It’ll be a ‘Dodl’: AJ Bell to launch new commission-free app

Financial services group AJ Bell is to launch a new app-based platform that will allow Britons to buy and sell investments with no commission charges.

Dodl will provide pensions, shares in UK-listed businesses, and a range of ‘themed investments’ centred on industries such as technology, responsible investing, robotics and healthcare.

Customers will be charged just 0.15 per cent on each of their investment accounts every year, meaning an individual with £100,000 in an independent savings account would only pay £150 in total.

Keeping change: Customers will be charged 0.15 per cent on each of their Dodl accounts every year, meaning someone with £100,000 of investments would only pay £150 in total

They will be able to pay into their accounts through popular digital wallet services such as Apple and Google Pay, along with the more traditional methods of direct debit and credit card payments.

More notably, the FTSE 250 firm said there would be no fees for either purchasing or selling investments, compared to a £3.50 maximum monthly charge on shares, trusts and exchange-traded funds on its YouInvest platform.

It said the platform, which it hopes to get up and running in the first half of next year, is designed to ‘make investing more straightforward and accessible for retail investors.’

AJ Bell also intends to include its low-cost multi-asset funds and its Responsible Growth fund as part of the Dodl platform, and eventually feature shares in American companies sometime after the launch happens.  

Chief executive Andy Bell believes the new platform would suit ‘anyone looking for a low-cost, easy-to-use investment app to help them meet their investment goals such as saving for a house deposit, holidays or retirement.

‘The intuitive investment journey and streamlined investment range will appeal particularly to those that are new to investing and want a simple way to manage their investments.’

Man in charge: AJ Bell’s chief executive Andy Bell said Dodl would be ‘amongst the cheapest and best value investment platforms in the market’

He additionally claimed that Dodl would be ‘amongst the cheapest and best value investment platforms in the market’ and will give customers ‘an investment range that is easy to choose from and caters for the investment needs of the majority of people.’

AJ Bell has already enjoyed a very successful coronavirus pandemic, gaining a multitude of new customers, many of whom are young and came to investing for the first time during the pandemic.

Last month, it revealed total customer numbers climbed by 30 per cent to more than 380,000 over the past year, while net inflows surged by over half to £6.4billion and total assets under administration soared to £72.8billion. 

But it did admit that since Covid-19 pandemic restrictions started easing over the summer, retail trading has started returning to more normalised levels relative to its peak.  

Holly Mackay, the head of financial research company Boring Money, believes that most of the people who are reading about this new app today will be ‘curious, affluent 40 and 50-somethings, with a relatively mainstream buy and hold portfolio.’

Shares in AJ Bell were up 1.9 per cent to 404.8p in early trading today, though their value has fallen by about 8 per cent so far this year.