Vanguard hits 500,000 client milestone in UK

Platform and investment provider Vanguard has reached a milestone of 500,000 clients on its UK Personal Investor (UKPI) platform just under six years after it was launched.

The US-owned firm launched its UK platform on 16 May 2017 to, “simplify and lower the cost of investing.”

Investors have £16bn in assets on the platform (as at 24 April).

Vanguard’s UK platform provides investors with access to 86 Vanguard funds, including index and active funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and the LifeStrategy and Target Retirement Fund (TRF) ranges.

All funds are available via Individual Savings Accounts (ISA), Junior Individual Savings Accounts (JISA), Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) and General Account.

Self-directed investors on the platform pay an administration fee of 0.15% per annum in addition to the Ongoing Charge Figure (OCF) of the funds they select. There is no account fee above the first £250,000 invested so the maximum account fee payable is £375 each year.

Vanguard says that in terms of trading its data suggests investors on the UK platform are “extremely disciplined.” The percentage that traded on the platform on an average day in 2022 was 0.09%. Those that traded did so on average twice a year. Nearly a third of clients (32%) make contributions into their accounts via a monthly savings plan.

Over the six years of the platform’s existence clients have exhibited “very few” changes in investing behaviour in response to sometimes volatile market conditions, the company said.

Vanguard claims its platform has been particularly successful in drawing new and younger investors, with 34% of Vanguard platform clients aged 30 or younger.

Most Popular Funds and ETFs since launch:

Table shows most popular funds on Vanguard UK Personal Investor since launch, by number of clients invested, (Source: Vanguard as at 24 April 2023)

Sean Hagerty, head of Europe for Vanguard, said: “Vanguard was founded on the principle of helping all investors have the best chance of achieving their financial goals. Living up to that mission is what drives us, and we see it as a great privilege, as well as a great responsibility, that half a million UK investors have chosen to invest their hard-earned savings with Vanguard directly.”

While Vanguard’s platform has notched up hundreds of thousands of users, the company’s two year old Financial Planning arm has been less successful and was closed down in March.