Moneyfarm

Moneyfarm is a digital investment service that invests your money for you. Its core offer is managed investing: you answer questions about your goals, timeframe and attitude to risk, and your money is invested in a portfolio of funds selected and looked after on your behalf. Alongside the managed portfolios it provides a Cash ISA, which is an investment in a money market fund rather than a bank deposit, and it operates in the wider world of investing, where your money buys assets whose value can fall as well as rise.

Moneyfarm is an investment firm rather than a bank¹. That single fact shapes everything else on this page: money paid in is not a deposit, it is held as investments and client money under FCA client asset rules, and eligible customers have protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000 per claimant if the firm fails and a shortfall arises¹. The firm behind the brand is MFM Investment Ltd, which appears on the FCA Register under the trading name Moneyfarm². The company was incorporated on 16 June 2014 and its status is active³.

What Moneyfarm offers: investments, pensions and a Cash ISA

Moneyfarm's business is investing money on behalf of customers rather than taking it as deposits. Its main product line is the managed portfolio: rather than choosing shares or funds yourself, Moneyfarm builds and maintains a portfolio for you based on the information you give about your circumstances and attitude to risk. This puts it in the category of investment services where the firm, not the customer, does the day-to-day investment decisions, while the customer stays exposed to the ups and downs of the markets.

The funds these portfolios are built from are pooled investments: many investors' money is combined and spread across a range of underlying assets⁴. That spreading is the main reason funds are used for this kind of service, since a single investor buying one or two shares would carry far more concentrated risk. Funds can be bought with small amounts, and regular investing from around £50 a month is common across the market, depending on the fund⁵.

Moneyfarm also offers a Cash ISA. The name is potentially confusing, and it matters: Moneyfarm states that its Cash ISA is a Qualifying Money Market Fund (QMMF) investment instrument rather than a bank deposit¹. A money market fund invests in short-term, low-risk assets, but it is still an investment, and its treatment under the compensation rules reflects that, as the protection section below explains. If you want a fuller picture of the ISA family, there are four main types of ISA: cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, Innovative Finance ISAs and Lifetime ISAs⁶, and stocks and shares ISAs are those where the money you put in is invested on the stock markets⁷. The wider ISA rules, including the annual allowance, are covered in our ISAs guide.

Because Moneyfarm is an investment service rather than a bank, none of its products are covered by the deposit protection that applies to bank and building society savings. That is not a reason to avoid investing, but it is a reason to be clear about what you are buying: an investment whose value can fall as well as rise, held under investment rules and investment compensation arrangements. Our investing guide explains how managed portfolios compare with doing it yourself, and our pension providers directory lists other firms in this market.

Moneyfarm's Cash ISA is an investment, not a bank deposit

This point deserves its own section because it is the most common source of confusion about Moneyfarm. A "Cash ISA" from a bank or building society is a deposit: the institution owes you the money, and it is protected by the FSCS deposit scheme. Moneyfarm's Cash ISA is different in kind. Moneyfarm's own description is that it is a Qualifying Money Market Fund (QMMF) investment instrument rather than a bank deposit¹.

In practice this means your money is buying units in a fund that invests in short-term money market assets. The fund aims to hold its value and pay a return, but unlike a bank deposit the return is not fixed and the holding is not a debt owed to you by a bank. The distinction also changes what happens if things go wrong: Moneyfarm states that its Cash ISA is protected under the FSCS investment compensation scheme up to a value of £85,000, not the deposit scheme¹. The investment scheme covers failures of the firm holding the assets, not falls in the value of what you hold.

If your priority is a fixed, deposit-based savings product, the savings guide sets out how savings accounts work and how deposit protection applies. If you are comfortable with an investment wrapper inside an ISA, the ISAs guide explains the rules that apply to all ISA types, including how the annual allowance works across everything you pay in during a tax year.

How Moneyfarm's charges work

This page does not carry Moneyfarm's current fee figures: charges change, and the firm's own website is the place for today's numbers. What is worth understanding is how charges for this kind of service are structured, because the model is broadly similar across the market.

Investment platforms and managed services typically charge in layers⁸. There is usually a platform fee or management fee, charged as a percentage of the value of your portfolio each year, so the amount you pay in pounds rises and falls with the value of your investments. Underneath that, the funds themselves carry their own ongoing charges, which are deducted inside the fund rather than billed to you separately. Some services also charge for specific actions: platforms may charge each time you buy and sell a share, investment trust or exchange-traded fund, while fees for buying and selling traditional funds are less common⁸.

Two things to check before you commit. First, whether there are exit costs: the FCA's risk summary rules for certain investments warn that "You may have to pay exit fees or additional charges to take any money out of your investment early"⁹, and platforms may charge when you transfer investments to another platform, though many have scrapped these fees and some offer to cover switching costs as an incentive to join⁸. Second, how the percentage fee is tiered: many services charge a lower percentage on larger balances, so the headline rate may not be the rate your whole portfolio pays. Moneyfarm's fee schedule on its own site sets out its current figures.

Charges matter because they compound: a percentage point difference in annual fees, applied year after year, makes a real difference to long-term returns. The general guides in our investing section explain how to read a fee schedule and compare like with like.

Who can invest with Moneyfarm and how much is needed to start

Moneyfarm is open to UK residents who can meet its minimum investment levels, which are set out on its own website and change from time to time. As a guide to the market, funds generally accept small amounts, with minimum regular investments starting from around £50 a month depending on the fund⁵. Managed services often set both a minimum lump sum to open a portfolio and a minimum for monthly contributions.

Before investing with Moneyfarm or any similar firm, the questions worth asking yourself are practical ones. Can you afford to leave the money invested for the timeframe the product assumes, given that investments fall as well as rise? Do you have an emergency fund in cash first? Are you using your ISA allowance in the way that suits you, given that there are four main types of ISA and the allowance is shared across them⁶? None of these are questions a firm can answer for you, but free guidance is available: MoneyHelper provides free, unbiased money and pensions guidance online, over the phone and face to face¹⁰, and you can reach it by phone, email, live chat and WhatsApp¹¹.

It is also worth knowing the boundary between guidance and advice. Guidance explains products and rules; advice recommends a specific course of action for your circumstances. Financial advice is a regulated activity, and financial advisers are regulated by the FCA¹². If you want personal recommendations rather than a managed service chosen from a questionnaire, our guide on finding a financial adviser explains how advice works and what it costs¹².

Paying in and taking money out

Money paid into Moneyfarm goes into investments, so both paying in and taking money out work differently from a bank account. Payments in are typically made by bank transfer or direct debit, and direct debits can be paid directly from a UK or Channel Islands bank or building society account¹³. Regular monthly investing by direct debit is the standard way to build a portfolio gradually, and it suits people who want to invest from income rather than from a lump sum.

Taking money out is slower than withdrawing from a savings account, and this is one of the practical differences that surprises people. Money usually has to be raised by selling investments, and the cash then has to be transferred to your bank account. For a sense of how even cash-like products compare, NS&I states that withdrawals from its Income Bonds take 3 to 5 days to reach a bank account¹⁴; investment withdrawals can take longer because of the selling step. Check Moneyfarm's current withdrawal timescales on its own site before you rely on access to the money.

Also check the cost of moving. As noted above, exit fees can apply to some investments⁹, and transfers between platforms can carry charges, though many platforms have scrapped these⁸. If you are transferring an ISA or a portfolio from another provider, ask both firms what the move will cost and how long it will take before you start.

Getting help: phone, chat, email and advice

Moneyfarm runs as a digital service, with an app and website as the main way customers manage their accounts, supported by contact channels for questions and problems. Its current phone numbers, email addresses and opening hours are on its own website's contact page, which is the place to check before trying to get in touch.

If your question is about money generally rather than about your Moneyfarm account specifically, free independent help exists and is worth knowing about. MoneyHelper, the government-backed service, provides free, unbiased money and pensions guidance online, over the phone and face to face¹⁰, and you can contact it by phone, email, live chat or WhatsApp¹¹. It replaces earlier services including the Money Advice Service¹⁰. For people affected by scams, MoneyHelper offers free, non-judgemental and confidential support from an expert¹⁵.

If you believe you have been targeted by an investment scam, report it: Action Fraud (Report Fraud) is the route for reporting a scam and getting further advice on scams and fraud¹⁶. Investment scams are a significant problem, particularly those using cloned firm details or fake adverts, and Age UK's guidance on investment scams sets out the warning signs¹⁶. Our scams and fraud guide covers the common patterns and what to do next.

Making a complaint about Moneyfarm

If something goes wrong, the process is the same as with any regulated financial firm: complain to the firm first, then escalate if you are not satisfied. FCA rules require firms to give customers information on how to complain, including an address and phone number, and to tell them that an unsettled complaint may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹⁷. The same principle is written into the rules for basic payment accounts, where a refused applicant must be told about the complaint procedure and their right to complain to the ombudsman¹⁸.

The ombudsman's process is straightforward. Make a formal complaint to Moneyfarm first. If it does not send you a final response letter within eight weeks, or you are unhappy with the response, you can bring the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service using its complaint form¹⁹. The ombudsman can consider complaints from consumers, and also from microenterprises and small businesses²⁰. Its service is free.

Keep a record of what you sent and when, and of any responses. If your complaint involves a suspected scam rather than poor service, report it as well as complaining: reporting to Action Fraud is the route for scams¹⁶, and the ombudsman can also look into complaints about the bank or payment provider that received money you were tricked into sending²². Our consumer protection guide explains your rights across financial services, and the debt guide covers where the ombudsman and other bodies fit when the problem is borrowing rather than investing.

Accounts left inactive or dormant

Investment accounts that are left untouched for long periods can be classified by the provider as dormant, and that classification can have consequences for access. In a Financial Ombudsman case study, a customer found his bank account had been classified as dormant because he had not used it for several years²³. The same principle applies to investment and savings accounts more broadly: a firm may restrict access or require additional identity checks before it will deal with you on an account that has been inactive for a long time.

If you have a Moneyfarm account you have not looked at for years, it is worth logging in or contacting the firm to confirm the account is still active and your contact details are up to date. This matters for two reasons. First, statements and important notices go to the contact details the firm holds, and out-of-date details mean you may miss them. Second, if you have moved house or lost track of an account, the money still belongs to you, and the firm should be able to help you re-establish access with appropriate identity checks.

If you have lost track of accounts with several providers, the FCA regulates financial advice and firms in this sector, and bodies such as StepChange describe the regulatory landscape and where to turn for each kind of problem²⁴. MoneyHelper can also point you to the right service for your situation¹⁰.

How your money is protected: client asset rules and FSCS

Protection for money invested with Moneyfarm works differently from protection for bank deposits, and it comes in two layers.

The first layer is the client asset rules. Moneyfarm states that it follows strict FCA rules on 100% protection of client assets, and that neither Moneyfarm, nor its partner banks or custodians, can use your money to run its business, to lend to others or to pay creditors; the firm only administers the assets on your behalf¹. Reconciliations are carried out on a daily basis to ensure the assets being held correspond with your account records¹. In plain terms, your investments are held separately from the firm's own money, so if the firm itself got into financial difficulty, your assets would not be among its assets.

The second layer is the FSCS. Moneyfarm states that eligible customers would be protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per claimant where Moneyfarm becomes insolvent and there is a shortfall between the assets held and your account balance, and that the scheme also protects you if Moneyfarm or a counterparty were to incorrectly segregate or handle your cash or assets¹. Customers may also have FSCS protection for claims related to misleading advice, poor investment management or misrepresentation¹. The same £85,000 investment scheme limit applies to the Cash ISA, which is protected under the investment compensation scheme rather than the deposit scheme¹.

Where the protection stops is just as important. FSCS does not compensate you for investments falling in value, or for a company in which you hold shares going bust, unless the poor performance resulted from bad advice from a regulated adviser that has since failed¹². Investment carries risk, and no compensation scheme exists for ordinary market losses. The FSCS also protects customers of regulated firms generally, as with regulated insurance brokers²⁵, but only within its scheme rules. Our consumer protection guide explains the FSCS limits across deposits, investments and insurance in one place.