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Investors can earn up to £2,100 in free shares through investment app Freetrade if they transfer an Isa or Sipp to the platform before the end of the tax year.
Freetrade has a free stock offer* for investors who transfer an Isa or Sipp to the platform before 5 April 2023.
Boost for investment: Freetrade has launched a free share offer for Isa and Sipp transfers
The amount they get in free shares depends on the amount they transfer to a Freetrade Isa or Sipp.
The value starts at £100 in free shares for a transfer of £10,000, and goes up to £2,100 in free shares for a transfer of £500,000 or more.
Investors must deposit at least £10,000 into a Freetrade Isa or Sipp to take advantage of the offer.
The way it works is that Freetrade gives investors a free share, or shares, equal to the value of the reward. These are listed in the table below.
| Financing amount | Free stock value |
|---|---|
| £10,000 – £19,999 | £100 |
| £20,000 – £39,999 | £200 |
| £40,000 – £79,999 | £400 |
| £80,000 – £159,999 | £800 |
| £160,000 – £249,999 | £1,200 |
| £250,000 – £499,999 | £1,800 |
| £500,000+ | £2,100 |
The free shares will be placed into the customer’s general investment account rather than an Isa or Sipp, as there are restrictions on crediting money or shares on tax papers.
Customers can sell the shares immediately and move the money into their Isa or Sipp if they wish.
New customers must download the Freetrade app and open an Isa or Sipp account with a Standard or Plus annual subscription before they can enjoy the offer.
Investors will then need to top up their account or initiate a transfer of at least £10,000 to their Freetrade Isa or or Sipp on or before April 5, 2024.
If you make withdrawals or transfers that reduce the value of your Isa or Sipp transfer before Freetrade awards the share, the value of your free share will be affected. If it falls below €10,000, you will not receive a free share.
The free share will be credited to your general investment account within 90 days.
How does it compare to other transfer deals?
There are several other Isa transfer deals on the market, but these end tomorrow.
Customers can earn up to €5,000 with it Interactive Investor Deal*, although they would have to transfer a huge £2m pension to a II Sipp to get this amount.
Those transferring smaller pension and investment pots could receive cashback worth hundreds of pounds.
To receive the cashback, investors must open or transfer money to an Interactive Investor Isa, Sipp or general investment account before February 29.
Interactive Investor’s Sipp deal starts at £100 cashback for investors who deposit or transfer the minimum qualifying amount of £10,000. The cashback increases the more you deposit or transfer, reaching up to £5,000 on amounts over £2 million.
For the Isa and general investment account deal, cashback rises from £100 on deposits or transfer value of £2,000, which is the minimum deposit, to £1,500 for values over £500,000.
See the table for how much cashback you can earn depending on the amount you deposit into the account.
| Down payment/transfer value | Money Back |
|---|---|
| £10,000 – £24,999 | £100 |
| £25,000 – £99,999 | £200 |
| £100,000 – £199,999 | £500 |
| £200,000 – £499,999 | £750 |
| £500,000 – £999,999 | £1,500 |
| £1,000,000 – £1,499,000 | £3,000 |
| £1,500,000 – £1,999,999 | £4,000 |
| £2,000,000+ | £5,000 |
| Down payment/transfer value | Money Back |
|---|---|
| £2,000 – £9,999 | £100 |
| £10,000 – £19,999 | £150 |
| £20,000 – £49,999 | £250 |
| £50,000 – £99,999 | £500 |
| £100,000 – £199,999 | £750 |
| £200,000 – £499,999 | £1,000 |
| £500,000+ | £1,500 |
In the meantime, Hargreaves Lansdown is offering customers up to £3,500* transferring a £1 million pension to a Sipp, or up to £1,000 when transferring investment accounts worth £80,000 or more.
To qualify for the deal, customers must register for the transfer cashback offer and sign up before February 29, 2024.
Transfers between £10,000 and £29,999 get £100 cashback, while transfers of £1 million and over get the maximum £3,500 cashback.
Investors can get up to €1,000 cashback when transferring investment accounts* worth £4,000 or more in an HL Stocks and Shares Isa or an HL Fund and Share account.
Cash Isa transfers to a Stocks and Shares Isa are also eligible for the deal, but the submission of share certificates is not eligible for cashback.
You can get €50 cashback for a transfer worth between €4,000 and €9,999, and the maximum €1,000 for a transfer worth €80,000 or more.
There is no Hargreaves Lansdown fee for transferring investments and the annual cost of holding investments is no more than 0.45 percent, according to the platform.
| Transfer value | Money Back |
|---|---|
| £10,000 – £29,999 | £100 |
| £30,000 – £59,999 | £250 |
| £60,000 – £89,999 | £500 |
| £90,000 – £109,999 | £1,000 |
| £110,000 – £124,999 | £1,250 |
| £125,000 – £999,000 | £1,500 |
| £1 million and over | £3,500 |
| Transfer value | Money Back |
|---|---|
| £4,000 – £9,999 | £50 |
| £10,000 – £19,999 | £100 |
| £20,000 – £39,999 | £150 |
| £40,000 – £59,999 | £300 |
| £60,000 – £79,999 | £500 |
| £80,000+ | £1,000 |
Is it worth switching because of the offers?
The cashback amounts offered by both Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown are significant, as is the value of free Freetrade shares. However, investors should make sure the platform is right for them, rather than just taking money to move. Read our guide to the best investment platforms.
If you need to transfer a large pension pot, the Interactive Investor cashback looks attractive, but as with any big decision like this, it’s crucial that you do your research.
Take exit costs into account. If you want to leave or transfer your current pension, your current pension provider may charge you exit costs.
If you decide to move later, there are no fees associated with transferring your account to Freetrade or HL and Interactive Investor removed Sipp’s exit fees in 2018.
All retirement investments gain and lose value over time, even those invested in safe asset and asset classes.
Please note that transferring pension may take some time. During this time you will not be able to trade and may be exposed to fluctuations in the value of your pension.
According to Hargreaves Lansdown, transfers usually take two to four weeks depending on your provider.
If you’re concerned about fees, Interactive Investor has fixed prices instead of fees that are calculated as a percentage of customers’ investments. This may work out better for investors with large pots.
Freetrade costs are based on which of the three plans you have. The Basic plan offers free trades on more than 4,700 stocks and fractional shares within a general investment account. The cost for the Standard plan is £5.99 per month or £59.88 per year, and for the Plus account the cost is £11.99 per month or £119.88 per year.
Hargreaves Lansdown charges 0.45 per cent annually on investments, but crucially this is up to £45 per year on investment trusts, ETFs and shares.
If you’re looking to give your investments a cash boost, Hargreaves Lansdown’s cashback deal offers less cashback on the amount you deposit or transfer to an Isa or general investment account.
It’s also limited to €80,000, so even if you need to transfer a larger amount, you won’t get more than €1,000 in cashback.
Freetrade’s deal offers the highest reward value of £2,100 in free shares for transfers of £500,000 or more. Although not actually cash, investors can sell the shares immediately and move the money into their Isa or Sipp.
This deal only applies to Isas and Sipps, while HL gives you up to £1,000 cashback for opening or transferring from a general investment account.
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