this, the low-cost end of the platform market has contracted over the past year following the closure of ShareDeal Active and X-O. The businesses were sold to Interactive Investor last year.

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Fee decisions

For cost conscious investors, there are a number of platforms which charge no annual fees for holding investment trust portfolios. If you want to hold investment trusts in your Isa or general investment account (GIA) then options without an annual fee include Interactive Brokers, iWeb and Trading 212. Meanwhile, Hargreaves Lansdown, Fidelity and Freetrade offer GIAs (but not Isas) without an annual fee.  

However, keep in mind that the money you save by not paying for a GIA could quickly be cancelled out by your capital gains tax liability if you have a large portfolio. It’s best practice to only use a GIA once you have used up your £20,000 Isa allowance. 

It’s also worth factoring in that a free account could come with other costs. While some of these options, such as Hargreaves Lansdown and Fidelity, are legacy brands with comprehensive service offerings, others will offer a more pared back service, reflective of their price. For confident investors this may not be a problem, but others might prefer the extra support offered by more established players. 

In addition, you need to consider your preferred portfolio make-up; some platforms such as iDealing and Trading 212 do not offer open-ended funds. Whether you want to hold your portfolio in a Sipp or in an Isa will also affect your costs, as typically it is more expensive to hold investment trusts in a pension than in an Isa. 

As a final point, it’s important not to forget about trading fees as these can quickly rack up, particularly if you are a frequent trader. 

“Most platforms will charge to trade investment trusts which can also be vastly different – as little as £0 for some digital services and as much as £12 for others,” Chris Bredin, consultant at The Lang Cat, says. 

If you have a smaller amount of assets, these charges could quickly make up a sizeable percentage of your portfolio’s value. While investment trusts are not designed to be traded often, it’s worth factoring this in. For example, for a small portfolio worth £15,000, platforms such as Fidelity and Hargreaves Lansdown would charge you £165 if you made 10 trades over the course of a year, putting them at the more expensive end of the spectrum. 

Portfolio size 

Your portfolio size will also be a significant factor as to how expensive a platform will be for you overall. As the table below demonstrates, Bestinvest is a reasonable option for smaller sized portfolios. However, it quickly becomes one of the most expensive choices for larger pots. A similar pattern occurs with Trinity Bridge (formerly known as Close Brothers Asset Management). This is worth keeping in mind as your portfolio grows. 

Conversely, some providers such as Fidelity and Hargreaves Lansdown are more expensive for smaller portfolios, but become significantly better value the larger your portfolio gets thanks to their capped fee structure. 

Platforms such as AJ Bell, Freetrade and iWeb, which offer capped fees for all or most platform sizes, are normally a cheaper option regardless of whether your portfolio goes up or down in value, giving you some welcome price consistency. 

Platform service 

It’s worth repeating that selecting a lower-cost offering could mean that you lose out in other ways. While some of the established brands are on the more expensive end of the spectrum, they typically offer more extensive customer support, as well as access to investment research. 

“Another factor which comes down to individual preference is the financial strength and backing of the provider,” Athena Peberdy, research analyst at Boring Money, says. “With cyber crime on the rise, some investors may shy away from newer firms offering lower fees, instead favouring the perceived stronger governance and security of larger, more established brands,” she adds. 

It is therefore always worth bearing in mind how all these factors interact when selecting an investment platform. And if a provider no longer suits your needs or if your investment strategy has changed, do not be afraid to shop around.