Trade Global Stocks & ETFs
with Zero Commission.
No annual limits — grow your wealth on your terms.
FCA regulated
FSCS
FSCS protection
App Store rating
Trust Pilot rating
Create a general investment account
Experience effortless, all-in-one trading and investing.
- Invest smarter with 0.0% monthly fee, trading fee or commission
- Profit from ETFs, forex, shares, commodities, trusts and more
- UK-based customer service helpline for all your queries
- Global access from the UK to UK and US-listed stocks
What is an investment account?
It’s a brokerage, dealing, or shares account where you can buy and trade assets, funds and shares.
Choose from many options — funds, shares, bonds and CFDs
Carry on investing after using up your ISA and SIPP allowances
Access and withdraw when you like with no exit or startup fees
Earn X% AER on your cash account
Why choose our investment account?
- Built with a free access point for beginners
- Feature-rich environment for confident traders
- Basic account that beats Trading 212 on X charges
- General trading, CFD trading and spread betting available
- Ready-made, ethical and themed options for everyone
Feature-rich investment accounts
- Easy setup for auto-invest or recurring deposits
- Pick from X,XXX stocks, X,XXX funds, ETFs, bonds and gilts
- Trade Forex, FTSE 100, S&P 500, Nasdaq from £1
- Leverage of XX times available for CFD trades
- Reach markets with minimum sizes at 1p per point
- Stay up-to-date with breaking news on our platform
- Tight spreads for spread betting
- Make use of tools and recommendations to help you grow
- Free AI stock selection and risk profiling available
- Read the transparent fee breakdown (link)
Low, transparent fees
Simple pricing, no surprises
Platform fee
Simple pricing with no platform fee
Annual fund fees
Ranging from £X-X
No hidden fees
Fees stay constant over time
Transparent fee
Read the transparent fee breakdown →
We believe transparency builds trust.
View full fee breakdown ›Secure and fully regulated
Regulated, protected, secure
EC Markets is authorised by the FCA
Your money is protected by the FSCS, up to £120,000
Security assured by cross-platform encryption and biometrics
Funds held by regulated banks, in secure accounts
Your security comes first.
Who is the investment account for?
FAQ
Opening a general investment account is straightforward. You’ll need your National Insurance Number and bank account details. Next, you can download the app to register for an account. When you have your account started, transfer cash to start buying your investments, whether you want to buy them via a lump sum investment or set up a monthly contribution to regularly grow your investments.
When you sell investments in your general investment account, you can owe a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to HMRC. This is the tax due when you sell investments such as stocks, bonds, funds or property. You only pay Capital Gains Tax if your overall profits for the tax year after deductions are above an annual exempt amount (AEA) set by HMRC. It’s £3,000 for 2025/2026. You may also owe tax on dividends if it falls above HMRC’s allowance amount if your investments pay dividends £500 for 2025/2026. The tax you pay on profits from selling investments also depends on your income tax band. It is about 18% for basic rate taxpayers and about 24% for higher rate and additional taxpayers for 2025/2026.
The Stocks and Shares ISA and general investment account both allow you to buy the same wide range of investments. However, ISA accounts come with tax advantages. Investments held in an ISA are free from UK capital gains and income taxes up to an annual allowance limit. That limit is £20,000 each tax year. On the other hand, a general investment account may require filing tax returns and making payments to HMRC on any capital gains or dividend tax due.
You can use the general investment account to choose from thousands of investment instruments to use to potentially grow your investment account. We offer X,XXX stocks, X,XXX funds, ETFs, bonds and gilts.
You can open a general investment account if you’re over the age of 18 and UK resident for tax purposes. You should also be informed on our charges, confident in choosing your own investments, comfortable making long-term investment decisions, and free from debt apart from lower-interest debt like student debt and mortgages.
Yes. If you want to transfer them, ask your existing broker or trading app provider. While we do not charge transfer fees, transferring could incur exit charges with other platforms, so be sure to check with them before you make the jump.
Yes. We offer both UK- and US-listed fractional shares. To build a diversified portfolio from the get go, you can also choose from among ETF fractional shares listed in the UK and the US. To buy a fractional share, look up the fractional share you want to buy in your app or browser, and place your market order. The order will be placed in no more than a day.
We offer CFD trading with commodities, currencies, stocks, cryptoassets and indices.
There is no limit on how many general investment accounts you can have. For some, having multiple accounts can make it easier to invest for different purposes. Simply click open an additional account, either when you set up your first account or at any later point.
If you wish to gain a higher level of market exposure than your capital investment amount, you can do so with leverage. Leverage can optionally be used to multiply your investment in both short (sell) and buy (long) positions, for example by 2x, 5x, or more.
Get started with an investment account
Open an investment account Capital at risk. Invest responsibly.| Channel | Availability | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Email Support | 24-hour response time | For detailed inquiries, documentation, or complex issues. [email protected] |
| Phone Support | 8am – 6pm (UK Time), Monday to Friday | UK-based support for urgent matters. +44 (0)20 7621 7978 |