Skip to content
Log InRegister
;

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

How does it work?

We learn about you, choose investments for you, and then — with your contributions — build the portfolio on your behalf, showing you the results in an intelligent, straightforward manner. For a more thorough description read about how we invest.

Is there a minimum investment?

You can start investing with as little as £100 for a Junior ISA or £500 for general investment accounts and ISA pots.

Am I locked in?

No, investing is a long-term proposition but with John Lewis Investments, you can withdraw whenever you like from a stocks and shares ISA or general investment account. With Junior ISAs, only the child can access the money once they turn 18. There's no minimum investment period, however, the minimum suggested timeframe you should consider is three years.

Couldn't I do this myself?

You could replicate our portfolios on your own, but rebalancing and monitoring your portfolio could result in high trading charges, not to mention time and hassle. Plus, because we trade in bulk across our clients, our costs are even lower.

Can I see historical investment performance?

Yes. We always publish our portfolio performance after fees and compared to our competitors so you can see exactly how we’ve been doing. We update our performance figures quarterly.

View our performance figures

The past performance figures are simulated, based on real market transactions implemented across all individual client portfolios to a single portfolio for each risk level. Please remember that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

What are your fees?

We charge an annual management fee calculated on the total value of your portfolio. Our portfolio fees start at 0.75%/yr and go as low as 0.35%/yr beyond £100k, including VAT where applicable.

When investing, the providers of these investments charge an underlying fund cost and the transactions are subject to the effect of market spread. We work hard to keep these costs as low as we can so you are able to benefit from better net returns.

What am I investing in?

Once we've determined which assets should go into a portfolio, and in what proportions, we look to invest in them in the most efficient way possible. We generally prefer to use exchange-traded funds (ETFs) because they’re easy to trade, low cost and aim to track the movement of market indices with a high degree of accuracy.

Can I start a stocks and shares ISA with John Lewis Investments?

If you're a UK tax resident and over 18, you may be able to open an ISA with John Lewis Investments or transfer an existing ISA. There are different eligibility requirements for certain types of ISA.

How often do you invest?

We typically invest twice a week, generally towards the start and end of each week. 

On each trading day we invest recently cleared payments, process withdrawals, buy and sell investments related to changes in the risk level or investment style of a pot, and make any adjustments required to transfer money between pots.

Our investment team monitor portfolios on a continual basis and have discretion to rebalance or make changes to portfolios at any time.

How secure is it?

We take security very seriously. We believe that the safest way of looking after your investments is to appoint a “custodian bank” to hold your money. Our custodian is State Street — one of the world’s largest custodians. State Street serves thousands of investment managers, high-net-worth individuals and major banks worldwide.

State Street holds your investments in a segregated account for added security and never lends your assets to third parties. This means that your investments are protected in the unlikely event that either Nutmeg or State Street are declared bankrupt. Nutmeg is also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which means you may be entitled to compensation if we cannot meet our obligations.

Connections to our website are protected with TLS encryption, and we offer 2-step verification to further secure your account. When it comes to communicating with us, we provide you with a secure channel to send and receive messages, called Nutmail.

Can I use John Lewis Investments if I'm not a UK resident?

As a UK-based investment manager, we are primarily intended for UK residents. However, we do consider non-UK residents based in certain countries.

If you are a British Passport Holder; hold a full UK bank account, and reside in one of our supported countries; we'll be able to consider your application for an account.

How easy is it sign up?

Signing up is free and carries no obligation to invest. We don't charge you a penny until you transfer money into your account. And after that, you can close your pots and withdraw money from your stocks and shares ISA or general investment account whenever you decide. Junior ISAs can be transferred to other providers, but the child cannot access the money until they turn 18. You should always remember, however, that investments are subject to market risk and you may not get back the sum you invested.

How easy is it to withdraw money?

You're able to withdraw some or all of your money at any time from an ISA or general investment account. You can transfer your ISA to another provider. Junior ISAs can be transferred to other providers, but the child cannot access the money until they turn 18. We don't charge you to withdraw, but it takes 3-7 business days before your money will reach your bank account. If you withdraw all your money, after we close your account, we hold your personal information for a time as required by law. You should always remember, however, that investments are subject to market risk and you may not get back the sum you invested.

How does John Lewis Investments compare to other options I have?

Your other main options are to build a portfolio yourself or to select another provider. We want to give you a different, cost-effective experience, with all the care you expect.

What if I'm subject to personal account dealing rules?

People who work in certain professions (particularly financial services, consulting, legal and accounting firms or government departments) are often subject to restrictions on the types on securities that they can invest in. These restrictions may prevent an individual holding certain securities, enforce a minimum holding period, restrict trading periods, force the sale of a security and so on.

Generally, discretionary investment accounts — like John Lewis Investments — are exempt from these rules as the decisions about which underlying securities to invest in are made by the investment manager, not the individual. This generally has the effect of making your investment choice greater and your life easier, as you may no longer need to seek approval from your employer for any investment transactions made by John Lewis Investments. This does of course depend on the personal account dealing rules to which you are subject and not all employers have the same requirements.

If you are subject to personal account dealing rules we can provide a confirmation letter for your employer's HR or compliance department regarding the discretionary managed nature of John Lewis Investments' services. Request the letter by contacting us at johnlewisinvestments@nutmeg.com or send us a Nutmail once signed in.

Having trouble signing in or can't log in?

Here are a couple of things you can try to resolve the problem:

  • Try clearing your browser cache. Instructions for how to clear the cache in most popular browsers are here: www.refreshyourcache.com/en/home

    A browser is the window you use to access the internet. This could be Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer or some other software. Browsers store your history of visited pages so they are quicker to load when you next visit. Sometimes an error can get stored in your browser cache and clearing the cache can sometimes resolve the problem.

If these steps don't resolve the issue then please contact us with the following information:

  • How are you accessing the website — PC, tablet/iPad, mobile? For mobiles please also include your phone make and operating system version
  • Are you able to reach the screen that asks for your email and password or do you see an error before then?
  • Are you able to sign in if you use a different device?

Why am I being asked to verify my email?

As part of the security measures that we have in place for Nutmeg accounts, during the sign-up process we will ask you to verify your email address. This helps to ensure that the email address being used is a genuine email address belonging to the person trying to open the account, and to minimise the risk that a spelling error or typo will prevent you accessing your newly opened account.

Haven’t received an email verification link? 

You should receive your email verification link immediately, but please allow up to 10 minutes. It can be worth checking your spam and junk folders. If you still haven’t received an email, please contact client services. 

Email verification link has expired?

Your verification link will expire five days after the date it was sent. If your link has expired, please contact client services to get a new link. 

How to change or reset your password 

Reset your password

If you can't remember, or just want to change your password it's straightforward to reset provided you still have access to the email account you used to sign up with John Lewis Investments.

Navigate to the Sign In page, select the “Forgot Password” link and enter your email. Follow the link and instructions in the email to reset your password.

You can also update or change your password when you are signed in by looking under your name in the sidebar on the web, or in the options menu on mobile web, and visiting Settings > Change your password.

Why have you asked me to reset my password?

From time to time we may request that you reset your password. There is nothing to worry about here, but we may suggest you do it to keep your account safe and secure.

Haven't received the password reset email?

Check your junk and spam folders. If you still have received anything, contact client services.

Not accepting your new password?

Here are some things to check: 

  • The link in the email is valid only for a short amount of time. If you weren't able to reset your password straight away, try requesting the password reset again.
  • You are not using a password you have used previously
  • The password in the new and confirm password input fields match
  • The new password is 8 characters or more, contains at least one capital letter, a small letter, and one number or symbol
  • Your browser hasn't pre-populated text from a previously saved password in the input fields

With investment, your capital is at risk. The value of your portfolio can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatments depend on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. If you're unsure, please seek financial advice.

Back to top