Just read through the wise alpha thing, Nick. Never heard of it before and looks interesting. I think you would have to invest through an ISA though otherwise the tax plus their 1% commission would make it less attractive. Have you invested with them?
Thanks for reading my post
I guess it depends on your circumstances. I am a non tax-payer (semi-retired and awaiting my state pension in three years' time) so the tax isn't such a big issue for me. All investments involve some costs, and WiseAlpha's 1% commission charge isn't exceptional in my view (or experience).
But yes, other things being equal, it's always good to invest via a tax-efficient wrapper, be it an ISA or a SIPP (also available with WiseAlpha). At present their IFISA is a bit limited as you can only use it in conjunction with their Smart Interest product. It will be better when the iFISA is extended to cover the full range of products available via the platform, which (WiseAlpha tell me) is due to happen later this year. At present I am not investing with WiseAlpha, but once the IFISA is extended to include individual 'notes' and the Robowise automatic investment balancing tool, I will definitely look at this again.
I should maybe add that everyone's circumstances are different, and what is right for one person won't be right for another. I do though believe that WiseAlpha's innovative and unusual offering could merit a place in the portfolio of anyone looking to diversify their investment strategy and mitigate the risk of investing in stocks and shares. But everyone should do their own 'due diligence' before investing in any product or platform, of course.