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CMC Invest vs AJ Bell 2023

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

April 19, 2023

Is CMC Invest better than AJ Bell? After scoring the best share dealing accounts across 46 different variables, our analysis finds that CMC Invest is better than AJ Bell. CMC Invest offers commission-free trading of U.K.-listed shares and U.S. equities via a mobile app only. Though a newer entrant to the U.K. share dealing market and currently somewhat limited, it’s powered by global contender CMC Markets, making it likely that its offerings will expand.

Select Brokers

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  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAJ Bell
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxBarclays
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital.com
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCMC Invest
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxDEGIRO
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxeToro
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFineco Bank
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFreetrade
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHalifax
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHargreaves Lansdown
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxIG
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxInteractive Brokers
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxInteractive Investor
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxLloyds Bank
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxSaxo Markets
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxTrading 212

Compare

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Overall Rating CMC Invest AJ Bell
Overall Rating info 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 2.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 0.5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Research 3/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4/5 Stars N/A
Education 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Review CMC Invest Review
Winner check_circle
Investments CMC Invest AJ Bell
ISA info Yes Yes
SIPP info No Yes
Share Trading info Yes Yes
CFD Trading info No No
Funds info Yes Yes
ETFs info Yes Yes
Bonds - Corporate info No Yes
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info No Yes
Investment Trusts info Yes Yes
Spread Betting info No No
Crypto Trading info No No
Advisor Services info No No
Trading Fees CMC Invest AJ Bell
Minimum Deposit info £0.0 £0.0
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info 0 £9.95
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info 0 £4.95
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info 0 £4.95
5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £82.5
12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £161.4
36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £400.2
120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £636
3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 £79.5
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info 0 info 0.25% (max £3.50/ month for shares)
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info 0 info 0.25% (max £3.50/ month) for shares; 0.10% for funds between £250,000 and £1m
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info 0 info 0.25% (max £3.50/ month) for shares; 0.10% for funds between £250,000 and £1m
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info 0 info 0.25% (max £3.50/ month) for shares; 0.10% for funds between £250,000 and £1m; 0.05% for funds between £1m and £2m;
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info N/A £9.95
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info N/A £9.95
ETFs - Fee info 0 £9.95
Investment Trusts - Fee info 0 £9.95
Telephone Dealing Fee info 50 £29.95
Platforms & Tools CMC Invest AJ Bell
Web Platform info No Yes
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Stock Alerts info No No
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 0 10
Charting - Drawing Tools info 0 1
Charting - Notes info No No
Charting - Display Corporate Events info No Yes
Charting - Stock Overlays info No Yes
Charting - Index Overlays info No Yes
Research CMC Invest AJ Bell
Research - Shares info No Yes
Research - CFDs info No No
Research - Funds info No Yes
Fund Research - Research Reports info No Yes
Research - ETFs info No Yes
Research - Bonds info No Yes
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown info No Yes
Education CMC Invest AJ Bell
Education (Share Trading) info Yes Yes
Education (Funds) info No Yes
Education (Retirement) info No Yes
Client Webinars info No No
Client Webinars (Archived) info No Yes
Overall Summary CMC Invest AJ Bell
Overall Rating info 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 2.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 0.5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Research 3/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4/5 Stars N/A
Education 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Review CMC Invest Review
Winner check_circle
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Comparing online share dealing platforms side by side is no small task. For our 2022 review of U.K. brokers, nearly 600 data points were collected over a 10-week period and used to score each broker. Let’s compare CMC Invest and AJ Bell.

CMC Invest vs AJ Bell Comparison

For our 2022 Review, we assessed the best trading platforms in the UK for online share dealing. Let's compare CMC Invest vs AJ Bell.

Is CMC Invest a good broker?

CMC Invest offers commission-free trading of U.K.-listed shares and U.S. equities via a mobile app only. Though a newer entrant to the U.K. share dealing market and currently somewhat limited, it’s powered by global contender CMC Markets, making it likely that its offerings will expand.

Is AJ Bell a good broker?

AJ Bell Youinvest offers a mediocre trading platform and decent research tools, including in-house articles and videos. Ultimately, AJ Bell struggles to deliver value in the UK market against brokers that offer a better platform at a lower price point.

Which broker is less expensive?

Alongside the cost per trade, most UK online brokers also charge a monthly, quarterly, or annual management fee, which varies based on the account type and balance. Based on our thorough review, CMC Invest offers better pricing than AJ Bell for share dealing.

Assuming a £30,000 portfolio size, here are the total annual costs for share dealing with both brokers, given different monthly activity scenarios.

5 trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £82.5 per year.

12 trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £161.4 per year.

36 trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £400.2 per year.

120 trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £636 per year.

3 fund trades per year - CMC Invest would cost £0.0 per year, while AJ Bell would cost £0.0 per year.

How do CMC Invest and AJ Bell compare in terms of minimum deposits required?

CMC Invest requires a minimum deposit of £0.0, while AJ Bell requires a minimum deposit of £0.0. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 CMC Invest charges annual custody fees of 0, while AJ Bell charges annual custody fees of 0.25% (max £3.50/ month for shares).

Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?

CMC Invest offers investors access to ISA, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs and Investment Trusts, while AJ Bell offers investors access to ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts) and Investment Trusts. Neither have CFD Trading, Spread Betting, Crypto Trading and Advisor Services. Investing encompasses a wide variety of asset classes, so finding a broker that offers every investment type you are interested in is important.

Do CMC Invest and AJ Bell offer ISA or SIPP accounts?

Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) and individual savings accounts (ISAs) are tax-advantaged savings accounts that are an important tool for many individual investors. You can read more about how these accounts operate at Gov.UK: Click here for SIPP information and here for ISA information. Our analysis finds that CMC Invest offers traders access to ISA accounts, while AJ Bell offers traders access to SIPP and ISA accounts.

Do CMC Invest and AJ Bell offer cryptocurrency?

In our analysis of top brokers for share dealing in the U.K., we research whether each broker offers the ability to trade cash cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and ethereum, which is still a somewhat rare offering amongst major U.K. brokers. Our review finds that neither CMC Invest and AJ Bell offer crypto investing.

Which broker offers better research?

Our testing concluded that CMC Invest is better for research than AJ Bell. CMC Invest offers more research options, including research reports, articles, and analyst ratings.

Which trading platform is better?

To compare the trading platforms of both CMC Invest and AJ Bell, we tested each broker's website, trading platform, trading tools and stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that CMC Invest offers a better share dealing platform and CMC Invest offers a better stock app for mobile trading.

Do CMC Invest and AJ Bell offer educational resources?

Educational offerings are of particular importance to those who are newer to investing, and we examine the availability of several different types of educational materials in our analysis. Our research finds that CMC Invest offers traders access to Education (Share Trading), while AJ Bell offers access to Client Webinars (Archived), Education (Share Trading), Education (Funds) and Education (Retirement). Neither have Client Webinars.

Overall winner: CMC Invest

Read Next: Best UK Trading Platforms 2022


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