Barclays Review 2020

Barclays Smart Investor provides low trading fees for stocks, ETFs, bonds, and funds. It's also great that no deposit, withdrawal, or inactivity fees are charged. On the other hand, there is a volume-based monthly customer fee for holding assets.

How we ranked fees

We ranked Barclays Smart Investor's fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let's go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Barclays Smart Investor for each asset class. For example, in the case of stock investing the most important fees are commissions.

We also compared Barclay Smart Investor's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc.

To have a clear overview of Barclays Smart Investor, let's start with the trading fees.

Barclays Smart Investor trading fees

Barclays Smart Investor trading fees are low for all asset classes compared to its direct competitors.

It's also great that the fee structure is transparent and easy to understand.

Stock and ETF trading fees

Barclays Smart Investor offers generally low stock and ETF commissions compared to other brokers we tested.

Barclays charges a £6 per trade fee for each online transaction. You can also set automated regular investments, in which case the fee is just £1 per trade. It costs £25 to initiate a representative-assisted trade by phone.

Besides, there is a so-called customer fee, which is based on the value of your assets held. The charge is 0.1% per year with a monthly minimum fee of £4 and a maximum of £125.

Fund fees

Barclays Smart Investor fund fees are low.

Barclays charges £3 per trade for each online fund transaction. The same conditions apply to regular investments and phone trades as above.

Similarly to stock and ETF fees, Barclays charges the customer fee. The charge is 0.2% per year with a monthly minimum fee of £4 and a maximum of £125.

Bond fees

Barclays has generally low bond fees.

The same fee structure applies to bonds as to stock and ETFs.

Non-trading fees

Barclays Smart Investor has low non-trading fees. You will not be charged because of inactivity, and there are also no deposit or withdrawal fees. 

For most account types, there is no administration or account fee. If you open a SIPP account, there is a separate, £125 + VAT annual pension account administration charge. This comprises the third-party administration fee charged by AJ Bell, which is collected by Barclays and paid to AJ Bell. 

Barclays Smart Investor offers a fully digital account opening with no minimum deposit. On the negative side, the account verification took long and only UK residents can open an account with Barclays.

Can you open an account?

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What is the minimum deposit at Barclays?

Barclays Smart Investor has no minimum deposit. It's great if you would like to start using or testing Barclays Smart Investor service with a lower amount. 

Account types

Barclays Smart Investor provides different account types, including tax-advantaged accounts. 

In this review, we tested the Investment Account.

How to open your account  

Barclays Smart Investor has a fully digital account opening process. The online registration took ~10-15 minutes for us. However, the account verification took more than a week for us.

The steps of Barclays account opening:

1. Add personal information, like date of birth 
2. Add further personal information, like nationality or address
3. Link your bank account to your account
4. If they manage to electronically verify your details you won't even need to provide proof of ID or proof of address.

Depositing and withdrawal is free of charge with a debit card or bank transfer and is usually processed fast. On the other hand, you can't use electronic wallets and we experienced some difficulties having different bank accounts accepted.

Deposit fees and options

Barclays Smart Investor charges no deposit fees and you can transfer money via bank transfer or debit card.

If you add funds with a debit card, the amount will be instantly visible in your account, while paying in via bank transfer can take up to two business days. No electronic wallets are available.

You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name and you need to check which accounts Barclays Smart Investor accepts. 

Barclays Smart Investor withdrawal fees and options

Barclays Smart Investor charges no withdrawal fees. You can only withdraw funds to a nominated bank account. 

How long does it take to withdraw money from Barclays Smart Investor? We tested the bank transfer withdrawal and it took 2 business days.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from Barclays Smart Investor?

• Log in to your Account
• Go to 'My Hub' and click on 'Portfolio' to get started 
• Click on the Account (if you have more) from which you want to withdraw funds
• Click on 'Withdraw' and follow the instructions
  • You need to select whether it is a one-time or regular withdrawal 
  • Set the account you want to withdraw funds from
  • Select the account where you want to transfer the funds
  • Set the GBP amount to be withdrawn and click 'Review'
• Confirm your withdrawal request

Compare to other brokers

Barclays Smart Investor has a user-friendly and well-designed web trading platform. It also offers good search functions and transparent order confirmation. However, the platform is not customizable and there is no two-step login option.

Barclays Smart Investor provides its own-developed web trading platform. This platform is available in English.

Look and feel

The Barclays Smart Investor web trading platform is user-friendly and well-designed.

On the negative side, the web trading platform is not customizable at all.

Login and security

Barclays Smart Investor does not provide secure two-factor authentication upon login. Instead, you need to give your surname, membership number, your passcode, and two random letters of your memorable word.

You need to be careful when entering these data, as too many failed logins may get you locked out of your account, resulting in a lengthy process to restore your credentials that may ultimately involve a trip in-person to a Barclays branch.

Search functions

One of the strengths of the Barclays Smart Investor web trading platform is its search capabilities. The filters are handy, allowing you to choose your asset class and define further specific search criteria. 

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Best - basically it's a market order
• Quote and Deal - similar to the market order, but you can see the Quote your order would be executed and you can accept or reject it
• Limit
• Stop
• Trailing Stop
• Regular investment.

To get a better understanding of these terms, read this overview of order types.

You can also use a Good till' date order time limit.

Alerts and notifications

We couldn't set price alerts and notifications. We found an 'Investment alerts' section under the 'News and Research', however, we couldn't make the required registration.

It would be much easier if you could set the price alerts directly if you click on an asset.

Portfolio and fee reports

Barclays Smart Investor web platform offers transparent fee and portfolio reports. You can find these reports if you click on 'Manage account'.

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Barclays Smart Investor does not offer a mobile trading platform. We think it's a big miss as customers can't follow their positions on the go.

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Barclays Smart Investor does not offer a desktop trading platform.

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Barclays Smart Investor offers stocks, ETFs, bonds, and mutual funds. Unfortunately, the product portfolio covers only the UK market and the number of available products is far from robust.

Barclays Smart Investor's product offering is quite limited compared to its competitors; in fact, it only offers UK stocks, ETFs, funds, and bonds.

Stocks and ETFs

Barclays Smart Investor gives access to the UK stock and ETF market, which, when viewed on its own, offers numerous trading/investing opportunities, but still lags behind its competitors when it comes to the overall number of stock and ETF offerings. 

Funds

Barclays Smart Investor offers approximately 2,500 UK mutual funds. The number of available mutual funds is well below what its competitors offer. 

Bonds

In comparison with similar brokers, the bond selection is average. Barclays Smart Investor provides UK corporate and government bonds.

Barclays Smart Investor provides good quantitative data, great analysis, and high-quality news. However, charting tools have poor quality.

Trading ideas

Barclays Smart Investor provides trading ideas for users in the form of 'Investment ideas' articles that can be found in the 'Investment ideas and strategies' section. These articles are written by Barclays' own expert team and present their views on recent events and what it could mean for your investments.

Fundamental data

Charting

Barclays Smart Investor offers very limited charting tools, allowing you to use only their pre-defined charting settings. Technical Indicators can be added to the charts, but the interface is poorly designed, with little to no editing or customization options. 

News feed

Barclays Smart Investor Market News is one of the strong points of the research section. You will receive an update on all London Stock Exchange corporate news and have access to plenty of insightful fast facts via Sharecast News.

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Barclays Smart Investor's customer service can be reached via chat, e-mail, and phone, we received relevant answers. However, the response time of the phone and live chat was slow and there is no 24/7 support.

You can contact Barclay's Smart Investor via:

• live chat
• phone
• e-mail

Barclays Smart Investor has an average-speed live chat and fast e-mail service. The relevancy of the answers was satisfactory, and all of our questions were answered in an understandable way. 

At the same time, phone support takes a long time to reach but when reached, we received relevant information.

We missed 24/7 availability. You can contact the customer support between Monday and Friday, from 07:30 to 19:00 (18:00 on Friday).

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Barclays Smart Investor has limited educational tools. You can read useful articles and watch general educational videos. However, there are no demo accounts, platform tutorial videos, or webinars.

At Barclays Smart Investor you can learn in the following ways:

• General how-to educational videos
• Quality educational articles

Barclays Smart Investor's educational materials mainly focus on beginners, with categories such as 'New to investing', 'Accounts explained', or 'Investments Explained'. The articles are easy to read and understand, though sometimes they can be hard to find on the site as it is not structured well. Video tutorials cover 'How to' themes like managing your investment settings, opening an account, funding your account, or using the 'Research Center'.

Unfortunately, Smart Investor does not provide demo trading.

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Barclays is regulated by the top-tier FCA and is a listed company with a banking background, providing a high level of safety for clients.

Is Barclays Smart Investor regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Is Barclays Smart Investor safe?

To be certain if a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• the background and ownership structure of the broker 

How you are protected

As a Smart Investor client, you are covered by Barclays Investment Solutions Limited, which is regulated by the FCA. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) investor protection protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of FSCS protection is £85,000.

Background

Barclays Smart Investor was established in 1992 and is the investment subsidiary of Barclays UK Bank Plc, a member of the Barclays banking group that can trace its origins back to the 17th century. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

The fact that the parent company has a banking license means that Barclays Smart Investor is also subject to tougher regulations than brokers. Moreover, Barclays is listed on multiple stock exchanges, which is a big plus for safety as it releases financial statements regularly and transparently.

Overall, having a parent company with a banking background, being listed on a stock exchange, and regulated by top-tier authority are all great signs for Barclays Smart Investor's safety.

Find your safe broker

All in all, Barclays Smart Investor is a transparent and secure brokerage held by a financially stable global UK bank and is regulated by the top-tier FCA. 

We rated Smart Investors favorably because of its low fees and the safety it provides for its account holders. 

Some of its drawbacks include a limited product offering and missing mobile trading platform, as well as slow customer support.

If you are looking for a solid, safe online broker, you can go ahead and give Barclays Smart Investor a try, as the trading and non-trading fees are generally low, the security of your funds are protected to a high level, and the account opening is fully online. 

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