10 benefits of Smart Investor

4 minute read

Whether you’re new to investing or a more experienced investor, Smart Investor has lots of different tools available to help.

The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you could get back less than you invest. If you’re not sure about investing, seek professional independent advice.

What you’ll learn:

Which tools are available on Smart Investor to help you get invested
How the Barclays Funds List could help you narrow down the various investment options
How you can transfer to us in four easy steps.

Smart Investor is designed to help you achieve your investment goals, whether you’re an experienced investor or are just getting started.

Capital is at risk with any investment and you could get back less than you invest. We don’t offer personal investment advice, so if you’re unsure where to invest, you should seek professional financial advice.

In this short video, Barclays’ Savings and Investments Director Clare Francis explains more about Smart Investor and shares the top reasons to choose an account with us.

Video transcript

Whether you're just starting out in investing or are looking for a new platform to transfer your existing investments over to, Smart Investor could be for you.

It's aimed at people who want to choose and manage their own investments and we offer an ISA, Investment Account and a SIPP. We don't give personalised advice, but have lots of articles, videos and podcasts to help with your investment decisions.

There are thousands of funds available on the platform, but some people find the choice quite daunting. So to help narrow it down, we have the Barclays Funds List which is a list of around 40 funds our experts have analysed and believe offer good long-term investment prospects.

We also have a range of Ready-made Investments which can be a great option, particularly if you're not sure where to start or are short on time. There are five funds to choose from and they each invest in a mix of shares, bonds and cash.

When it comes to investing involves risk because stock markets can fall as well as rise, so there's a chance you could get less money back.

But there are ways to reduce that risk and that's where the Ready-made Investments differ.

You just need to read the characteristics of each and choose the one that sounds most like you.

You can also buy and sell shares, investment trusts, and Exchange Traded Funds on Smart Investor and we go the extra mile to try and get you the best price.

With the Barclays Price Improver, 92% of trades placed in 2020 got a better price than that quoted price on the London Stock Exchange.

If you're a Barclays current account customer, another great thing about Smart Investor is that you can see your investments alongside all of the other banking products you have with us, via your Online Banking account or the Barclays app.

You can also now buy and sell investments on the app too.

I hope that helps but there's loads more information available on our website. For now, I wish you the very best with your investment journey, whatever route you decide to take.

Here’s our rundown of the top 10 Smart Investor benefits:

1. We'll help you learn how to:

Get your finances in shape and plan your investment goals
Make the most of tax allowances
Reduce and manage investment risk. Remember – you could still make a loss.

Learn about our principles of investing

2. Stay up to date and analyse different investments in our Research Centre

Free daily company and market insight alerts to keep up to date with the latest price changes
Overviews of how different markets are performing
Fund news and comment, plus charts to help you compare investments in lots of different ways.

Visit our Research Centre

3. Fund your account, find and trade investments on the move using our handy app

If you have a Barclays current account, you can download the Barclays app to enjoy the convenience of having your investments at your fingertips
Search for, buy and sell investments wherever you are
Simply set your Barclays current account as your nominated bank account in order to fund your Smart Investor account from the app.

How to get the app

4. Hassle-free ready-made investments

A simple way to build and maintain a diversified portfolio to match your risk profile and financial goals
Our Ready-made Investment funds spread your money across a range of asset types, such as shares and bonds
Leave the day-to-day management to our experts and we’ll give you regular updates on how the funds are performing.

Please consider whether Ready-made Investments are suitable for you and if you’re not sure, seek independent advice.

Explore Ready-made Investments

5. Select from the Barclays Funds List

This is made up of funds from across key investment sectors which have been hand-picked by our investment specialists
They’re not a recommendation but they have been selected on the basis they’ve built solid reputations and are monitored by our experts.

There are, of course, a much wider range of funds you may wish to choose from and you should decide which investments are the most suitable for you.

View Barclays Funds List

6. A wide choice of investments

Access over 2,000 funds – use our filtering tool to help narrow your search
A large range of Exchange Traded Funds and investment trusts
Thousands of company shares, bonds and gilts (government bonds)
Sectors to match your interests and goals, such as impact investments that generate financial returns while having a benefit to society.

Explore the different ways to search for funds that will fit your investment goals

7. Barclays Price Improver™

With Barclays Price Improver™ we automatically get you the best price available from our selected Retail Service Providers
92.9% of qualifying deals¹ placed between January 2022 and December 2022 got a better price than that quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

Find out more about Barclays Price Improver

8. The latest insight, trends and research

Subscribe to our podcast, Word on the Street, to stay up to date with the latest news about the financial markets. Hear analysis from our investment experts about the events that have been making the headlines
We have a range of articles and videos from our experts to keep you informed on our website.
Our experts don’t provide advice but they explain the effect that economic changes have on financial markets and help you make smarter investment decisions.

Visit Investment News and Articles

9. Compare investments in lots of different ways

Review several investments side by side using our comparison tool – even when they’re different asset types
Analyse their recent performance, chart them against one another and compare them against a benchmark such as the FTSE100

You can access the comparison tool once you’re logged in.

10. Transfer to us online in four easy steps

Once you’ve opened a Barclays Investment ISA or Investment Account, move your investments across in just four steps
Simply select the provider you’re moving from and the investments you want to transfer
Confirm you’re happy with your choices and ready to proceed, then your investments can be transferred.

Transferring a cash ISA to us can take 1-2 weeks, while an investment ISA or investment account transfer can take 2-4 weeks.

Before transferring your investments, remember that you’ll need to find out about any charges, disadvantages, exit penalties, benefits you may lose or investments that you can’t transfer to us.

And if you ever decide you want to move your investments away from Smart Investor there will be no exit fee to pay and the process is also automated and managed online.

Remember, the value of investments can fall as well as rise and you could get back less than you invest. If you’re unsure where to invest, you could seek professional financial advice. When referenced, remember that past performance isn’t a guide to the future.

It’s important to read a fund’s Key Investor Information Document and factsheet before you invest, to make sure you understand the fund’s risks, charges and objectives.

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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.