Sidekick is a money management app that offers savings and investment products. It offers an easy access savings account and fixed term savings accounts that comes with competitive interest rates. It also lets you invest in its flagship investment fund (minimum of £1,000) and borrow money against your investments to use as a line of credit. It was founded in 2022.
How does Sidekick work?
Sidekick is an app, so to access it you need to download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. From there you can sign up with an email address. You’ll need your National Insurance number and other personal details to set up an account. Then you need to upload a photo of your passport or driving licence. After you’ll be asked to take a selfie. The final step to set up an account is to connect to your bank account. Then you can apply for the different products. Overall it’s a slick app and user experience.
It costs £2.99 a month to use Sidekick, though this is waived for founding members. As of 1 October 2024, you can still sign up as a founding member and have that fee waived forever. It’s not clear how long Sidekick will continue accepting new founding members.
The easy access savings account has a base rate of 4.30% AER (variable). It is boosted for the first 12 months by 0.45 percentage points, to 4.75% AER (variable). This rate is available on balances up to £35,000. It is among the best rates on the market, at least for the first 12 months. After that you might find better elsewhere, especially if you’re paying £2.99 a month to access those rates. There’s no withdrawal limits and you can get your cash the next working day if you need.
Sidekick also offers fixed term savings accounts, with terms ranging from 6–24 months.
You can invest in its investment portfolio, which comes with a management fee of between 0.75% and 1% and an estimated strategy expenses fee of 0.10%.
You’re able to borrow up to 40% of your investment as well, which could be useful for someone who needs to free up some cash flow. Though you need to have at least £10,000 invested to do this.
6.0% APR Representative APR (fixed). Based on a loan of £10,000 repayable over 24 months (2 years) with an interest rate of 6.0% per annum (fixed). Monthly repayment of £443.21 and a total amount repayable of £10,637.04. This representative APR applies to loans of £10,000 to £19,900 over 6 to 30 months. Sidekick offers loans from £1,000 to £60,000 with loan terms from 6 to 30 months. The maximum APR rate you could be offered is 8.0%.
What does the Sidekick app look like?
Who is Sidekick for?
Sidekick says it is for everyone, with a goal to offer products and services to help people grow their wealth by using the same strategies that ultra-wealthy people use to build theirs.
Is Sidekick safe?
Sidekick is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Savings deposits are held by OakNorth Bank and GB Bank. They’re protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000.
It uses Interactive Brokers as a custodian for its investment products, which is regulated by the FCA.
Pros and cons
Pros
High interest rate available, paid daily (bonus interest paid monthly)
FSCS protection on savings deposits
Investments are actively managed
Cons
Bonus rate only lasts for the first 12 months
You can’t choose individual investments
£2.99 monthly fee for non-founding members
Who might Sidekick suit?
Sidekick might someone who wants to get a high interest rate on their savings and also wants to invest with the same platform. In the first 12 months it offers an attractive interest rate, but after that there are other savings accounts with higher ongoing rates.
Our verdict
Sidekick offers high interest rates on its savings account in the first 12 months, for balances up to £35,000. After 12 months you could get better rates elsewhere.
There are also better investment options available, with lower fees and more choice, but being able to borrow against your investments to free up your capital could be enticing for some people. However, you need a minimum investment balance of £10,000 to be able to borrow, so this is not necessarily an option for most people.
If you’re not a founding member then you’ll have to pay a £2.99 monthly fee, which is steep if you just want a savings app.
It has lofty ambitions of trying to unlock investment opportunities for everyone that are usually reserved for the ultra-wealthy. At this stage it remains to be seen if it can reach those ambitions and appeal to a wide audience.
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Jason is a writer and editor. He worked as a senior subeditor for Finder for 5 years and in that time became familiar with a wide range of financial products and services. Before that, he worked for Australian Associated Press. He has a BA from Macquarie University in Australia. Jason loves to help other people find new ways to save money. See full bio
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