IG Smart Portfolios
Invest in our range of fully managed, low-cost portfolios – tailored to your financial needs. Now with a five-year track record.
Remember: the value of investments can go up or down. You could get back less than you invest.
Why invest in an IG Smart Portfolio?
Low cost
Our transparent fees are lower than traditional wealth managers, starting from just 0.50% and capped at £250 a year.
Simple, online process
Create your account in minutes. Simply answer a few questions to help us determine the best portfolio for you.
Managed by experts
Choose from a range of wealth portfolios, expertly managed by IG and designed by BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager.
Tailored to you
Your investment is spread across shares, bonds and commodities to suit your needs and risk profile.
A smarter way to invest
IG Smart Portfolios are expertly managed, broadly diversified portfolios with exposure to many global markets, such as fixed income and equity, along with alternative investments like gold and property. At a fraction of the cost of traditional wealth managers, our portfolios are designed to help you reach your financial goals sooner.
Your portfolio will be built to suit your risk appetite – we’ll just ask you to answer a few questions about your needs.
Learn more about IG Smart Portfolios
An award-winning digital wealth management service
Our mission is to help you grow your money. In the two years since we started offering IG Smart Portfolios, we’ve won ‘Best Overall Wealth Provider’ twice at the annual Online Personal Wealth Awards.
A fraction of the cost
Traditionally, wealth management was for the elite and just too expensive for everyday savers.
Many people still pay over the odds to invest their money. We found that the average total annual cost of ownership (TCO) across similar online wealth managers is 1.1%, with some providers charging over 1.8%. High fees like these eat into your portfolio returns.
IG Smart Portfolios provide expert digital wealth management at a fraction of the cost. The total annual cost of owning an IG Smart Portfolio is 0.72%, and even less if your portfolio exceeds £50,000 – at which point it will be managed free of charge.
Our newly reduced management fee of 0.5% – capped at £250 per year – means that anyone can invest in our range of portfolios, whether you’re just starting out or you already have a large amount of funds. We have no entrance fees or performance fees, and definitely no exit fees.
Online wealth management expertise
We created IG Smart Portfolios using iShares ETFs from BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager, with over $6 trillion under management. We’ve tailored each of our offerings according to a defined level of risk – enabling you to choose from a range of expertly designed portfolios to suit your needs and risk appetite.
Using BlackRock’s cutting-edge investment research, we regularly rebalance our portfolios as market conditions change. This ensures that you have the optimal asset allocation for your risk profile.
Performance
We believe that the combination of BlackRock’s investment management services, our technology and low costs puts us in a strong position to deliver impressive investment results.
We now have four years of performance data and the chart below shows average annual returns for each Smart Portfolio since these were launched in February 2017.
Remember, the value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
A full performance breakdown for each portfolio and its benchmark can be seen below.
| Type of IG Smart Portfolio | Previous 12 month return | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017* |
| 1-Conservative | -0.4% | 2.0% | 3.6% | -0.9% | 0.3% |
| 3-month SONIA Index + 1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| 2-Moderate | 3.3% | 7.4% | 10.0% | -3.6% | 4.5% |
| ARC Cautious | 4.1% | 4.2% | 8.1% | -3.6% | 4.5% |
| 3-Balanced | 8.7% | 9.2% | 14.1% |
-4.6% | 8.1% |
| ARC Balance | 7.9% | 4.3% | 11.7% | -5.1% | 6.7% |
| 4-Growth | 13.4% | 11.4% | 17.0% | 5.6% | 10.7% |
| ARC Steady Growth | 10.8% | 4.6% | 15.0% | -5.6% | 9.4% |
| 5-Aggressive | 18.2% | 10.9% | 19.4% | -6.5% | 8.5% |
| ARC Equity Risk | 13.3% | 5.8% | 18.0% | -6.5% | 7.9% |
Choose the best account for you
We offer three types of IG Smart Portfolio. You can have as many portfolios as you like, or any combination of each, which means you get complete flexibility over how you organise your investments.
General investment
A standard investment account, where gains and dividends are taxable.
This account type is useful if you’ve already filled your stocks and shares ISA.
ISA
Use your £20,000 ISA allowance so that your investment gains and the dividends you receive are all tax-free.
Your ISA allowance resets at the start of the tax year.
SIPP
Start saving for your retirement in a self-invested personal pension (SIPP).
You could receive up to 45% tax relief on your contributions and pay no tax on your profits.
Are you ready to start investing?
It’s free to open an account with us and you could get set up in just a few minutes. See how much your savings could grow – simply use our investment calculator to project the performance of your IG Smart Portfolio.
Get your free beginner's guide to investing
- Discover the benefits of investing your money
- Learn about the different investment options available and how to get started
- Understand how to build a diversified portfolio and manage your risk
Get your free beginner's guide to investing
● Discover the benefits of investing your money
● Learn about the different investment options available and how to get started
● Understand how to build a diversified portfolio and manage your risk
Top FAQs
Who chooses what goes into my portfolios?
All five portfolios are based on models that are managed by BlackRock. BlackRock are a leading asset manager with over $6 trillion assets under management. We created Smart Portfolios to give everyday investors the opportunity to invest in their expertly managed portfolios.
What is IG’s role in the management process?
We power the technology behind your investments. From our platform, which lets you monitor your investments at all times, to our state-of-the-art dealing technology, which makes sure your cash is invested up to the nearest pound, we’re continuously looking for ways to improve your experience. Plus, our customer service team is on hand to help with any questions you have, 24 hours a day.
How long will it take to invest my money once I've deposited funds?
We aim to invest your money as soon as you make a deposit. During market hours this can be within a minute. There are short periods during the day when we avoid trading. This is when bid-ask spreads are wider than usual, such as at the start and end of the day or around economic data releases. This ensures that you don’t pay more than you need to.
Can I withdraw my money at any time, at no cost?
Yes, and yes. While many wealth management companies will only allow you to buy or sell your investments at one point in the day, we have the technology to let you buy, sell or switch portfolio immediately, at any time. We don’t charge transaction fees for buying or selling, and we’ll never charge you for withdrawing your cash.
Can I have an IG Smart Portfolio ISA as well as an IG share dealing ISA?
Yes, our ISA account is designed to be flexible, so you can invest some of your ISA allowance in a Smart Portfolio and some in a share dealing account. You can move cash freely between each account type. If you withdraw funds, you have until the end of the tax year to add the cash back in, or you’ll risk losing out on your annual ISA allowance.