We are delighted to announce that with effect from 1 April 2020, we are reducing platform fees for investments on our platform of £500,000 or above. There is no change in pricing for those with less than £500,000 invested.
We currently charge a flat platform fee of 0.25% per annum, deducted monthly. From 1 April 2020, this will change to the following tiered pricing scale:
| Amount invested on our platform* | Annual platform fee |
| Up to £500,000 | 0.25% |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | 0.20% |
| £1,000,001 - £1,500,000 | 0.10% |
| Above £1,500,001 | 0% |
*We do not charge a platform fee on cash or fixed term deposits.
We want to reward clients who choose to manage theirs and their families’ investments with us by providing an option of pooling together their total family wealth for the purposes of calculating platform fees, in order to potentially benefit from a reduction in fees with our new tiered pricing structure. Complete the form below to request to link your accounts.
Frequently asked questions
FAQs
What are the new fees and when do they come in to effect?
For assets held in funds on our platform, we currently charge a flat platform fee of 0.25% per annum. From 1 April 2020, this will change to the following:
| Amount invested on our platform* | Annual platform fee |
| Up to £500,000 | 0.25% |
| £500,001 - £1,000,000 | 0.20% |
| £1,000,001 - £1,500,000 | 0.10% |
| Above £1,500,001 | 0% |
*We do not charge a platform fee on cash or fixed term deposits.
We do not charge a platform fee on cash or fixed term deposits. Other fees and charges remain unchanged. As an example, if you invested £750,000 in funds on our platform you would pay 0.25% on the first £500,000 and 0.2% on the next £250,000. Your total fee, if the value stayed the same throughout the year, would be £1,750. If you invested £2million in funds on our platform then you would pay 0.25% on the first £500,000, 0.20% on the next £500,000, 0.10% on the next £500,000 and nothing above that. If the value stayed above £1.5million throughout the year, your total fee would be £2,750.
What is a platform fee?
Platform fees cover the custody and administration of your assets held on our platform, including access to the online portal so that you can see your values, transactions, performance and documentation quickly and easily. We do not charge a platform fee on cash or fixed term deposits.
However, the primary service that we provide is actually behind the scenes in making sure that your assets are held securely, administered, invested, paid out and traded accurately. We also provide regular, quarterly reports and all the information you need to report on any tax you might need to pay – or reclaim – in relation to your pensions, dividends or capital gains*. We ensure that pensions and ISAs are administered correctly so that you get all the tax benefits you are entitled to and, as required by applicable law, all client assets held on our platform are segregated from our own.
*Capital gains tax reporting only available in our advised service.
Why are you making these changes?
Our online Self-Directed platform is currently one of the most competitively priced in the market for those with under £250,000, however, we recognise that we could be doing more for our clients with larger investment portfolios. We also understand that many of our clients are investing to achieve future family goals and want to reflect this in the way we charge our fees. As such, we are making two fundamental changes to our pricing model:
1) Moving from a flat fee, to a tiered fee, to better appeal to all levels of investment
2) Introducing the option to link accounts so that you could benefit from a reduction in platform fees; giving the ability to combine the total value of assets across both your Self-Directed and advised accounts, and for spouses / civil partners and their children to combine their total family wealth
We want to reward clients who choose to manage theirs and their families’ investments with us by providing an option of pooling together their total family wealth for the purposes of calculating platform fees, in order to potentially benefit from a reduction in fees with our new tiered pricing structure.
Who is eligible for tiered fees?
All Close Brothers online Self-Directed clients and all clients invested with a financial adviser in funds. This does not apply to clients in one of our discretionary solutions (MPS, DMS, CITS and Bespoke) as the custody and administration fees are built into the investment charge for these solutions.
How do these changes affect me?
We are reducing platform fees for investments on our platform of £500,000 or above. There is no change for those with less than £500,000 invested.
If you have other Self-Directed assets held elsewhere
Our Platform fees are calculated by taking into account the total value of investments held on our platform. The effective cost could be significantly lower when additional holdings are added or when assets held elsewhere are transferred to us. Get in touch to find out if we can accept your holdings on our platform or to find out how to transfer to us, and additionally benefit from the convenience of viewing all your investments online in one place. Our Investor Support Team are available on 0800 014 2712 and email investorsupport@closebrothers.com 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
For families
If you and your family members hold assets under our advice service or through our Self-Directed platform, you’ll be able to choose to link your accounts together in order to benefit further from these changes. Linking family accounts allows spouses or civil partners and any children’s investments to be combined for the purposes of calculating platform fees, thus potentially reducing the charge. If you would like to request us to link together any Self-Directed and advised accounts you and your family have with Close Brothers (for the purposes of calculating your platform fees only), simply fill out the form below and return to us at our FREEPOST address “FREEPOST CBAM Online Investor Support”. You will need all account holders to sign the form before returning to us.
If you have a Self-Directed account and a Close Brothers financial advisor
We recognise that many clients use more than one of our services. Going forward, if you have invested assets across our advised and Self-Directed services, the platform fee will be calculated based on the combined total value you have with us. Currently these two services are charged independently, however, as you will be able to request that we take into account your total wealth, our new tiered prices may result in a reduction in fees. If you would like to request us to link together your Close Brothers Self-Directed and advised accounts (for the purposes of calculating your platform fees only), simply fill out the form below and return to us at our FREEPOST address “FREEPOST CBAM Online Investor Support”
How do I link my accounts to benefit from family pricing? Is this automatic?
If you would like to request us to link together any Self-Directed and advised accounts you and your family have with Close Brothers (for the purposes of calculating your platform fees only), simply fill out the form below and return to us at our FREEPOST address “FREEPOST CBAM Online Investor Support”.
Please note, account linking requests will not be actioned, and no one will benefit from reduced fees, until we receive confirmation from all individuals. We will send you a notification once confirmation from all parties is received and thereafter, the total combined value of your investments will be used to calculate your platform fees.
Will I have the option to unlink mine or my families’ accounts at a later date?
Yes – just let us know should you wish to unlink any of your accounts (for the purposes of calculating your platform fees only) by completing the form below and returning to us at our FREEPOST address “FREEPOST CBAM Online Investor Support”. Remember, unlinking accounts may result in an increase in platform fees to you and the other account holders due to no longer pooling together your total investments.
If I link my accounts, will this change what my family and I can see and do on the online portal?
No. Linking accounts will not allow you to see anyone’s portfolio that you can’t see already, and no-one will be able to see yours unless they can do so now, nor will it affect any of your holdings. It will simply pool together your families’ total asset value for the purposes of calculating your platform fees.
I have a Close Brothers discretionary investment manager; do these changes apply to me?
For those invested in one of our discretionary investment management solutions, there is no change to your charges, as our custody and administration service is already included in the overall charge you pay for investment management.
