IWeb review

How we rated IWeb's investment features

IWeb is a share dealing platform owned by Lloyds Banking Group and operated by Halifax Share Dealing. It lets you invest in a range of UK and overseas shares, as well as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other types of funds.

With IWeb, you can invest in a general investment account (GIA), a stocks and shares ISA or a pension and you can only access its platform in your web browser. We’ve reviewed its fees and features – find out what iWeb offers investors.

Hands-on test: I tried out IWeb's investing platform

"IWeb has a decent offering when it comes to its fees and choice of investments. However, the IWeb investing interface absolutely sucks and there’s no app either.

It’s a functional place to invest but it has ‘clunky bank’ written all over it, which is probably because it’s part of Lloyds Banking Group. I think 10 years ago, this may have been the standard awkward online brokerage, but it just doesn’t cut the mustard for the modern UK investor. There are plenty of other options that just make investing a much more pleasant experience."

George Sweeney, DipFA

Deputy editor

IWeb fees

IWeb’s fees are pretty good, although its one-off sign-up fee of £100 is pretty steep, and quite unusual – none of the other providers we’ve reviewed charges you to sign up. However, it is currently waiving this charge until the end of June 2024.

If you want to buy funds or UK investments, there’s a flat £5 commission each time you want to buy or sell investments. For international investments, like US stocks, there’s no commission. But, there is a fairly steep 1.5% FX fee any time you buy or sell investments outside the UK.

Here’s a quick breakdown of some other fees with IWeb:

There’s no platform fee for the GIA or the investment ISA, but there is for the self-invested personal pension (SIPP). The SIPP is administered by AJ Bell.

Here’s a quick overview of the SIPP fees with IWeb:

If your retirement portfolio is under £50,000 – there’s a £22.50 quarterly admin change (which works out £90 a year or £7.50 a month). For those with a SIPP worth more than £50,000 – the quarterly admin charge is £45 (£180 a year, or £15 a month).

IWeb investment choice and stocks

IWeb has a pretty comprehensive investment offering with over 8,000 to choose from. Making up a big chunk of that investment library is over 2,500 funds, ETFs and investment trusts.

There’s also thousands of shares to invest in from the UK, US and Europe. The only downside with this huge selection is that you can’t buy fractional shares.

This range of investment types and the number of exchanges available allows you to create a really well diversified portfolio with IWeb, including shares from various countries and sectors, as well as across several investment types.

There’s no minimum investment amount but you need to buy at least one full share. Also, the £50 minimum deposit is a little steep compared to other platforms.

Is IWeb safe?

IWeb is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. So your deposits of up to £85,000 are covered in the event that IWeb goes bust.

For added reassurance, IWeb is part of FTSE 100 company, Lloyds Banking Group. The investment side of things is overseen by Halifax and AJ Bell administers IWeb’s SIPP – so you know you’re in sturdy hands.

Like any other type of investment, your capital is at risk when you invest using IWeb and you may end up with less than what you originally invested. The performance of investments will vary, and there is no guarantee of return.

IWeb account types and products

IWeb offers a few account options, including:

• General investment account (GIA)
• Stocks and shares ISA
• Self-invested personal pension (SIPP)

Keep on reading to find out more about these products and the main differences between them.

IWeb general investment account

The IWeb GIA is best suited to you if you’ve already made use of your ISA allowance in the current tax year.

This does mean that you might be liable to pay capital gains tax on any profits you make over £3,000 or dividends over £500 (in the 2024/2025 tax year).

IWeb stocks and shares ISA

The IWeb investment ISA lets you make use of your annual ISA allowance, which lets you invest up to £20,000 in the 2024/2025 tax year without paying any UK tax on profits.

Your annual allowance is renewed in each tax year, and might be increased or decreased by the government. You can choose this account if you haven’t already paid into another stocks and shares ISA in the current (2024/2025) tax year, and if you haven’t already used your full allowance across other types of ISAs elsewhere.

Other than the tax-efficient benefits, the IWeb ISA works exactly the same as the general investment account – you can invest in the same assets and you’ll pay the same fees.

IWeb pension

The IWeb SIPP lets you save up for your retirement in a tax efficient account. You can save up to £60,000 in each tax year and £0 over your lifetime without having to pay any tax on your deposits.

You’ll get tax relief on your deposits of at least 20%, which is claimed by your provider and added into your pension pot. Higher and additional-rate taxpayers can claim a further 20% and 25% respectively.

You can’t withdraw from your SIPP until you turn 55 (rising to 57 in 2028).

IWeb ease of use

IWeb didn’t score well in our ease of use assessment. There’s no app for investing or managing your portfolio, so additional reviews are limited.

You can invest only using the desktop service, which wouldn’t be too bad if this had a nice interface but to put it plainly – it’s quite an ugly and clunky platform. It feels like trying to access a pre-broadband online bank account.

That being said, we do like that there are a few ways to get hold of its customer service team. However, if you’re looking for a platform with a mobile app and a sleek interface, you might want to look elsewhere.

IWeb customer reviews

Trustpilot reviewers gave IWeb a 3.8 out of 5 “great” rating (as of January 2024).

IWeb tools, resources and features

IWeb is pretty barebones when it comes to tools and additional features, there’s not much on offer. The best way to describe IWeb is a basic place to make some trades and exit, there’s not much to keep you on the platform and engaged.

It does provide market news and insights along with guides and articles but that’s about it to be honest.

Does IWeb have a mobile app?

One of the biggest downsides of IWeb is that it has no mobile app for trading. You can access the platform on mobile in the browser, however.

This is a major downside of IWeb – most modern trading platforms have apps available with share price notifications, simple charting tools and the ability to top up and buy shares.

How to open an account with IWeb

In order to open an account, you’ll need a form of ID, your national insurance number and your bank details.

1. Go to IWeb. Head to the iWeb website and click “Sign up”.
2. Choose your account type. IWeb gives a quick description of each account type at this stage, you can choose between a general investment account, an ISA or a pension.
3. Enter your personal information. You’ll need a form of ID and basic personal details.
4. Add funds to your account. Your joining fee will be taken from the bank account you connect to your IWeb account within a few days and you can deposit from £50.
5. Start investing. You may need to wait for IWeb to verify your identity before you can get started but after that you’re good to good.

Who might IWeb suit?

This platform is going to be best-suited for those who want to invest in funds or overseas shares and are looking for a no-frills brokerage that doesn’t have a mobile app.

If that’s not you, why not compare share trading platforms to find the right fit to match your style.