Business
The changing face of UK investing – and the platforms fighting for your cash in 2026
As well as economic growth and taxes, cash ISA cuts were one of the main topics of conversation following the Budget, after Rachel Reeves and the government unveiled plans to encourage people to invest.
It’s undeniable that, over the long term, investing money is a better option than merely cash saving. But in Britain, at least, investment hasn’t been part of recent culture or education.
That appears to be changing, with the conversation around investment going on all year – a positive move, even if it only helps people realise there is another option.
That shift is likely to continue into the new year as a multi-organisation advertising campaign gets underway and ISA season rolls around – hopefully encouraging some to take their first steps into a long-term journey.
None of this comes as a surprise to the companies that are our access points to investing: they have been steadily growing in activity all year, and in 2026, you – the potential customer – are likely to take centre stage. Here, The Independent looks at the changing face of UK investing – and how different platforms are trying to win your custom.
Legacy vs Challenger
There are a multitude of investment platforms, as they are known, to choose from. Very broadly, you can split them into established financial powerhouses and newer, tech-led challengers.
Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, interactive investor, Fidelity – they come into the former category. Your own high street banks do too, most offering investing products alongside your normal accounts.
They are trusted because they’ve been doing the job for years, providing easy access and a pain-free route from your current account to ISA and beyond.
But, also because they’ve been doing it for years, some did the big bank thing: got stuck in their ways and didn’t move with the times, allowing newcomers to sneak onto the scene.
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You’ll have seen or heard their names, watched the adverts, possibly even downloaded the apps: Freetrade, eToro, Trading 212, Revolut, Robinhood, Chip and more.
They all vary, yet share traits: they’ll tend to come with stand-out names, bright colours, low fees, more options or bold adverts.
Which suits you best depends on how you plan to manage your portfolio, how frequently you’ll buy or sell and perhaps how much you want to pay on an ongoing basis, but cumulatively they’ve changed the landscape of investing in the UK.
Of course, the established names have fought back: launching spin-off firms to attract younger customers or bringing everything back in-house to offer professional services, rebranding and re-energising and perhaps even re-realising that British adults’ long-term plans are the next must-win battleground to play on.
The choice is there – now must come the encouragement for more people to choose and use them.
UK investing culture
Speak to those working in or around finance about the push to encourage more retail investors (that’s what the everyday public is referred to as) and one answer comes back over and over: more education and awareness is needed.
But at least something is being done – at least the conversation has been restarted.
“Investing is something that’s being spoken about a lot now, but five years ago it wasn’t the case,” Jordan Sinclair, president of Robinhood UK, told The Independent.
“In Norway or Sweden, they have a great culture of saving regularly, and they have tax wrappers which look a lot like our ISA. But what’s probably missing versus Sweden is how do you educate people on how to use that? How to think about their money, where to invest it.
“Some of our research shows that the average amount people believed you needed to start [investing] was over £2,200. Just to start.
“When you look at some [legacy providers], and they havea minimum amount £500, account fees, £11.95 for the first trade… you can’t blame people for saying ‘I’ll just leave it in my cash account’.
“We see an opportunity to level the playing field, catch up to some of those countries – and we’ll do it in our own way, maybe with still a slight bias towards cash savings but some of the money will be working much harder for customers.”
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In the US, people are far more used to investing as a concept and as a future method of wealth. Statistics are varied because resources invariably classify “investing” differently, but Brits are generally seen to be behind the curve against European nations like Germany or parts of Scandinavia.
Improved financial education in schools coming into the curriculum might bear fruit in a decade, but there’s a big chunk of the population who could be doing more with their money now, if they knew how.
“Where I think there’s room for collaboration is on initiatives to make sure the regulator hears what firms need, and the Treasury is supported,” Sinclair said. “Revisiting risk warnings, educating customers rather than scaring them away. It’s hard to undo what’s been done, but this is about thinking for the next generation, educating today’s under-55s: what about your pension? What do you need for long-term savings?
“It’s not just thinking of today. You add up all these initiatives and the retail investment awareness campaign, all this momentum [that’s what makes long-term change].”
While those saving money might be thinking about this year or next, investing has a much longer timeframe.
For companies that operate in that space, the thinking can be even longer term – decades or more, as many of those banks and investment platforms have been around for.
“We think about what’s now and what’s next at the same time, what customers want and how we deliver something better,” Mr Sinclair explained. “Being in that growth mode is different to being at a [big bank] when you probably try to move one place in the rankings table.”
The big safeguarding concern
For Robinhood specifically, “what’s next” will be an ISA, launching before the end of the tax year in April. That will be a draw for new clients, as new features or services always are, and it’s a product most people already understand.
But when it comes to investing, education and trying to encourage people to start a new financial journey, there’s a wider concern which is especially important on newer tech-led, all-encompassing platforms.
That is: how do you effectively gateway or barricade people who are new to the entire investing arena, away from products which are inherently not suited to them?
Most people, even if they don’t invest now, will still have a broad concept of what you mean if you say “the stock market”.
Yet those same people – slowly and purposely learning about funds or dividends or any other run-of-the-mill term which could genuinely better their financial positions over the long term – are often only one missed finger-click away on their phones (or menu tab on their computers) from much more complex and risky options.
Cryptocurrencies are an obvious one. But there are also frequently options for futures trading, commodities, FX trading, CFDs, leveraged options, and even copycat trading to mimic other investors’ decisions.
There is a strong argument to suggest many of these shouldn’t be accessible by novices until they have either shown competency in standard investing, for want of a better term, or have completed courses to display a thorough understanding of what they are used for and why the risks are far higher.
But the rise of so-called everything apps appears unstoppable, and finance-led firms are part of this.
Choice is great, of course, and many people may prefer to have all their money matters under one roof, so to speak. But it also represents a challenge to not allow companies’ commercial interests to outweigh responsibility towards clients.
The battle for your custom, your money and your attention will only ramp up into 2026.
A requirement, then, must be on those platforms to ensure they educate as well as entice, and provide reliable knowledge as well as potential wealth.
Business
Want To Buy A House In Karnataka? Know About The ‘Namma Mane’ Scheme With Affordable Housing & Subsidies
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The programme aims to make land ownership more accessible for eligible residents while supporting the government’s wider goal of providing housing for all.
Under the ‘Namma Mane’ housing scheme 50,000 residential plots will be distributed at concessional rates over the next two years.
What if owning a home became a little more achievable? In the latest Karnataka Budget, the state government has announced a series of housing initiatives aimed at expanding access to affordable homes and residential plots. From the ‘Namma Mane’ scheme offering concessional sites to increased subsidies for beneficiaries and plans for a massive sports complex in Anekal, the announcements signal a renewed push towards housing development across the state.
The Karnataka government has unveiled several housing and infrastructure initiatives in the latest state budget, including the distribution of thousands of residential plots and the construction of a large sports complex in Bengaluru’s Anekal taluk. The announcements are part of broader efforts to expand housing access and improve public infrastructure across the state.
Karnataka Budget Housing Scheme: Key Benefits
One of the key proposals is the introduction of the ‘Namma Mane’ housing scheme, under which 50,000 residential plots will be distributed at concessional rates over the next two years. The programme aims to make land ownership more accessible for eligible residents while supporting the government’s wider goal of providing housing for all.
The Housing Department has also set a new target of sanctioning one lakh houses under various housing schemes in the state. These houses will be approved based on the Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) model, which allows eligible beneficiaries to construct their own homes with financial support from the government.
As part of this initiative, the government has increased the subsidy amount provided under housing schemes. For beneficiaries in the general category, the subsidy has been raised from Rs 1.20 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. Meanwhile, beneficiaries from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will receive increased assistance, with the subsidy rising from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.
The budget also introduces a change in the process used to select beneficiaries for state housing schemes. Instead of the traditional manual lottery system, selections will now be conducted through an online lottery in Gram Sabhas. The move is expected to improve transparency and streamline the allocation process.
In addition to housing initiatives, the Karnataka Housing Board has announced plans to develop a major sports facility in Anekal taluk of Bengaluru Urban district. The project, titled ‘KHB Surya Krida Grama’, will include the construction of an 80,000-seat cricket stadium designed to host international sporting events.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Slum Development Board is continuing the implementation of housing projects under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (AHP). A total of 1.29 lakh houses are being constructed under the scheme, with 79,134 homes dedicated for the year 2025–26. The state government has allocated an additional grant of Rs 1,136 crore to support the project, providing permanent housing to many slum residents.
Since the Congress government came to power, Rs 7,328 crore has been spent on various housing schemes. So far, 4,19,454 houses have been completed and handed over to beneficiaries. The government has set a target to complete three lakh houses during the current year.
Authorities have also stated that steps will be taken to complete the 4.90 lakh houses sanctioned by the previous government, even though they were approved without grants.
March 07, 2026, 10:51 IST
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‘Indians been good actors’: Why US ‘agreed to let’ India resume buying Russian oil temporarily – The Times of India
The United States has given “permission” to India to buy Russian oil already stranded at sea issuing a temporary waiver aimed at stabilising global oil supplies amid disruptions caused by the escalating conflict in West Asia.US President Donald Trump’s aide Scott Bessent referred to India as a “very good actor” for previously complying with Washington’s request to halt purchases of sanctioned Russian oil and said the temporary measure would help ease supply pressures in the global market.
The move comes a day after Washington issued a 30-day waiver permitting the sale of Russian crude currently stranded at sea to continue to India.
US cites temporary supply concerns
Speaking to Fox Business, US treasury secretary Bessent said the decision was intended to ease short-term supply constraints during the ongoing crisis.“The world is very well supplied in oil. The Treasury (Department) agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water,” Bessent said.“The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil,” he said.“But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may unsanction other Russian oil,” he added.Bessent also noted that a large volume of sanctioned crude remains stranded at sea stating that, “There are hundreds of millions of sanctioned barrels of sanctioned crude on the water,” he said, adding that “by unsanctioning them, Treasury can create supply.”“And we are looking at that. We are going to keep a cadence of announcing measures to bring relief to the market during this conflict,” he added.
‘Short term measures to help keep oil prices down’
Other officials in the Trump administration have also confirmed that Washington has “permitted” India to buy Russian crude that is already loaded on ships.Earlier, US energy secretary Chris Wright said the step was intended to quickly move existing oil supplies into the market.“We have implemented short term measures to help keep oil prices down. We are allowing our friends in India to take oil that is already on ships, refine it, and move those barrels into the market quickly. A practical way to get supply flowing and ease pressure,” Wright said in a post on X.In an interview with ABC News Live, Wright emphasised that the measure was temporary.“But as oil gets bid up a little bit because of those constraints coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, we’re taking a short-term action to say all this floating Russian oil storage that’s around Southern Asia, it’s China just backed up, China does not treat their suppliers well, so there’s a bunch of floating barrels just sitting there,” he said.“We’ve reached out to our friends in India and said, ‘Buy that oil. Bring it into your refineries’. That pulls stored oil immediately into Indian refineries and releases the pressure on other refineries around the world to buy oil that they’re no longer competing with the Indians for in that marketplace,” Wright added.“So we have a number of measures like that that are short-term and temporary. This is no change in policy towards Russia. This is a very brief change in policy just to keep oil prices down a little bit better than we could otherwise,” he further noted.
Waiver amid Strait of Hormuz tensions
The US Treasury earlier issued an order granting a 30-day licence allowing delivery and sale of Russian crude and petroleum products to India. The decision comes as shipping routes through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz face disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the region.“President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Bessent said earlier.He stressed that the step was a limited measure and would not significantly benefit Moscow.“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” he said.“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” he added.
India’s oil supply position
The move comes months after the Trump administration imposed 25% punitive tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that such imports were helping finance Moscow’s war against Ukraine.However, the tariffs were later lifted after the two countries agreed on a framework for an interim trade agreement and India committed to reducing imports from Russia while increasing purchases of American energy.India currently imports nearly 5.5–5.6 million barrels of crude oil per day, accounting for about 90% of its domestic consumption. Officials say the country’s energy position remains comfortable despite the regional tensions.Around 15 million barrels of crude are currently on tankers in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, while vessels carrying another seven million barrels are waiting near Singapore. Additional tankers in the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal are also heading towards Indian ports and could arrive within a week.According to data from Kpler, India imported slightly over 1 million barrels per day of Russian crude in February, compared with 1.1 million bpd in January and 1.2 million bpd in December.Before the Ukraine war in 2022, Russian crude accounted for just 0.2% of India’s imports, but purchases increased sharply after Moscow began offering deep discounts.
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Want To Buy A House In Karnataka? Know About The ‘Namma Mane’ Scheme With Affordable Housing & Subsidies
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