Dodl is a simple investment app created by AJ Bell
Dodl is an investment app with a Stocks & Shares ISA. It offers ready-made portfolios, groups of themed investments and individual shares and funds. This means that you can invest passively or have a more hands-on approach if you want to.
Here’s how the app works and how to get started with Dodl.
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The Dodl Stocks & Shares ISA is a free account on its mobile app. With it, you can invest up to £20,000 in each tax year without having to pay any tax on your earnings — this can be interest, dividends or capital gains.
You can make a transfer from another ISA provider into a Dodl ISA. Doing this will keep your allowance intact as it’ll keep the transferred ISA within the ‘wrapper’, so it won’t count as a new deposit into an ISA.
You can transfer it as cash, or, if you already have investments and they’re available to invest in with Dodl, you can transfer them in. If they can’t be transferred, then you can either sell them and transfer the cash or leave them be and transfer everything else.
If you have uninvested cash in the ISA you can earn interest on it. As of 1 March 2025, the rate is 4.58% AER.
Other Dodl products
You can also invest in a Lifetime ISA or a General Investment Account with Dodl.
If you’d prefer to save even longer term, you can also open a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) with Dodl, which has its own tax-free allowances.
What you can invest in with Dodl
There are three different investment types available with Dodl – individual shares and funds, ready-made portfolios and thematic investments.
Individual shares and funds give you full control over your investments. You’d choose the individual companies and funds that you want to invest in, and you’d be responsible for keeping track of and managing your own portfolio to make sure it suits you.
Meanwhile, thematic investments are bundles of investments that fit a specific theme — for example, bundles of tech companies and tech funds or a selection of women-owned companies. These would allow you to create a portfolio of investments that suits you more effortlessly, but would still require you to be more hands-on with your investments.
Or there are ready-made portfolios that have been created and managed long-term by experts. You’d choose one of the portfolios to invest in, depending on one of the six risk profiles it offers. There’s also a responsible growth option. You wouldn’t need to check in as often as your portfolio manager will ensure it continues to fit your chosen risk profile.
Here are the portfolios that Dodl offers — these are AJ Bell funds, so they’re created by Dodl’s parent company, AJ Bell.
| Name of portfolio | Risk level | Ongoing charge |
| Cautious | 3/10 | 0.31% |
| Moderately cautious | 4/10 | 0.31% |
| Balanced | 5/10 | 0.31% |
| Moderately adventurous | 6/10 | 0.31% |
| Adventurous | 7/10 | 0.31% |
| Global growth | 8/10 | 0.31% |
| Responsible screened growth | 7/10 | 0.45% |
Dodl fees
Dodl’s fees are really simple. There’s a platform fee of 0.15% of the value of what you’ve got invested, however, it has a minimum charge of £1 a month.
Each ready-made portfolio has an ongoing charge — this is 0.31% for most portfolios and 0.45% for the responsible portfolio.
If you choose to buy shares in foreign currencies, you’ll pay a foreign exchange fee of 0.75% up to £10,000, then 0.5% up to £20,000 and 0.2% over this.
Dodl features for beginner investors
Dodl’s a great platform for beginners. It’s a really easy-to-use app with lots of guidance as you navigate through it. You can opt for a ready-made option and even do a bit of DIY investing on the side, if you want to.
Plus, it’s got a “Learn” tab that’s got lots of guides on all of the jargon you’ll come across and how to get started. There isn’t a demo account, so you would go straight into investing for real, but the low deposit amount means that you can start really small.
Is Dodl safe?
Dodl’s parent company AJ Bell is FCA-regulated in the UK.
When you put money into your account, your money is ring-fenced, so it’s kept separate from Dodl and AJ Bell’s own money. What’s more, it’s split between several different banks, so AJ Bell isn’t putting all your eggs in one basket.
Uninvested cash in your account is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which protects up to £85,000 — this can be claimed if Dodl were to go bust.
Investments in your account are also covered by FSCS — so if Dodl goes bust and you lose money as a result, you’d be covered by up to £85,000.
To open a Dodl Stocks & Shares ISA, you need to be 18 or over and have a valid form of ID. You’ll need to start by downloading the Dodl app.
Then, you just need to click “Sign Up” and fill in the form. You’ll be asked for some personal info, including your National Insurance information.
Once you’ve opened an account, you choose between the accounts available — if you want a Stocks & Shares ISA, this is where you choose this. Then, you can get started by depositing £100 or setting up a direct debit of at least £25 per month. You can also choose to transfer over your ISA.
Pros and cons of Dodl
Pros
- Free to have an ISA
- Low-cost investing
- Start with as little as £25 per month
- Offers ready-made portfolios
- Simple easy-to-use app
Cons
- Mobile app only
- No demo account
Is Dodl any good?
Zoe’s analysis
Dodl’s pretty new to the investment app scene and it had a shaky start with a rather odd and childish “monster” theme, despite being a pretty decent app. Now it’s reverted back to the AJ Bell colours, and it’s a really good option for beginner investors.
It offers the opportunity for those just starting out to learn all about investing. You get the chance to dip your toes into DIY options but can also choose a ready-made portfolio for passive investing, allowing you to grow your money over the long term, with very little effort.
The Stocks & Shares ISA doesn’t cost you any more, and if you already have ISAs elsewhere, you can transfer it over, investments and all.
Dodl Stocks & Shares ISA
| Investment styles available | DIY and fully managed |
| Investment types available | Individual shares Fractional shares Themed investments Funds |
| Welcome bonus | None |
| Platform fees | 0.15% (mn £1 per month) |
| Minimum deposit | £100 or £25 per month |
| Interest on uninvested cash | 4.58% |
| Flexible ISA | No |