Investment Account
A fully flexible way to invest
What you need to know
Smart Investor is an execution-only service that can help you strengthen your trading capability by providing you with the latest research and market information to inform your decisions. We do not provide personal investment advice or a view on whether investments are suitable for you in light of your personal circumstances and objectives. This means you are solely responsible for the decisions you make.
Wealth Management & Investment products are provided by a separate part of the Barclays Group and we are paid a fee for discussing these products with you. See the FAQs at the bottom of the page for more information.
If you want to start using Smart Investor but are unsure about making your own investment decisions, we recommend you speak to an independent financial advisor who will be able to provide personal investment advice.
Investments can rise as well as fall and you may get back less than you invested.
Past performance isn’t a reliable guide to future performance and what’s more, when you study historical investment returns you see that they can vary significantly from year to year.
Investing is designed for the longer term, typically five years or more. There’s the potential for greater returns over the long-term, although investing comes with risk. The money you use for your investments should not come from the pot earmarked for paying the bills or from your rainy-day account for emergencies.
There are costs associated with investing that you need to know about. Smart Investor customers are charged an annual fee of 0.2% per year on the amount invested or a minimum of £4 per month. On top will be fees for buying and selling charged at £3 per transaction made online or £1 if made as a regular investment. Trades are charged at £25 each over the phone. There will be other charges to pay for the investments in your portfolio, set by the individual investment managers.
See full list of costs for Smart Investor
Disclosures to aide Financial Guides.
Frequently asked questions
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A fee will be paid by Barclays International to Barclays UK to cover the cost of introducing customers. This is needed to demonstrate both parts of Barclays are operating at “arms length” as separate businesses which is needed to satisfy ring-fencing rules.
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Barclays UK will be paid for the costs associated with introducing customers to Barclays International plus a mark-up of around 10% of these costs. The fee will not be taken directly from any amount customers pay to Barclays.
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What is the Barclays ring-fencing structure? Our ‘ring-fencing’ structure was introduced in 2018 to protect clients’ deposits if the Investment Bank failed.
There’ll be no change to the protection of our clients’ deposits as their bank accounts won’t change, and will continue to be provided by BBUKPLC, i.e.
- Before 1 May 2023 - all client bank accounts are booked in the ring-fenced bank (BBUKPLC)
- From 1 May 2023 - all client bank accounts will remain booked in the ring-fenced bank (BBUKPLC)
The only change here is that instead of Barclays Investment Services Limited being owned by BBUKPLC, it’ll be owned by BBPLC from 1 May 2023.
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The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invest. Tax rules can change and their effects on you will depend on your individual circumstances.
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