Barclays has announced a significant rule change that will save its customers up to £125 per year. The high street bank, which operates branches in Birmingham, has eliminated the monthly fee previously charged to customers investing through the bank.
Fee removal details
Members of Barclays Direct Investing previously paid a fee of 0.25 per cent on balances up to £200,000 and 0.05 per cent on amounts above that threshold. With the fee now scrapped, a customer with an investment portfolio of £50,000 will save £125 annually. Similarly, an investor with £20,000 in an ISA will save £50 per year.
Sasha Wiggins, chief executive of Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management, stated that removing the customer fee will help "make it more straightforward for people to take the next step and invest with confidence." The bank emphasized that this move is part of its commitment to addressing the UK's "investment gap."
Additional cost savings
Under the new structure, a customer investing £20,000 in funds within an ISA will pay £0 in customer fees annually, compared to £50 previously. There is no fee for buying or selling funds with Barclays Direct Investing; the only cost is the ongoing charge levied by the fund manager.
However, a £6 fee for buying and selling investments such as shares, ETFs, bonds, and investment trusts remains unchanged. For example, a customer with £10,000 in shares who makes six trades in a year will pay £36 under the new pricing, down from £61 previously—a saving of £25 due to the removal of the customer fee. Foreign exchange fees may also apply for trading international shares.
