AJ Bell sits between Hargreaves Lansdown and the low-cost apps. It has almost as wide a range as HL at noticeably lower prices, and its £42 a year cap on shares and ETFs is one of the lowest in the market. Here’s what it costs.
AJ Bell fees at a glance
| Charge | Funds | Shares, ETFs, investment trusts |
|---|---|---|
| ISA account charge | 0.25% (tiered, no cap) | 0.25%, capped at £42/year |
| SIPP account charge | 0.25% (tiered, no cap) | 0.25%, capped at £120/year |
| Online dealing | £1.50 per trade | £5 per trade (£3.50 after 10+ trades the previous month) |
| Regular investing | Free | Free |
| Transfer out | Free | Free |
The tiered rate on funds is 0.25% up to £250,000, 0.10% from £250,000 to £500,000, and nothing above £500,000.
What AJ Bell costs at each portfolio size
Account charges only, before dealing:
| Portfolio | Funds (ISA or SIPP) | Shares/ETFs (ISA) | Shares/ETFs (SIPP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10,000 | £25 | £25 | £25 |
| £25,000 | £62.50 | £42 | £62.50 |
| £50,000 | £125 | £42 | £120 |
| £100,000 | £250 | £42 | £120 |
| £250,000 | £625 | £42 | £120 |
| £500,000 | £875 | £42 | £120 |
| £1,000,000 | £875 | £42 | £120 |
The ISA cap on shares and ETFs applies from £16,800. In the SIPP it applies from £48,000. Fund charges stop rising at £500,000, so a £1 million fund portfolio pays the same £875 as a £500,000 one.
Funds vs ETFs: the key decision at AJ Bell
The gap between fund and ETF charges is large. A £100,000 ISA in a global index fund costs £250 a year. The same money in a global index ETF costs £42 plus dealing. If an ETF version of your fund exists, holding the ETF at AJ Bell can save you £200 a year or more.
Dealing costs work against this if you trade often. At £5 a trade, 12 ETF purchases a year adds £60. Setting up a monthly regular investment removes that cost.
AJ Bell SIPP charges
The SIPP charges the same as the ISA for funds. The difference is the cap on shares and ETFs: £120 a year rather than £42.
AJ Bell doesn’t charge for:
- Opening a SIPP or transferring a pension in
- Setting up flexi-access drawdown or taking income
- Transferring out
That makes AJ Bell one of the cheaper full-service SIPPs for ETF investors with £50,000 or more. Above that, an ETF SIPP costs a fixed £120 a year whatever its size. Compare with the other SIPPs on our cheapest platforms guide.
How AJ Bell compares
At £100,000 in an ISA:
| Platform | Funds | ETFs (12 trades/year) |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays Smart Investor | £0 | £72 |
| Interactive Investor | £71.88 + £3.99/trade | £119.76 |
| AJ Bell | £250 + £1.50/trade | £102 |
| Vanguard | £150 | £150 (Vanguard ETFs only) |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | £350 + £1.95/trade | £233.40 |
AJ Bell is cheaper than HL across the board. Barclays beats it for funds now that Barclays has no platform fee. For ETFs, InvestEngine and Trading 212 charge nothing at all, but neither offers funds or a full range of investment trusts and bonds.
Compare AJ Bell directly: AJ Bell vs HL, AJ Bell vs Vanguard, AJ Bell vs Fidelity, AJ Bell vs Barclays, AJ Bell vs Trading 212, AJ Bell vs Dodl.
AJ Bell vs Dodl
Dodl is AJ Bell’s app-only platform. It charges a flat 0.15% with no dealing fees, but you get a short list of AJ Bell funds, themed ETF collections and popular UK and US shares rather than the full AJ Bell range. Dodl’s pension can’t be drawn down directly, so if you want a SIPP for retirement income, the main AJ Bell platform is the one to use.
Is the AJ Bell ISA flexible?
No. If you withdraw from your AJ Bell ISA and put the money back in the same tax year, it counts against your £20,000 allowance again. Vanguard, Barclays, Trading 212, InvestEngine and Freetrade offer flexible ISAs.
Use the fee calculator to compare AJ Bell against every platform at your portfolio size, or read the full AJ Bell review.