interactive investor launches ‘ii Community’

• ii Community, a new social trading platform launched by interactive investor, enables users to discuss investment ideas, compare portfolios, and get inspiration from other investors 

• The new launch from interactive investor comes just before Talk Money Week (4th November); an awareness week which encourages people to have more open conversations about money and share experiences 

interactive investor (ii) the UK’s second-largest investment platform for private investors, and leading flat-fee platform, has just launched ii Community, a new social trading platform, exclusive to its users. The platform is free to use for interactive investor customers.  

• Invest with ii: SIPP Account | Stocks & Shares ISA | See all Investment Accounts

interactive investor continues to innovate; developing and enhancing tools that help empower its customers to become the best investors they can be. 

Accessed through a standalone mobile app, ii Community enables users to discuss stocks, compare portfolios, and get inspiration from other investor. 

Using performance data, users can benchmark their portfolio against others, monitor growth and get weekly performance reviews.  

Commenting on the launch, Lee Wild, Head of Equity Strategy at interactive investor, says: “interactive investor customers are among the most engaged and knowledgeable around, so what better way to learn than to share trading tips, ideas and experiences with fellow investors through ii Community. Users can chat with like-minded investors, bouncing off ideas and exchanging strategies. 

“The ii Community app lets ii customers discuss market trends, investment ideas and winning trades, and share thoughts on significant global events, policy changes, and economic releases. Through this active and supportive community, investors can build their confidence ready for the next phase of their investing journey.” 

An example snapshot of the ii Community app 

Investor confidence needs a boost 

interactive investor has published research on the confidence gap when it comes to investing, including a recent survey1 that found that investing is deemed too complicated (58%) and intimidating (56%) by the majority of the sample, which includes those who already hold investments. A further 46% also believe the investment process is too time consuming. 

With this in mind, ii Community aims to make investing less intimidating – creating an open forum where you can anonymously (with your chosen username) ask any questions to the community.  

Additionally, because of the range of customers within the app, all at different parts of their investment journey, users can share tips and experiences to help make investing more straightforward.  

The influence of social media   

We cannot shy away from the impact social media is having on investing knowledge/research amongst consumers. In fact, a recent interactive investor survey2 revealed that social media is continuing its rise as a useful source of investment information among the working population: almost a third (30%) now see social media as a useful information source. 

Its appeal is especially strong among those aged 40 or under, with 44% of respondents in this age group saying it was useful, and 16% identified it as their biggest influence in learning about investment, retirement and pensions.  

Lee Wild adds: “Social media is a medium that is not going away, and if used responsibly it can clearly be a valuable channel for reaching and educating people about investing. It’s something interactive investor, as a platform, takes very seriously. 

“On ii Community, we already have a number of engaged users on the platform, who are eager to use this new social platform as a tool to have open and honest conversations about their investment journey, with the aim of helping themselves and others to learn more.”