Understanding the Wahed £2.99 minimum fees

At Wahed, our goal is to help you build a healthier investment journey. This guide will walk you through how our fee structure works, why your portfolio size matters, and the practical steps and tools you can use today to reduce costs and set yourself up for stronger returns.

On balances up to £250,000, you pay 1% per annum of your total portfolio value, billed monthly, or a flat fee of £2.99 each month - whichever amount is higher.

Understanding how fees work can help you keep more of your money invested over the long term. Because the £2.99 fee is fixed, it takes up a larger share of very small balances and could reduce a small portfolio over time. With a larger balance, the fee becomes a smaller percentage of your investment, so more of your money stays invested and has greater opportunity to grow over time.

What the Wahed fee covers

At Wahed, we charge fees because we’re not just a platform - we’re a professional investment manager working on your behalf. Your fee covers: 

• Portfolio Management: covers our third-party brokerage and trading costs needed to execute your investments as well as portfolio oversight by our investment team who maintain and rebalance your portfolios
• Technology: a secure, easy-to-use app with integrated identity checks, banking integrations, and the systems required to process and safeguard your investments‍
• Shariah and Regulatory Compliance: ongoing oversight from internal and independent Shariah boards, alongside continuous compliance checks under our FCA regulation to ensure your investments remain monitored and protected.

Understanding Wahed’s Fee Model

On balances up to £250,000, you pay the higher of:

• 1% per annum of your total portfolio value, billed monthly,
• or a flat fee of £2.99 each month
  

For example, a portfolio with £6,000 would have a 1% annual fee of £60, which we would bill monthly at £5, as this is higher than the £2.99 minimum.

On balances between £250,000 - £1,000,000, the fee drops to 0.75% and on balances of £1,000,000+, it drops further to 0.5%. For example, a portfolio with £300,000 would have a 1% fee applied to the first £250,000 and 0.75% fee applied to the remaining £50,000.

Understanding your returns

Your net return is the growth of your portfolio minus fees. In simple terms, what you earn depends on how your investments perform, after your fees have been deducted.

Investment performance will vary depending on the portfolio you’re invested in. Each portfolio has a different asset allocation, and different assets perform differently in the market.

As outlined above, your fees are calculated as the higher of 1% per year (billed monthly) or £2.99 per month on balances of up to £250,000.

Understanding the ～£368 Illustration (Very Aggressive portfolio)

Some customers find it helpful to think about fees alongside a simple illustration:

Based on the 5-year annualised performance for the period 01/2021-12/2025, the Very Aggressive portfolio has had an annualised return of 9.76% (past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results). In the table below, this is expressed as an average monthly return of 0.81%. However, returns are not steady and monthly performance can be higher, lower, or negative.

To put the £2.99 minimum fee into context, we can estimate what portfolio size would historically have generated £2.99 in average monthly growth at a 0.81% monthly average return. This is calculated by dividing £2.99 by 0.0081:

£2.99 ÷ 0.0081 ≈ £368

In other words, based purely on that historical average monthly return, a portfolio of approximately £368 would have generated around £2.99 in monthly growth - broadly equivalent to the £2.99 minimum fee. At portfolio values above £368, the historical average monthly growth (based on that period) would have exceeded the minimum fee. 

Important: Investment values can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Fees apply regardless of performance.

A historical look at breakeven points

The above example was for a Very Aggressive portfolio. To help understand how fees and returns interact, we can look at breakeven reference points for different portfolio types. These show the approximate balance at which the historical average monthly return (based on 5-year annualised performance) is mathematically comparable to the £2.99 monthly fee.

These are not guarantees, and they do not mean returns will be positive every month or every year.

Based on historical data, these reference points are approximately:

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Starting from £50: building momentum over time

You can start investing with Wahed from £50. Some people do this to try the service, learn how investing works, or begin with an amount they’re comfortable with before contributing more. Others add money gradually through regular contributions.

With a £50 balance, the £2.99 monthly fee makes up a relatively large proportion of your investment. This means fees can have a significant impact on your returns, and it may be harder for any investment gains to offset the fee — especially over shorter time periods. Many customers therefore choose to build their balance over time. As your balance increases, the monthly fee becomes a smaller proportion of your investment, although investment values can still go down as well as up and returns are not guaranteed.

Ways to reduce the impact of the monthly minimum

1. Review your risk level with your timeline in mind
   Wahed offers multiple risk levels to suit different goals and comfort zones. Higher-risk portfolios may have higher return potential over the long term, but they also come with greater volatility, including the risk of losses. Choose a level that fits your timeline and risk tolerance - not just to reach a specific balance.
2. Make a one-off top-up when you can
   Some customers start with a small amount and later increase their balance. Growing your portfolio above the reference point shown earlier means that, based on historical averages for that period, monthly growth would have been greater than the £2.99 minimum fee.
3. Set up regular contributions
   Automated deposits (weekly or monthly) can help you build your balance steadily. Even modest contributions can add up over time and can help fees feel more proportional as your portfolio grows.

Tools to plan your path

To explore fees, contributions and potential outcomes at different balances and risk levels (illustrative projections only), you can use:

Returns Calculator: https://www.wahed.com/uk/wahed-returns-calculator
Pricing Calculator: https://www.wahed.com/uk/pricing
Goal Planner: https://www.wahed.com/uk/

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