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Cashback deals from Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor and InvestEngine are set to close on 30 April so this is your last chance to take them up.
The most cashback you can bag from a single account is £5,000, if you open an investing account with InvestEngine* – but you’ll need to deposit a cool £2million to get that amount.
Hargreaves Lansdown* is paying up to £8,000 if you were to open both an Isa and a Sipp, while Interactive Investor* has laid £3,000 on the table.
You need to have a large pot of investments to get these maximum levels. Both Interactive Investor and InvestEngine ask for a whopping £2million to hit their highest tiers of cashback. Hargreaves Lansdown requires a comparatively low £1million to earn the top £4,000 from one account.
But the lower tiers can still be lucrative. Hargreaves Lansdown will pay £200 if you have £20,000 to invest, which is a good rate of return for cashback at 1 per cent.
It’s important you don’t use the availability of deals alone to choose an investment platform. Make sure the service suits you – for example, that you won’t pay over the odds in fees and it has the right range of investments for your needs.
Investment platforms regularly run deals to encourage you to sign up
How do the cashback deals stack up?
Investing platforms run a flurry of deals at tax-year end to encourage investors to switch.
Some have already closed and this trio is next to shut their doors on 30 April.
You should check how long each platform requires you to remain invested before it pays cashback.
InvestEngine offers the top amount for new customers*
You can earn the most cashback from InvestEngine, which is paying up to £5,000. It also requires the smallest amount to get started. A £5,000 contribution will net you £25.
New customers can earn cashback on both deposits and transfers into Isas and self-invested personal pensions (Sipps). Existing customers won’t be eligible for cashback on new Isa deposits, but otherwise it’s the same.
InvestEngine is focused on simplicity. It has a streamlined choice of investments, only offering a range of exchange-traded funds – there’s no individual stocks and shares.
When I reviewed InvestEngine I liked its straightforward approach and felt that the platform could be particularly suited to novice investors.
Deadlines: You need to deposit money or initiate a transfer by 11.59pm on 30 April. The bonus will be paid to your InvestEngine account within 21 days of the funds landing and you must keep your money invested for at least 12 months.
You need to opt-in to the deal by using the online sign-up form.
> Find out more about cashback and open an account at InvestEngine*
Hargreaves Lansdown has a good level of cashback at lower tiers*
Hargreaves Lansdown is probably the UK’s best-known investment platform and its cashback deals work out well if you don’t have as much to invest.
It’s running two separate deals – one for an Isa* and one for a Sipp* – meaning you can potentially earn £8,000.
But it’s unlikely that many will be able to hit that amount, with £1million needed for each account.
You must have a minimum of £10,000 to deposit or transfer into either an Isa or Sipp. This can’t be made of £5,000 into an Isa and £5,000 into a Sipp – £10,000 is the minimum to qualify per account.
A £10,000 pot will net you £75 – compared with £50 from InvestEngine and zero from Interactive Investor.
The rate of cashback is better if you have £20,000 because this gets you £200 – but it doesn’t step up again until you have £100,000, which pays you £750.
Watch out for the fact that you need to opt-in to the deal by using a sign-up form or contacting the platform – you won’t get cashback automatically.
The platform controversially changed its fees in March. While the headline account fee dropped to 0.35 per cent the account fee cap for shares in an Isa or general investment account increased to £150. Read more in our Hargreaves Lansdown review.
Deadlines: The offer ends at 11.59pm on 30 April, by which time you need to have deposited money or applied to transfer. If you need more time to transfer, you can contact the platform by the deadline and ask for an extension which gives you until 30 July to apply to transfer.
> Find out more about cashback and open an account at Hargreaves Lansdown*
Interactive Investor is a good platform if you prefer flat fees*
Interactive Investor’s deal requires £20,000 to get started, on which you’ll earn £100. This is the least on that amount, compared with £110 at InvestEngine and £200 at Hargreaves Lansdown.
However the platform’s flat subscription fee works out as more cost-effective than Hargreaves Lansdown for larger portfolios, so it’s a good example of looking beyond cashback to make sure that fees won’t cost you in the long run.
Interactive Investor charges £5.99 a month for portfolios of up to £100,000 and £14.99 a month above that. In our Interactive Investor review we said that the platform is competitive in terms of fees while still offering very good customer service and investment research.
| Portfolio size | Hargreaves Lansdown annual account fee | Interactive Investor annual account fee |
|---|---|---|
| £10,000 | £35 | £71.88 |
| £20,550* | £71.93 | £71.88 |
| £30,000 | £105 | £71.88 |
| £50,000 | £150 | £71.88 |
| Simple example based on published account fees, assumes someone invests in shares and ETFs rather than funds, and doesn’t factor in trading fees. *Included to show the region that Interactive Investor starts to become more cost-effective in terms of account fees. | ||
Deadlines: You must deposit money or apply to transfer by 30 April. The transfer needs to complete within a year and you’ll get your cashback within 30 days of qualifying, but you need to hold your investments for 12 months.
> Find out more about cashback and open an account at Interactive Investor*
We have a guide to the best investment platforms to help you choose an account.
You can also read our guides to the best stocks and shares Isas and the best Sipps.
SAVE MONEY, MAKE MONEY
4.51% cash Isa
4.51% cash Isa
Trading 212: 0.91% fixed 12-month bonus
£5,000 cashback
£5,000 cashback
1% cashback up to £5,000 when transferring
6% cash Isa
6% cash Isa
Includes 2% boost for three months
Earn up to £3,000
Earn up to £3,000
£100-£3,000 cashback for joining
£20 gift card
£20 gift card
Open a Plum Isa and hold £1,000 for 90 days
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