Vanguard achieves milestone of 500,000 UK personal investor clients

Vanguard today welcomes the milestone of 500,000 clients on the Vanguard UK Personal Investor (UKPI) platform. Launched on 16 May 2017, Vanguard UKPI is designed to help “simplify and lower the cost of investing” by providing long-term investment products, at excellent value, through a straightforward and intuitive online investment service.

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.

“We remain relentlessly focused on serving our clients, and on continuing to lower the barriers to investing. That means access to high-quality, uncomplicated funds, better value, and stronger advocacy for investors’ interests.”

Vanguard UKPI gives investors access to 86 Vanguard funds, including index and active funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and the popular 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. Investors hold £16 billion in assets on the platform (as at 24 April 2023).

Self-directed investors on UKPI pay an administration fee of 0.15% per annum in addition to the Ongoing Charge Figure (OCF)^[1] of the funds they select. There is no account fee above the first £250,000 invested, meaning the maximum account fee payable is £375 each year.

Investor behaviour and demographics: UKPI Clients stay the course

Trading behaviour on Vanguard UKPI is extremely disciplined. The percentage of investors that traded on the UKPI 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. (Source: Vanguard as at 24 April 2023)

Clients have also exhibited very few changes in investing behaviour in response to market conditions. This has held true through very volatile periods, including last year’s market downturns.

This is particularly encouraging given Vanguard UKPI’s success at drawing new and younger investors into the market. Demand has been particularly strong among millennial and “Gen Z” investors with 34% of Vanguard UKPI clients aged thirty or younger. (Source: Vanguard, as at 24 April 2023)

Most Popular Funds and ETFs since launch:

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