What are Ready-made Investments?
Ready-made investment funds are ideal if you’re new to investing, short on time, or would prefer an expert to manage your investments for you. The money you put in the funds is invested across a range of assets, countries and companies, which gives you opportunity to grow your money.
Our five Ready-made Investment funds have different risk and reward levels which allow you to choose what’s right for you. All you have to do is select a fund based on the level of risk and reward you’re comfortable with and leave the rest to us.
Managed for you
These funds are managed for you by our investment experts.
Decide your risk
Our five funds have a different risk and reward level which allows you to choose what’s right for you.
Low-cost
We keep our fees low to help your money grow.
Start from £50
Make a one-off payment or set-up a regular monthly Direct Debit from just £50.
Investments can fall as well as rise so you might not get back what you invest. If you’re unsure which investments are right for you, please seek independent advice. Tax rules can change, and any benefits depend on your circumstances.
Choose your Ready-made Investment
Thousands of customers are signing up to invest through Smart Investor
“I’m now investing monthly to build up my investments going forward”

Alison, 56, Lancashire.

A simple, low-cost fee structure
Customer fee
0.25% p.a.
on balances between £1 and £200,000
0.05% on balances £200,000 and over
Buying & selling shares online*
£6
per trade**
Free to trade funds online
*Including ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts
**£25 per trade by telephone. Taxes may apply when buying shares. A foreign exchange and an international brokerage fee will be charged when trading international shares.
Get started in 3 steps
1. Choose your account
Whether you’re looking to invest in a tax-free ISA, build a retirement pot or just want a general investment account, we have a solution for you.
2. Decide how much to invest
Choose how much you want to invest and how often. You can start from £50 by setting-up a monthly regular investment instruction or through a one-off lump sum investment which you can top-up further at any time.
3. Pick your fund
Our five funds have a different risk and reward level which allows you to choose what’s right for you.
Ready-made Investment FAQs
No, Ready-made Investments can be suitable for anyone lacking the time or expertise to pick individual stocks or those who are looking for instant diversification.
Within these diversified funds investments are spread across a range of assets, countries and companies which helps smooth returns and hopefully provides a better opportunity for growth.
Some may view Ready-made Investments as a great first investment as you can buy a completely diversified portfolio managed by an expert, in just a few steps.
Your Ready-made Investments can be bought and sold just like other funds. Simply log in to your account and click ‘sell’ next to the fund you no longer wish to hold. Funds deal daily and your holding will be sold at the next available dealing point.
The proceeds from your sale will be available to reinvest on your Smart Investor account as soon as the details of your sale are confirmed, or after four working days the money will be available for you to withdraw to your current account.
There are two types of fund units. Income units distribute any interest or dividend income from the fund directly to you. An accumulation unit is designed to offer you growth in the fund, so any income will be kept in the fund and reinvested, raising the value of your investment.
The funds lower down the risk scale (Defensive, Cautious and Balanced) offer both income and accumulation units. If you purchase income units and would like income to be paid directly to your bank account, you can arrange this through your Smart Investor account by logging in to your account and changing your preferences within your investment settings.
The higher risk portfolios (Growth and Adventurous) are focused on generating capital growth and are only available as accumulation units.
All the Ready-made investments put your money in a mixture of shares, bonds, and cash, which gives you instant diversification to help protect against stock market falls, but the proportion they hold in each differs between the funds.
To decide which of the five options is most suitable for you, you will need to consider your attitude to risk. Are you more comfortable taking a lower risk approach? Or are you happy to take a bit more risk in the hope of potentially higher returns?
The timescale for your financial goals is also important. Most investors are happy to take on more risk when they are investing for longer time frames, usually five years or longer.
There is no need to choose just one of the Ready-made investments. You can divide your portfolio between as many as you wish and add other funds, shares, and bonds to create a portfolio that’s just right for you and your goals.
Yes, you can buy as many as you wish.
You may have different goals for each of your accounts and therefore different attitudes to risk for each. For example, you may be willing to accept more risk with your self-invested personal pension (SIPP) if retirement is many decades away than within your ISA which could be used for shorter term goals such as a house purchase in five years’ time.
These different goals may mean different Ready-made Investments are more suited to different accounts.
Alternatively, you may find more than one of the Ready-made Investments is a good fit for your plans and so a combination would provide the best portfolio for you.
Important information
Lines are open from 7:30am to 7:00pm Monday to Thursday, 7:30am to 6:00pm on Friday, and closed during weekends and public holidays. To maintain a quality service, we may monitor or record phone calls. (Return to reference)