Our Bottom Line
The IG Smart Portfolios is a robo-advisor service and offers a set of automatically managed investment portfolios designed for hands-off investors, which launched in 2017. After opting into this discretionary service, investors are presented with a series of questions which can help judge their overall risk tolerance to steer investors towards the most suitable portfolio. It’s a way for individuals to grow their wealth in the market without needing to constantly monitor what’s going on.
While the portfolios are managed by IG, they’re actually built by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. They’re globally diversified and automatically rebalanced, allowing you to put your investments on autopilot. However, this convenience does come at the cost of management fees and losing control over investment decisions. Nevertheless, it remains a compelling option for long-term investors who like to keep things as simple as possible.
Let’s dive into our 2026 review of IG Smart Portfolios!
Pros & Cons
What we like:
- Reputable broker and portfolio designer.
- Low-cost portfolio management fees.
- Portfolios built by experts at BlackRock.
- Automatic rebalancing and diversification.
- Compatible with SIPP and ISA tax wrappers.
However, investors also need to consider:
- No way to customise individual portfolio holdings.
- Limited active control over investments.
- No ESG or ethical investment filters are currently available.
- Not suitable for short-term trading or DIY investors.
- Unsuitable for investors with considerable wealth requiring personalised advice.
Key Features and Services
The IG Smart Portfolios service can be tied in directly with existing investment accounts with IG. This includes the IG Share Dealing Account and IG Stocks and Shares ISA.
- Globally diversified – The portfolios grant exposure to equities, bonds, and alternative assets across multiple markets around the world.
- Discretionary management – The portfolios are managed by IG and BlackRock with no manual input required from investors beyond contributing more funds or withdrawing existing ones.
- Risk tailoring – Rather than providing a single pre-built portfolio, the IG platform offers a range of options from conservative to aggressive so investors can match their own goals and risk tolerances.
- Automatic rebalancing – The portfolios are regularly adjusted to maintain the optimal asset allocation without needing input from investors.
- Transparency – You can easily track the performance of your investments through the IG platform with clear breakdowns of allocations and returns.
Fees and Trading Costs in 2026
The IG Smart Portfolios service remains competitively priced in 2026 and continues to offer significantly lower costs than traditional wealth managers.
- Management fee – IG charges a 0.50% annual management fee, which is capped at £250 per year per account type (e.g., ISA, general investment account, SIPP). This means if your portfolio value exceeds £50,000, you effectively pay no additional management fee above the £250 cap.
- Fund costs – The portfolios are constructed using ETFs, and this cost (known as the total expense ratio, or TER) is built into the funds themselves. The average TER for the ETFs used in IG Smart Portfolios is around 0.13%–0.15% per year.
- Transaction costs – There are no separate trading commissions for rebalancing within the portfolio. However, there are underlying transaction costs related to ETF trading, which IG estimates at around 0.07%–0.09% per year.
- Platform fee – None for IG Smart Portfolio clients. Non-Smart Portfolio accounts incur a flat quarterly fee of £24. This can be reduced to £0 by executing at least three buy or sell trades in a single month.
- Foreign Exchange Fees – Foreign dividends or non-GBP currencies held in the portfolio are converted to GBP at IG’s FX rates, and a 0.7% foreign exchange fee applies on those conversions.
- Deposit fee – None.
- Withdrawal Fee – None.
IG Smart Portfolios Requirements
Here are the minimum requirements for investors to start using the IG Smart Portfolios service.
- Minimum opening amount – £500. Before funds can be invested in one of the IG Smart Portfolios, investors must have at least £500 available.
- Minimum top-up amount – Once the initial £500 is invested in a portfolio, additional top-ups starting from £50 can be made via bank transfer or £250 by debit card.
- Minimum standing order – If you want to make regular contributions to your IG Smart Portfolios account, you can set up a standing order from £50 per month.
- Eligibility – The Share Dealing Account is available to all UK residents aged 18+. You’ll need a National Insurance Number to get started.
- Account opening time – Opening an account can be done online within a few minutes. However, you may be asked to perform ID verification, which can take between one and three working days.
Platform and App Experience in 2025
The IG Smart Portfolios platform continues to offer a polished and streamlined user experience in 2026. It is notably simpler than IG’s active trading and share-dealing platforms, as there’s no need for advanced trading tools or frequent decision-making. Instead, the focus is on long-term portfolio management, with investors able to monitor and manage their investments with minimal effort.
The intuitive dashboard provides a clean layout of how much wealth has been built, along with where an investor’s capital has been allocated. Investors can view detailed breakdowns by asset class, region, currency, and individual ETF holdings, alongside historical performance charts that track progress over the long term.
The IG mobile app mirrors this experience closely, allowing investors to check portfolio performance on the go, make additional top-ups, and manage contributions from a smartphone or tablet. While the app is primarily designed for monitoring rather than active trading, it remains intuitive and responsive for day-to-day use.
For investors who may eventually want to take a more hands-on approach, IG continues to stand out for its educational offering. The IG Academy provides one of the most comprehensive learning platforms among UK investment providers, with free courses, videos, and quizzes covering everything from investing basics to more advanced market concepts.
Overall, IG Smart Portfolios remains competitively priced relative to other robo-advisors, with costs largely dependent on the underlying ETFs used within each portfolio. Combined with a clean interface, strong mobile support, and high-quality educational resources, IG Smart Portfolios continues to appeal to long-term investors in 2026 who prioritise simplicity and low maintenance over active trading.
Is the IG Smart Portfolios Right For You?
IG Smart Portfolios are designed for passive investors who don’t want to go through the hassle of researching and picking their investments directly. The service is a solid choice for those who are seeking a low-cost, hands-off way to invest in global markets and steadily build wealth over time.
With BlackRock and IG managing the portfolios, you benefit from institutional professional investment and asset allocation decision-making at a significantly lower cost compared to traditional advisors. And with these portfolios being compatible with IG’s Stocks and Shares ISA as well as SIPP, it opens the door to tax-efficient investing as well.
However, investors who prefer having a high level of control or want to pursue exclusively ethical or ESG investments, IG Smart Portfolios is likely too restrictive.
Good for investors seeking a low-cost, fully managed solution
IG Smart Portfolios *
| Account Management Fee | 0.50% – capped at a maximum of £250 per year. |
- Pros & Cons
- Fees & Charges
Pros
- Choice of five investment profiles, ranging from conservative to aggressive
- BlackRock designed asset-allocation, using ETFs
- Reputable broker and portfolio designer.
- Low-cost portfolio management fees.
- Portfolios built by experts at BlackRock.
- Automatic rebalancing and diversification.
- Compatible with SIPP and ISA tax wrappers.
Cons
- £500 minimum initial investment
- No ‘DIY’ option – you can’t invest directly in specific ETFs
- IG’s platform can feel challenging to navigate, compared to offerings from ‘pure-play’ robo-brokers
- No way to customise individual portfolio holdings.
- Limited active control over investments.
- No ESG or ethical investment filters are currently available.
- Not suitable for short-term trading or DIY investors.
- Unsuitable for investors with considerable wealth requiring personalised advice.
- Management fee – Investors have to pay a 0.5% annual management fee, which is capped at £250 per year.
- Fund costs – Since you are indirectly investing in funds and ETFs, the management fees of these funds also need to be paid, which have historically varied between 0.1% and 0.2% per year.
- Transaction costs – All trades, such as buying and selling, are handled internally; therefore, investors do not need to pay any commission fees. However, this trading activity does introduce a transaction cost which averages around 0.09% per year.
- Platform fee – None for IG Smart Portfolio clients. Non-Smart Portfolio accounts incur a flat quarterly fee of £24. This can be reduced to £0 by executing at least three buy or sell trades in a single month.
- Foreign Exchange – If depositing non-GBP money into an IG Smart Portfolios account, the funds will be converted, and IG will charge a 0.7% conversion fee.
- Deposit fee – None.
- Withdrawal Fee – None.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IG Smart Portfolio Safe?
Yes. IG is an FCA-regulated business where client funds are held in segregated accounts, offering a high level of protection for UK investors.
Can I Lose Money With IG Smart Portfolios?
Yes. Even when opting for lower-risk portfolios, every investment carries risk, and values can fluctuate depending on market conditions.
Can I Change Risk Levels?
Yes. Even after selecting a risk level and money has been invested in a specified portfolio, this can be changed at any time should your circumstances or goals change.
Does IG Smart Portfolio Support ESG Investing?
No. There is currently no dedicated option to invest exclusively in ESG-focused stocks or funds with IG Smart Portfolios in 2025.
Alternatives To Consider
If you’re interested in exploring other robo-advisor services, other great options worth comparing include: