What’s a collective investment scheme?

Learn what's a collective investment scheme

A collective investment scheme is a fancy legal name for any investment fund that involves multiple people pooling their money together and investing in assets.

In the UK, this could include mutual funds, investment trusts or an open-ended investment company.

Collective investment schemes benefit from economies of scale. A larger pool of money invested has the potential to provide greater returns. It can also mean that transactions and other pieces of bureaucracy incur lower costs.

‍

More terms

Arithmetic Mean

Equity

Securities

Net Income (NI)

Ponzi Scheme

Nominal amount

LSE

Bull market

Capital

Pick the plan that suits you best

Save 17% when you choose an annual subscription.

£0.00

/Month

Accounts

General Investment Account

Benefits

A great way to try Freetrade before transferring your ISA or pension
Unlimited commission-free trades. Other charges may apply.
Trade USD and EUR stocks at the exchange rate + 0.99% FX fee
Access to a selection of Freetrade’s 6,200+ global stocks and ETFs
1% AER on up to £1,000 uninvested cash
Fractional US shares
Access to mobile app and web platform

£4.99

/Month

£59.88 billed annually

Accounts

General Investment Account
Stocks and shares ISA

Everything in Basic and:

Access to 6,200+ global stocks and ETFs, including gilts
A lower FX fee of 0.59% on non-GBP trades
3% AER on up to £2,000 uninvested cash
Early market access with pre-market trading
Automated order types, including recurring orders
More stats and analysis, including analyst ratings and EPS estimates

Get Standard Now

£9.99

/Month

£119.88 billed annually

Accounts

General Investment Account
Stocks and shares ISA
Personal pension

Everything in Standard and:

A lower FX fee of 0.39% on non-GBP trades
Priority customer service
5% AER on up to £3,000 uninvested cash
Free, same day withdrawals

£0.00

/Month

Accounts

General Investment Account

Benefits

A great way to try Freetrade before transferring your ISA or pension
Unlimited commission-free trades. Other charges may apply.
Trade USD and EUR stocks at the exchange rate + 0.99% FX fee
Access to a selection of Freetrade’s 6,200+ global stocks and ETFs
1% AER on up to £1,000 uninvested cash
Fractional US shares
Access to mobile app and web platform

£5.99

/Month

billed monthly

Accounts

General Investment Account
Stocks and shares ISA

Everything in Basic and:

Access to 6,200+ global stocks and ETFs, including gilts
A lower FX fee of 0.59% on non-GBP trades
3% AER on up to £2,000 uninvested cash
Early market access with pre-market trading
Automated order types, including recurring orders
More stats and analysis, including analyst ratings and EPS estimates

Get Standard Now

£11.99

/Month

billed monthly

Accounts

General Investment Account
Stocks and shares ISA
Personal pension

Everything in Standard and:

A lower FX fee of 0.39% on non-GBP trades
Priority customer service
5% AER on up to £3,000 uninvested cash
Free, same day withdrawals

You’re just minutes away from commission-free investing

When you invest, your capital is at risk

Freetrade does not provide investment advice and individual investors should make their own decisions or seek independent advice. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may receive back less than your original investment. Freetrade is a trading name of Freetrade Limited, which is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales (no. 09797821).

© 2025 Freetrade, All rights reserved. The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.