If you use Barclays Direct Investing, there\u2019s good news: the bank has scrapped its monthly customer fee entirely. That means it\u2019s now completely free to hold any investments on the platform \u2013 no ongoing charge just for having your portfolio sitting there.<\/p>\n
Complex fee structures have long been a headache for investors. It\u2019s often tricky to work out exactly what you\u2019re paying and to compare one platform with another. By removing this customer fee, Barclays is aiming to make investing simpler and more affordable, lowering one of the biggest barriers for people thinking about getting started in share trading.<\/p>\n
Recent research from Barclays underscores why this matters. Low fees and charges are the single most important factor when UK adults choose an investment service \u2013 cited by 39 per cent of people. That highlights how cost can be the make-or-break issue in whether someone feels able (or confident enough) to begin investing.<\/p>\n
Sasha Wiggins, Chief Executive of Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management, put it this way:<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Barclays, we are committed to making investing more accessible for everyday investors. Whether someone is experienced or just getting started, investing should feel relevant and within reach. By removing our Direct Investing customer fee, we are helping to make it more straightforward for people to take the next step and invest with confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why this could help close the investment gap<\/p>\n
Cash savings have their place \u2013 they\u2019re great for building an emergency buffer and providing financial resilience, but over time, inflation quietly eats away at the real value of money sitting in cash.<\/p>\n
Barclays\u2019 analysis shows that over the past 20 years (based on chosen comparators), the real value of cash would have fallen by about 40.5 per cent. By contrast, invested funds would have grown by 21.61 per cent over the same period. That\u2019s a stark reminder of the opportunity cost of staying out of the market for too long.<\/p>\n
Barclays\u2019 long-running Equity Gilt Study, which tracks different asset classes, reinforces this. Shares have historically outperformed cash over two-year periods 70 per cent of the time \u2013 and that rises to a striking 91 per cent over 10-year periods. Of course, past performance isn\u2019t a guide to the future, and markets can go down as well as up, but the data illustrates why many people eventually decide to put some money to work in investments.<\/p>\n
What the change means for you in practice<\/p>\n
Portfolio holders: Previously, customers paid 0.25 per cent on balances up to \u00a3200,000 (and 0.05 per cent above that). So someone with a \u00a350,000 portfolio will now save \u00a3125 a year.<\/p>\n
ISA investors: A customer putting \u00a320,000 into funds inside an ISA would previously have paid \u00a350 a year in customer fees. Now it\u2019s \u00a30.<\/p>\n
Fund dealing: There\u2019s still no fee from Barclays for buying or selling funds on the platform. The only ongoing cost is the fund manager\u2019s own annual charge (the OCF).<\/p>\n
Shares, ETFs, bonds and trusts: The \u00a36 fee per trade remains unchanged. But because the customer fee has gone, the overall cost drops. Example: Someone with \u00a310,000 in shares who makes six trades a year would now pay \u00a336 in trading fees, compared with \u00a361 previously \u2013 a \u00a325 saving. (Foreign exchange fees may still apply if you\u2019re trading international shares.)<\/p>\n
No exit penalties: There are no fees if you decide to leave the platform.<\/p>\n
Overall, this move is part of a broader industry trend towards simpler, more transparent pricing. For many everyday investors, it removes one more layer of friction \u2013 making it easier to get money invested and keep it there without worrying about an extra annual bill just for holding assets. As always, it\u2019s worth checking the full terms and considering your own circumstances (and perhaps speaking to an adviser) before making any investment decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you use Barclays Direct Investing, there\u2019s good news: the bank has scrapped its monthly customer fee entirely.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21264],"tags":[3343,27720,27719,22986],"class_list":["post-56642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barclays","tag-barclays","tag-barclays-direct","tag-fees","tag-isas"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116696391495944597","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}