If you are weighing up where to invest your money, you may be choosing between investment platforms such as Moneyfarm* and AJ Bell Dodl*. In this article, we take a look at the pros and cons of robo-adviser Moneyfarm compared with investing app AJ Bell Dodl, including what they offer and how much they charge.
There is also the opportunity for you to benefit from our reader offer, which gives 12 months' free management with Moneyfarm (terms and conditions apply)*.
AJ Bell Dodl vs Moneyfarm - which is better?
| AJ Bell Dodl | Moneyfarm | |
| Services | Investing app
Choice of 37 funds and 80 UK & US shares
|
Risk-rated portfolios
Digital investment advice Invest in a number of 'thematic' funds to gain exposure to investing trends including technology, sustainability and society Share investing Liquidity+ (access to money market funds) |
| Products | ISA, GIA (General Investment Account), Lifetime ISA, SIPP | ISA, GIA, Junior ISA and SIPP |
| Minimum investment | £100 or £25 monthly investment | £500 to open account |
| Platform fees | 0.15% annually (minimum £1 per month per product)
Additional underlying fund charges |
Pricing for actively managed portfolios:
Up to £10,000 - 0.75% £10,001 to £20,000 - 0.70% £20,001 to £50,000 - 0.65% £50,001 to £100,000 - 0.60% £100,001 to £250,000 - 0.45% £250,001 to £500,000 - 0.40% Over £500,000 - 0.35% The fee you pay is based on the total value of your portfolio so if you invest £75,000 you will pay a total fee of 0.60% Pricing for fixed allocation portfolios are lower ranging between 0.25% to 0.45% Additional underlying fund charges |
| Trustpilot reviews | 4.6 out of 5.0 | 4.3 out of 5.0 |
| Money to the Masses offer | n/a | No management fees for 12 months (terms and conditions apply)* |
AJ Bell Dodl vs Moneyfarm - services
Moneyfarm is a robo-adviser-style platform, which means it assesses your risk appetite and then channels you into a suitable risk-rated portfolio. It also offers investment advice, which helps ensure you have the right portfolio if your circumstances change over time. Moneyfarm has recently expanded its services, offering thematic investing, share investing and Liquidity+, a service that focuses on money market funds aimed at those with a short-term investing horizon.
AJ Bell Dodl is an investing app, which allows users to construct their own portfolios from 37 funds - including risk-rated funds from parent company AJ Bell - and 80 UK & US shares. While it is structured in an easy-to-navigate way, it still requires investors to choose their own underlying holdings, while Moneyfarm provides a ready-made solution.
AJ Bell Dodl vs Moneyfarm - products
Both AJ Bell Dodl and Moneyfarm offer the basic accounts you would expect from an investment platform, namely a stocks and shares ISA, General Investment Account and pension. Moneyfarm also offers a Junior ISA, something that isn't currently offered by AJ Bell Dodl. You can read more about the Best Junior ISAs in our article "Best Junior stocks and shares ISA". AJ Bell Dodl does however offer a Lifetime ISA, something that is currently not available if you decide to invest with Moneyfarm. A Lifetime ISA can be used to save money for a house purchase or to fund retirement. If you are specifically interested in this type of wrapper, read our article "Lifetime ISAs explained - are they the best way to save?"
AJ Bell Dodl vs Moneyfarm - minimum investment
Investing with Moneyfarm requires a larger initial investment, with a minimum of £500 needed to open an account. AJ Bell Dodl is significantly less, needing a minimum lump sum of £100 or at least £25 per month as a regular investment.
AJ Bell Dodl vs Moneyfarm - platform fees
AJ Bell Dodl has positioned itself as a low-cost investment platform, with a fee of 0.15% annually (minimum £1 per month per product), no subscription fee and no commission on buying and selling. It's worth noting, however, that with the £1 minimum monthly fee, you only truly get the 0.15% rate when you invest more than £8,000.
Meanwhile, Moneyfarm has a reducing fee structure meaning as you invest more, you will pay less in fees. For their active management option, fees start at 0.75% if investing less than £10,000, but can reduce to 0.35% depending on how much you invest. Their fixed allocation portfolio fees range between 0.25% to 0.45%. It is, however, possible to avoid management fees for the first year with our reader offer*.
AJ Bell Dodl vs Moneyfarm - customer reviews
AJ Bell Dodl has an overall customer rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 on Trustpilot based on around 220 reviews. Moneyfarm, on the other hand, has an overall customer rating of 4.3 out of 5.0 based on more than 1,000 reviews. Approximately 76% of customers rated AJ Bell Dodl "Excellent", while about 7% gave it a "Bad" rating. About 68% of customers rated Moneyfarm "Excellent", while about 6% gave it a "Bad" rating.
Summary: AJ Bell Dodl vs Moneyfarm
Whether to invest using AJ Bell Dodl* or Moneyfarm* will largely come down to whether you want a simple, ready-made portfolio that is tailored to match your attitude to risk, or whether you are confident in constructing your own portfolio. If it is the former, robo-adviser Moneyfarm may be a better choice, albeit you'll pay more in fees. If, however, you want the option to invest in shares as well as funds and like the idea of being able to manage your investments from a well-designed app, AJ Bell Dodl may suit you better.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. But as you can clearly see this has in no way influenced this independent and balanced review of the product. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses or take advantage of any exclusive offers - Moneyfarm, AJ Bell Dodl
