Equibrook: investing explained in plain English, before you commit

What is Equibrook?

Equibrook is an introducer website. It explains the managed portfolio, an investment product from the provider, and passes your details to that firm only if you ask it to. The provider pays Equibrook a fee for each introduction. Equibrook itself never holds or invests your money.

Most people who look into investing get stuck on three questions: what exactly am I buying, what will it cost me each year, and who do I complain to if something goes wrong. Each page on this site answers one of those questions properly, with the numbers written out, not hidden behind a sign-up form.

When you're ready, the call back form sends your name, email and phone number to the provider. That's the whole of our role. The account, the investment decisions and the checks on whether the product suits you all sit with the provider.

The managed portfolio at a glance

The managed portfolio comes from the provider. You choose a risk level, and your money goes into a mix of funds to match it. Your capital is at risk, and you could get back less than you invest.

How does Equibrook work?

Using Equibrook takes four steps: read the guides, request a call back, speak to the provider, and decide. The provider checks whether the product suits you before you can invest. You can stop at any step, and there's nothing to pay Equibrook.

1. Read before you commit

   Start with how it works, fees and the risk disclosure. They take about ten minutes together.

2. Ask for a call

   Fill in the short form. We send your details to the provider and nobody else, and we tell you that before you press the button.

3. Talk to the provider

   Someone from the provider calls, answers your questions and asks about your goals, experience and how much loss you could live with. Those questions are there to check the product fits you, not to hurry you into it.

4. Decide in your own time

   If you go ahead, you open the account directly on the provider's website. If you don't, nothing else happens.

Full walkthrough: How Equibrook works.

Who is the managed portfolio for, and who should skip it?

The managed portfolio suits people who can leave money invested for at least five years and accept that its value will rise and fall along the way. It's a poor fit if you need the money soon, carry expensive debt, or have no emergency savings yet.

Usually a reasonable fit

• You already have three to six months of spending in an easy-access savings account.
• You're investing money you won't need for five years or more.
• You'd rather have a professionally run portfolio than pick investments yourself.
• You've read the fees and can see what you'd pay in a typical year.

Probably not for you right now

• You have credit card or other high-interest debt. Paying that off first usually gives a better return.
• You might need the money for a house deposit, a wedding or a car in the next couple of years.
• A 20% fall in value would cause you real hardship or panic.
• You're looking for a guaranteed or fixed return. Nothing on this site offers one.

How much does it cost to invest through Equibrook?

Equibrook doesn't charge you anything. You pay the provider's fees for the managed portfolio, which it lists in its published charges. The provider pays Equibrook a fee when it receives an introduction, and that never changes the price you pay.

Fees matter more than most people expect, because they're taken every year whether markets go up or down. The fees page works through a $10,000 example over ten years so you can see the total in money, not just percentages.

Is Equibrook legit?

Equibrook is an introducer website, not the provider of the product. The managed portfolio comes from the provider, which pays Equibrook a fee for each introduction. Equibrook never holds your money. Before you invest, look the provider up on the public register of the financial regulator in your country.

Check that the name, website address and phone number on that register entry match the provider's website, and only open an account through that address. Our trust page walks through each check. If anyone contacts you claiming to be from Equibrook and asks for money, card details or remote access to your computer, hang up and email hello@equibrook.com.

What are the risks?

The main risk is that your investments fall in value and you get back less than you put in. Past returns don't predict future ones. Fees reduce your returns every year, and if you sell during a downturn you lock in the loss.

• Market risk: prices of shares and bonds move every day, sometimes sharply.
• Time risk: money you need within a few years may be worth less than you expected exactly when you need it.
• Currency risk: investments priced in other currencies can lose value when exchange rates move.
• Provider risk: if a firm fails, what you get back depends on how it holds clients' investments and on any compensation arrangements that apply to it. Neither covers falls in market value.

Read the full risk disclosure before you invest.

How does Equibrook make money?

The provider pays Equibrook a fee for each person we introduce. It's a flat introduction fee. It doesn't depend on how much you invest, and you pay nothing extra because of it. We don't charge you, and we don't take any share of your annual fee or your returns.

This is the one place where our interests could differ from yours, so we say it up front. It's why we publish the downsides alongside the upsides. Details: how we make money.

Request a call back from the provider

Questions people ask before they start