02 — The Investors

Where 13.4 million investor accounts actually go

The UK DIY investor market has reached £572bn in assets under administration across 13.4 million accounts — up 20% in a year, with 2 million new accounts opened in 2025. This is the demand side of the market: who invests, how many, and where they go.

The scale of retail participation

£572bn
Assets under administration[15]
13.4m
Accounts across platforms[15]
+2m
New accounts in 2025[15]

Growth is being driven by 35–44 year olds — 34% of this age group now invest, up from 27%.[16] The FCA estimates that 35% of UK adults hold investments (excluding property), with 19% holding shares in listed companies specifically. Men are 54% more likely to hold investments than women.[17]

The bifurcation

The platform market has split into two distinct tiers: legacy incumbents that dominate assets and older demographics, and commission-free challengers that are capturing younger investors and growing much faster by account numbers.

The incumbents

Hargreaves Lansdown

2.02m clients£172.7bn

UK's #1 by AUA. 91.5% client retention. Market share fallen from 39% (2020) to 33% (2025)[18]

AJ Bell

644k clients£103.3bn

Fastest-growing incumbent. +102k customers (+19%) in FY25[19]

Interactive Investor

439k clients£74bn

Owned by abrdn (acquired for £1.5bn). Higher-value customers: £145k AUA per customer[20]

The challengers (commission-free)

Trading 212

4.5m clients£25bn+

Revenue £194m (2024), up from £116m. 72% increase in funded investment accounts. MAUs doubled[21]

Freetrade

1.6m clients£3.3bn

Acquired by IG Group for £160m (Jan 2025). AUA up 36% YoY. First positive EBITDA[22]

eToro

40m registered clients$20.8bn globally

~70% of funded accounts in Europe + UK. Revenue $931m (2024). Known for copy trading and crypto[23]

The story in two numbers: Trading 212's 4.5m clients vs Hargreaves Lansdown's 2.02m tells you where the growth is. But HL's £172.7bn vs Trading 212's £25bn shows where the money still sits. The market is splitting along generational and wealth lines.

Where they research

Beyond their broker platforms, UK retail investors research investments across a handful of specialist sites — each serving a different need and audience.

London South East (lse.co.uk)

~18.8m monthly visits

Ranked #4 globally in Investing category. 78% male, 55–64 age group dominant. The go-to for share prices and discussion[24]

Investegate

350–400k monthly users

3.5m page impressions/month. The default free portal for regulatory announcements. Acquired by Stockomendation (2023)[25]

Stockopedia

~10,000 paying subscribers

Premium quant screening and factor-based analysis (£200–600/yr). Subscribers report average 35.6% return in 2025[26]

ADVFN

Millions of users

Live pricing, Level 2 data, and discussion forums for virtually every UK listed company. Trusted since 1999

SharePad / ShareScope

Niche but loyal

UK-focused fundamental and technical screening. Launched 2015. Geared towards stock pickers

From January 2025, LSEG waived real-time market data fees for retail investors[27] — a significant shift that removes a barrier which previously gave paid platforms an edge over free alternatives.

Where they get news

For UK small- and mid-cap stocks specifically, a small number of specialist outlets dominate.

Proactive Investors

Small/mid-cap, AIM, resources. Multi-media (video + articles). 104 employees across 5 cities

Vox Markets

AIM market news with direct company-investor interaction. App-based community

Investors Chronicle

Long-heritage weekly magazine (FT Group). Broad UK equities. Paywalled

ThisIsMoney

Mass-market reach via Daily Mail brand. Personal finance and markets

Shares Magazine

UK equities, funds, and investment trusts. Blue-chip to small-cap

Research Tree

Aggregates broker research from Hardman & Co, Edison, and others for retail access

Where they discuss

UK equity discussion is heavily fragmented. No single community dominates the way r/wallstreetbets does for US stocks.

ADVFN Forums — Per-stock discussion threads for virtually every UK listed company. Thousands of posts daily

LSE.co.uk Share Chat — Part of 18.8m monthly visits. Very active for AIM stocks

Reddit (r/UKPersonalFinance) — 1.1–1.8m members. Broad personal finance, some equities discussion

Twitter/X FinTwit — Fragmented but influential. Key voices move sentiment on small-cap stocks

The Lemon Fool — Independent forum covering UK stocks, ISAs, and dealing

Who they follow

The UK investing influencer landscape is thin compared to the US. Most popular UK finance YouTubers focus on personal finance and passive investing, not active UK equity analysis. The creators who move the needle on individual UK stocks have smaller but more engaged audiences.

PensionCraft (Ramin Nakisa)

Ex-investment banker. No sponsors/ads. Well-regarded for quality. Since 2016

Twin Petes Investing

UK small-cap focused. Interviews with company management

Maynard Paton

Deep-dive UK stock analysis. Long-running, respected in value investing circles

Merryn Talks Money

Bloomberg podcast. In-depth conversations with fund managers and strategists

The fragmentation is the story

13.4 million accounts are spread across dozens of platforms. Research happens on separate sites from trading. News comes from specialist outlets most investors don't know about. Discussion is scattered across forums, Reddit, and social media.

No single platform combines all of these. An investor tracking a portfolio of UK stocks must check half a dozen sources to stay informed — and the information chain from company to investor involves multiple handoffs, each adding delay and friction.

Sources & References

  1. [15]UK DIY investor market: £572bn AUA, 13.4m accounts, up 20% YoY, 2m new accounts in 2025. Boring Money, DIY Investor Market Report, end of 2025↩
  2. [16]Growth driven by 35–44 year olds: 34% now investing, up from 27%. Boring Money, DIY Investor Market Report, end of 2025↩
  3. [17]35% of UK adults hold investments; 19% hold shares in listed companies; men 54% more likely. FCA, Financial Lives 2024 Survey, May 2025↩
  4. [18]Hargreaves Lansdown: 2.02m clients, £172.7bn AUA, 91.5% retention. Market share fallen from 39% to 33%. Hargreaves Lansdown, FY25 Annual Results, June 2025↩
  5. [19]AJ Bell: 644k clients, £103.3bn AUA, +102k customers (+19%) in FY25. AJ Bell, FY25 Annual Results, September 2025↩
  6. [20]Interactive Investor: 439k clients, £74bn AUA, £145k AUA per customer. Acquired by abrdn for £1.5bn. Interactive Investor / abrdn, FY24 Results↩
  7. [21]Trading 212: 4.5m clients globally, £25bn+ AUA, revenue £194m (2024). Trading 212, press releases and media coverage, May 2025↩
  8. [22]Freetrade: 1.6m users, £3.3bn AUA. Acquired by IG Group for £160m (January 2025). IG Group, FY25 Annual Results↩
  9. [23]eToro: 40m registered users, 3.73m funded accounts globally, revenue $931m (2024). eToro, Q3 2025 Results↩
  10. [24]London South East (lse.co.uk): ~18.8m monthly visits, ranked #4 in Investing category globally. SimilarWeb traffic estimates, October 2024↩
  11. [25]Investegate: 350–400k monthly users, 3.5m page impressions/month. Acquired by Stockomendation (May 2023). Investegate media kit / Stockomendation acquisition announcement↩
  12. [26]Stockopedia: ~10,000 paying subscribers, subscribers report avg 35.6% return in 2025. Stockopedia, company communications, 2025↩
  13. [27]LSEG waived real-time market data fees for retail investors from January 2025. LSEG, announcement re: retail market data fee waiver, January 2025↩