Competition for new customers has led to a range of perks being offered for new and existing customers, most of which are only available for a short period of time.

The deals on offer vary depending on the investment platform but include one-off cashback payments, refund of exit fees, half price fees and rewards for recommending friends.

There are also cashback offers available exclusively with TopCashback and Quidco for some companies, so it’s worth checking to see how much is on offer via these websites. However, rules apply here and you can only usually use one offer, so you won’t be able to get cashback via a cashback website and also through an investment firm directly.

You can currently get up to £1,200 from the providers. But as with any offer, it’s important you understand the full terms and conditions.

And before you jump in, it’s crucial to look behind the scenes of the offer, that is, check the investments available, the functionality, and the fees and charges to see if the platform meets your needs.

Once you’re happy with a particular platform, consider the cashback or perk as a bonus, rather than letting it sway your investment decision.

The investment firms offering perks

Here’s a rundown of all the current offers available:

AJ Bell

AJ Bell isn’t currently running a hard cash offer (it ran up to £200 back in May), but it’s offering to pay up to £500 in transfer costs with a previous provider if you’re looking to move your ISA, SIPP or dealing account to it.

It’s open to both existing and new customers but the value of the funds being transferred must be valued at £20,000 or more.

To claim the money, you will need to email ‘transferoffer@ajbell.co.uk’ with copies of documentation confirming the transfer costs you’ve paid to your old provider for moving. If your claim is valid and the transfer completes, the money will be paid into your bank account within 28 days.

If you recommend a friend to AJ Bell, and they transfer more than £10,000, you’ll both receive a £100 voucher too.

Bestinvest

The online investment and coaching service has launched its autumn cashback deal, offering new and existing investors up to £1,000 to transfer to the platform.

By existing customer, this refers to someone who transfers an external account to Bestinvest, even if they already hold other accounts with Bestinvest.

The offer’s available until 30 November and requires users to invest by this time AND keep their money invested until 31 May 2024.

Cashback is on a tiered basis, so those transferring larger sums into a general investment account, ISA, Junior ISA or Self-invested Personal Pension (SIPP) get more in return:

• £100 cashback for £1,000 transferred in
• £300 cashback for £20,000 transferred in
• £600 cashback or £50,000 transferred in
• £1,000 cashback for £100,000 transferred in.

To claim the cashback, you must complete this Bestinvest cashback form including the account number, no later than 30 November 2023.

Those with investment accounts will receive the cashback directly into the account, while those with a Stocks & Shares ISA, Junior ISA or SIPP will also get the cash directly if there’s unused ISA or pension allowances remaining. If you’ve maxed out your pension and ISA allowances, the cashback reward will be paid into a bank account.

This sits on top of the monthly prize draw which gives one regular saver £250. To qualify, new or existing customers must have a direct debit set up of £50 or more before the 12th of the month into an Individual Savings Account (ISA), Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), or investment account. The prize draw runs until July 2024.

Bestinvest also offers a refer a friend cashback scheme. If you introduce a friend to the firm, and they invest £5,000 through the platform, you can both get £100 as long as your friend remains invested for 120 days.

Foresters Friendly Society

New customers who open a Tax Exempt Savings Plan, Child Tax Exempt Savings Plan, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, Stocks & Shares ISA or Investment Bond with Foresters Friendly can earn up to £800 in cashback.

This offer is only available via the cashback website TopCashback. There are different amounts available depending on how much you deposit and which account you are opening.

Full details are on the TopCashback website but the following amounts are on offer for opening a new stocks and shares ISA and transferring money or making a new investment, and keeping the money invested for at least three months:

• £5,000 – £9,999 nets £75
• £10,000 – £19,999 nets £250
• £20,000 – £29,999 nets £500
• £30,000 – £39,999 nets £600
• £40,000 – £49,999 nets £700
• £50,000+ nets £800

Cashback will be paid between 90 and 200 days after you’ve made your first deposit, depending on the type of account you have opened.

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown isn’t currently running a transfer offer.

It last offered up to £250 for new and existing Hargreaves Lansdown customers who opened their first stocks and shares ISA (minimum £5,000) before 28 September.

The money should be paid by 12 October. If the value of the new ISA falls below £100 before 29 September 2024, Hargreaves said it reserves the right to reclaim the cash bonus.

Freetrade

New customers who open a stocks and shares ISA and deposit or transfer at least £5,000 before 31 October can get a free share worth between £50 and £1,200.

Awards are tiered based on the total value of cash deposited or transferred to the ISA:

• £50 for a net cash or transfer amount of £5,000 – £9,999
• £100 for a net cash or transfer amount of £5,000 – £9,999
• £200 for a net cash or transfer amount of £5,000 – £9,999
• £400 for a net cash or transfer amount of £5,000 – £9,999
• £800 for a net cash or transfer amount of £5,000 – £9,999
• £1,200 for a net cash or transfer amount of £5,000 – £9,999

See the Freetrade ISA special offer page for more information, otherwise the steps to follow, include:

Step 1: Open an ISA with Freetrade by 31 October 2023 by clicking the Open an ISA button.

Step 2: Add cash or start an ISA transfer (cash and/or investments) of at least £5,000 into your Freetrade ISA on or before 31 October 2023.

Step 3: Keep your ISA open. If you make withdrawals or transfers which cause your relevant ISA value to fall before we award the share, your free share value will be impacted. If it falls below £5,000, you will not be awarded a free share.

Step 4: The free share will be added into your General Investment Account (GIA) usually within 90 days of qualifying.

Interactive Investor (II)

Interactive Investor has an existing customer offer whereby those adding a SIPP to their account by 31 October where it will waive the admin fee for a year, saving you £120.

It is also running a refer a friend scheme. For those who join on a referral, they must fund their account with at least £10,000.

The existing customer will receive £200 while the newbie will get their first year’s service plan for free.

These offers are vastly scaled back from the up to £3,000 it offered to customers who transferred or opened a new II pension in August.

Moneyfarm

There are two separate offers running for Moneyfarm newbies.

The first is an exclusive offer via TopCashback, offering customers up to £1,100 cashback for new stocks and shares ISAs. See YourMoney.com’s online shopping guide for more on cashback sites – note the cashback isn’t guaranteed.

New customers signing up to Moneyfarm get more cashback the more they invest via an initial investment and subsequent deposits. Here’s what’s on offer:

• £1,100 for new customers who make an initial investment of £100,000
• £800 for new customers who make an initial investment of £50,000 to £99,999
• £600 for new customers who make an initial investment of £30,000 to £39,999
• £250 for new customers who make an initial investment of £15,000 to £19,999.

Transactions will be validated by Moneyfarm within 90 days and the cashback will be payable in your TopCashback account within 120 days from the date of your first investment.

The second offer is direct from Moneyfarm and for new customers who open or transfer a SIPP (minimum £5,000), they’ll be entered into a prize draw to win £20,000, £10,000 or £5,000 (three winners for each cash prize).

The offer’s on till 12 December 2023 so you need to have opened an account, shown interest in entering the prize draw and paid a deposit into the account by this date.  You need to go via the special SIPP promo page and enter the coupon PROMO_SIPP23. Once you receive an email, push notification or a promotional message in the Moneyfarm dashboard, confirm your interest in the the offer by following the instructions.

Each qualifying amount of £5,000 invested will automatically entitle you to one entry into the prize draws whether you invest smaller or larger sums. For example, if you invest a total
of £50,000 during the offer period, this will equal 10 entries.

Transfers from another pension provider are also eligible where the transferred funds are received by Moneyfarm before 6 May 2024.

Scottish Friendly

Up to £410 in cashback is available for new customers who sign up to a stocks and shares ISA with Scottish Friendly via the cashback website TopCashback.

The amount of cashback paid out depends on the investment made and customers must sign up to put away a specific amount each month via direct debit.

• £10 – £24.99 a month nets £30
• £25 – £49.99 a month nets £140
• £50 – £99.99 nets £165
• £100 – £499.99 nets £310
• £500 – £999.99 nets £350
• £1,000 or more nets £410.

The cashback will be paid into the TopCashback account, and can then be withdrawn. It is made once payments into the ISA at least equal the value of the cashback. It will only be paid if the money remains within the account for at least 60 days.

If the ISA is closed within a year, the cashback may be reclaimed from any surrender value or refund of premiums. There is a £50 exit fee if you make a withdrawal or transfer out within five years.

Wealthify

The offer from Wealthify allows those transferring existing pensions (new and existing customers) the chance to earn up to £200 back, with the exact amount paid out based on funding tiers as follows:

• £50 for transfers between £50 and £9,999
• £100 for transfers between £10,000 and £19,999
• £200 for transfers above £20,000.

To get this offer you’ll need to click the ‘Activate Your Offer’ button on the pension transfer page by Friday 3 November. Transfer requests must then be initiated within six months to be eligible. You can transfer multiple pensions to boost the amount of cashback you could receive.