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Barclays Smart Investor investment platform review
In this article
- Is Barclays Smart Investor any good?
- What do customers say about Barclays Smart Investor?
- How much does Barclays Smart Investor cost?
- What can you invest in with Barclays Smart Investor?
- Is Barclays Smart Investor good for ethical investors?
- Is your money safe with Barclays Smart Investor?
Is Barclays Smart Investor any good?
In our latest customer satisfaction survey, Barclays Smart Investor received a customer score of 74% for its stocks and shares Isa, putting it joint 9th out of 25 providers.
Stocks and shares account users gave Barclays Smart Investor four out of five stars for how easy it is to use and overall customer service.
Barclays Smart Investor is one of the cheapest platforms for investing in funds, especially for amounts below £50,000, but customers only gave it an average three stars for value for money.
It offers a very poor interest rate on uninvested cash – just 1.26% AER. It doesn't charge fees on cash though.
The minimum investment to use the platform is a £50 a month regular investment.
Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an investment platform before committing to any financial products.
- Find out more: Best investment platforms in the UK 2025
Barclays Smart Investor stocks and shares Isa scores in more detail
| Aspect of service | Star rating |
| Customer service | |
| Ease of use | |
| Information on investments | |
| Value for money |
What do customers say about Barclays Smart Investor?
Comments from Barclays Smart Investor customers that took part in our survey include:
- ‘It has improved since launch, although the platform still feels that things have been bolted on.’
- ‘I find they give so much help and have so many resources, and it helps you to learn. There are guides to making smarter investment decisions.'
- ‘Quite a good website, but their search facility for finding stocks is poor. They lack a complete set of search parameters, for example, I can’t find a way of of searching stocks by yield.’
Visit Barclays Smart Investor to find out more about its accounts, services and investment options.
How much does Barclays Smart Investor cost?
There's no difference in fees whether you're investing in a Barclays Smart Investor stocks and shares Isa or general investment account.
Platform annual charge:
- 0.25% of the value of your portfolio up to £200,000
- 0.05% over £200,000
Trading charge:
- £6 for buying and selling shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), investment trusts, bonds and gilts
- No trading charge for funds, or regular investing
Foreign exchange charge:
This applies to each trade of investments denominated in another currency, for example US stocks, on top of fund and trading charges.
- 1% on first £5,000
- 0.75% on the next £5,000
- 0.5% on next £15,000
- 0.25% on next £225,000
- 0.1% on amounts over £250,000
How much would I pay to invest with Barclays Smart Investor?
We've estimated the cost of investing over a year in a Barclays Smart Investor stocks and shares Isa, assuming that you make four purchases and four sales each year.
Costs will vary depending on how much you invest and whether you trade funds or shares.
| Amount invested | Annual fund charges | Annual shares, ETFs and investment trusts charges |
|---|---|---|
| £5,000 | £13 | £61 |
| £10,000 | £25 | £73 |
| £25,000 | £63 | £111 |
| £50,000 | £125 | £173 |
| £100,000 | £250 | £298 |
| £250,000 | £525 | £573 |
| £500,000 | £650 | £698 |
Table notes: Annual charges include platform fee and any trading charges. We have not included other charges that might apply, such as foreign exchange fees or fund management charges that are levied by fund managers, as these vary depending on the specific investments you hold. Fund management fees can range from less than 0.1% for some passively managed 'tracker' funds, to 1.25% or more for actively managed funds or investment trusts.
If you're thinking of using Barclays Smart Investor to take an income from your pension in a drawdown plan, read our comparison of pension drawdown charges.
- Find out more: Compare investment platform fees and charges
What can you invest in with Barclays Smart Investor?
Barclays Smart Investor accounts and services
Find out more about Barclays Smart Investor by using the links below to view their accounts and services:
- General investment account
- Stocks and shares Isa (flexible Isa)
- Self-invested personal pensions (Sipps)
- Ready-made portfolio
Investments on Barclays Smart Investor
- 2,519 funds (OEICs, multi-asset funds)
- 221 trusts
- 1,137 exchange-traded funds
- 4,272 stocks
- 282 bonds
Correct as of January 2025
Is Barclays Smart Investor good for ethical investors?
There is an 'ESG' (environmental, social and governance) sector on Barclays Smart Investor's 'Barclays Funds List', which selects funds that the team at Barclays anticipates will provide good returns. There is a short explanation about why each fund is included in the list, which details the fund's strategy but does not show its top 10 holdings, for example.
There are no ethical or ESG options available among its ready-made investments.
- Find out more: Ethical investing explained
Is your money safe with Barclays Smart Investor?
Barclays is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
When you invest with an investment platform that's registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, your money will be ring-fenced and should be returned to you if a company goes bust - without having to wait alongside other creditors.
If ring-fencing failed, you would be compensated by the FSCS.
The FSCS will cover up to £85,000 of investments per person, per platform. You can claim for free online at www.fscs.org.uk; there's no reason to use a claims management company.
You won't be compensated for investments falling in value or if a company in which you hold shares goes bust unless this poor performance resulted from bad advice given by a regulated Independent Financial Advisor that has since gone bust.
- Find out more: How the FSCS works