Nutmeg FAQs - ISA, LISA, JISA, GIA & Pensions Questions Answered - Nutmeg (2024)

How does it work?

In a nutshell: we learn about you, choose investments for you, and then — with your contributions — build the portfolio on your behalf, showing you the results in an intelligent, straightforward manner. For a more thorough description visit why nutmeg or read about how we invest.

Is there a minimum investment?

You can start investing with as little as £100 for a Lifetime ISA or £500 for General and ISA pots. The Nutmeg pension has a minimum investment of £500.

Am I locked in?

No, investing is a long-term proposition but with Nutmeg, you can withdraw whenever you like and there's no minimum investment period. However, the minimum suggested timeframe you should consider is three years. You should also bear in mind that Junior ISAs, Lifetime ISAs and Pensions do have certain withdrawal restrictions.

Couldn't I do this myself?

You could replicate our portfolios on your own, but rebalancing and monitoring your portfolio could result in high trading charges, not to mention time and hassle. Plus, because we trade in bulk across our clients, our costs are even lower.

Can I see historical investment performance?

Yes. We always publish our portfolio performance after fees and compared to our competitors so you can see exactly how we’ve been doing. We update our performance figures quarterly.

View Nutmeg's performance figures »

The past performance figures are simulated, based on real market transactions implemented across all individual customer portfolios to a single portfolio for each risk level. Please remember that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

What are your fees?

We charge an annual management fee calculated on the total value of your portfolio. Our fee starts at 0.75%/yr and goes as low as 0.25%/yr, including VAT where applicable, depending on the amount you invest, and the investment style you choose.

When we buy investments for you, the providers of these investments charge an underlying fund cost and the transactions are subject to the effect of market spread. We work hard to keep these costs as low as we can so you are able to benefit from better net returns. Read more about costs and charges »

What am I investing in?

Once we've determined which assets should go into a portfolio, and in what proportions, we look to invest in them in the most efficient way possible. We generally prefer to use exchange-traded funds (ETFs) because they’re easy to trade, low cost and aim to track the movement of market indices with a high degree of accuracy. Read more about what we invest in »

How secure is it?

We take security very seriously at Nutmeg. Like many investment managers, we believe that the safest way of looking after your investments is to appoint a “custodian bank” to hold your money. Our custodian is State Street — one of the world’s largest custodians. State Street serves thousands of investment managers, high-net-worth individuals and major banks worldwide.

State Street holds your investments in a segregated account for added security and never lends your assets to third parties. This means that your investments are protected in the unlikely event that either Nutmeg or State Street are declared bankrupt. Nutmeg is also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which means you may be entitled to compensation if we cannot meet our obligations.

Connections to our website are protected with TLS encryption, and we offer 2-step verification to further secure your account. When it comes to communicating with us, we provide you with a secure channel to send and receive messages, called Nutmail. Learn more about how we keep your money safe.

Can I use Nutmeg if I'm not a UK resident?

As a UK-based investment manager, we are primarily intended for UK residents. However, we do consider non-UK residents based in certain countries.

If you are a British Passport Holder; hold a full UK bank account, and reside in one of our supported countries; we'll be able to consider your application for an account. Learn more about accounts for "Non-UK Residents".

How easy is it sign up?

Signing up is free and carries no obligation to invest. We don't charge you a penny until you transfer money into your Nutmeg account. And after that, you can close your pots and withdraw money whenever you decide. Please remember, however, that you may not get back the full amount you invested. Learn more about the risks of investing »

How easy is it to withdraw money?

You are able to withdraw some or all of your money at any time from a Nutmeg ISA, general investment account or Lifetime ISA. With the Lifetime ISA, if the withdrawal is not for the purchase of a first home, retirement after the age of 60 or because you're terminally ill, you'll have to a pay a 25% penalty.

The money in a JISA belongs to the child in all but exceptional circ*mstances. The child can take control of the account when they’re 16, but cannot access the money until they turn 18. If not withdrawn at age 18, the money rolls into an adult ISA.

You can't normally withdraw money from a personal pension until you're 55. We don't charge you to withdraw, but it takes 3-7 business days before your money will reach your bank account. The first 25% is tax free and the remainder is subject to tax.

Nutmeg offers flexible drawdown, this means you’re in control as you can choose how much of your pension pot you take and when you’d like to withdraw from it. For more information on withdrawing money from your pension, read our dedicated support page.

You can transfer a Nutmeg ISA or pension to another provider.

If you withdraw all your money, after we close your account, we hold your personal information for a time as required by law. You should always remember, however, that investments are subject to market risk and you may not get back the sum you invested. Read more about the withdrawal process.

How does Nutmeg compare to other options I have?

Your other main options are to build a portfolio yourself or to hand your money over to someone else. We want to give you a different, cost-effective experience. We put together tables of how our fully managed portfolios compare to typical wealth managersand how our fixed allocation portfolios compare to typical DIY platforms.

Does Nutmeg offer pensions?

Yes, we do! You can start a Nutmeg personal pension with just £500 and transfer in your personal pensions from other providers so you can have all your investments in one easy-to-use online account. Log in whenever you want to see where your pension pot is invested and how it’s performing. Fully managed, socially responsible and fixed allocation pension portfolios are available. Find out more.

What if I'm subject to personal account dealing rules?

People who work in certain professions (particularly financial services, consulting, legal and accounting firms or government departments) are often subject to restrictions on the types on securities that they can invest in. These restrictions may prevent an individual holding certain securities, enforce a minimum holding period, restrict trading periods, force the sale of a security and so on.

Generally, discretionary investment accounts — like Nutmeg — are exempt from these rules as the decisions about which underlying securities to invest in are made by the investment manager, not the individual. This generally has the effect of making your investment choice greater and your life easier, as you may no longer need to seek approval from your employer for any investment transactions made by Nutmeg. This does of course depend on the personal account dealing rules to which you are subject and not all employers have the same requirements.

If you are subject to personal account dealing rules we can provide a confirmation letter for your employer's HR or compliance department regarding the discretionary managed nature of Nutmeg's services. Request the letter by contacting us at [email protected] or send us a Nutmail once signed in.

Do you give advice?

Yes. Based on what you tell us about your finances and plans, we will help you to determine the Nutmeg portfolio that is right for you. Once we agree on what that should look like, we will set up the portfolio for you, and adjust how it is invested on an ongoing basis so that your portfolio remains right for your goals. Nutmeg is a discretionary investment manager, which means that we take responsibility for the investment decision making and transactions.

If you want us to, we will arrange the transfer of any existing investments such as ISAs or pensions that you want to add to your portfolio.

Once you have taken the decision to invest with Nutmeg, our investment team makes decisions to buy and sell your investments on your behalf, always bearing in mind your objectives and risk tolerance. You do not have to give your consent for every transaction; instead, you agree that we’ll take responsibility for your investments when you accept our Terms and Conditions. In these terms, we promise to manage your account with skill, care and in accordance with the information you give us. We’ll spend every moment of the day trying our best to protect and grow your portfolio.

We have permission from our regulator to give you simplified advice—see our definitions or the FCA website. We started offering advice through the online service from 6th June 2016.

If you would like personal financial advice, please visit our advice page.

Didn't see your question?

Get more answers in our ISA section, or our Support Library.

Ready to try Nutmeg out?

With investment, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatments depend on individual circ*mstances and may be subject to change in the future. If you're unsure, please seek financial advice.