ii Friends and Family - where have people been investing?
1st December 2021 14:36
by Jemma Jackson from interactive investor
We reveal the most-bought investments during the pilot.
- Sustainable investments sit alongside the UK’s favourite investment trusts and funds, and BP is the sole direct equity
Last week, interactive investor, the UK’s second-largest DIY investment platform, launched Friends and Family. For just £5 extra a month, ii customers can each gift up to five people a free subscription to ii.
It might not be the most obvious stocking filler but it could prove to be the most lucrative one over the long term, and comes backed up with free regular investing and engaging educational content.
Referred customers can invest up to £30,000 each. Above this amount they will move on to the standard Investor Plan (£9.99 per month).
The launch comes after a year-long pilot, which found that almost half (47%) of people who opened an account as a result of being referred were under the age of 35. But where have they been investing?
Scottish Mortgage (LSE:SMT), the Vanguard LifeStrategy range andFundsmith Equity are as popular with these new customers as they are with ii’s wider customer base.
But it is interesting to see two sustainable funds making the top 10 – Baillie Gifford Positive ChangeandBMO Sustainable Universal MAP Growth. The latter is one of ii’s six Quick-Start Funds for beginner investors (with the full suite of Quick-Start Funds being the BMO Sustainable Universal Map range and the Vanguard LifeStrategy 20%, 60% and 80% range).
Moira O’Neill, Head of Personal Finance, interactive investor: “Most investors who join us through Friends and Family are at the early stages of their investment journey. But we see them making sensible choices – choosing well-diversified global funds and investment trusts from some of the nation’s best-known and most-loved fund management groups. Four fund management groups – Baillie Gifford, Vanguard, BMO and Fundsmith - dominate the top 10 most-popular Friends and Family investments.
“Friends and Family is essentially about passing on knowledge – choosing a great value platform, with a trusted provider and with good quality educational tools to help people get started. It also means that customers can get guidance and support for the people they care about - without it all being on them. It’s a great gift that can get people into good investing habits for years to come.”
Most-bought investments during ii Friends and Family Pilot (referrals who joined ii during the pilot)
FUND/ INVESTMENT TRUST |
About Friends and Family
It means that five friends and family can each join ii without paying a monthly subscription fee (otherwise £9.99 per month for ii’s core Investor plan). The offer comes with free regular investing, the full range of investments and exclusive, engaging educational guidance and support.
Key features of Friends and Family
- Just £5 allows customers to cover the monthly fee of up to 5 people, who can each join ii with no monthly fee.
- Any introduced customers are not charged a monthly ii platform fee.
- Regular investing is free (funds, investment trusts, ETFs and popular UK shares); other trades are charged at ii’s standard rates - trading credits are not available
- They can invest up to £30,000 each. Above this amount they will move onto the standard Investor Plan (£9.99 per month).
- They can each open an ISA, GIA and as many JISAs as they have children.
- Simple linking process
- Friend and family accounts are separate and private.
- Engaging content to help Friends and Family get started.
- They get access to ii’s full range of investments from the whole of market, or can choose from select lists of independently rated funds from ii’s Super 60, ACE 40, model portfolios and the Quick-Start range for beginner investors.
Interactive investor research by Opinium found that more than half (53%) of UK adults (2,000 respondents) prioritised the passing on of financial education skills to younger generations over passing on wealth. Just under a fifth (18%) thought wealth was the most important commodity to pass down.
It’s a view that increases with age – 59% of the over 55s prioritised passing on financial education skills over wealth.
Opinium research for interactive investor
Which do you think is most important to pass on to younger generations?
Gender | Age | Parent | ||||||
Total | Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Parent | Non-Parent | |
Passing on financial education skills | 53 % | 50 % | 57 % | 49 % | 50 % | 59 % | 55 % | 50 % |
Passing on wealth | 18 % | 23 % | 13 % | 23 % | 19 % | 13 % | 19 % | 16 % |
Neither of these | 13 % | 15 % | 11 % | 13 % | 13 % | 13 % | 11 % | 16 % |
Don’t know | 16 % | 13 % | 18 % | 14 % | 18 % | 15 % | 15 % | 17 % |
Notes to editors
Opinium research was conducted between 2 to 5 November 2021 between 2,000 nationally representative UK adults.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.