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Order Execution Policy

Purpose and Scope

This Order Execution Policy (‘the Policy’) sets out how InvestEngine (‘the Firm’) takes all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result (‘best execution’) for its clients when executing or transmitting orders in financial instruments, in accordance with COBS 11.2A and broader FCA expectations.

This Policy applies to:

  • Retail clients of InvestEngine;
  • All orders transmitted or executed through an investment exchange
  • Both discretionary portfolio management and execution only orders executed by the Firm.

Financial Instruments

InvestEngine (UK) Limited trades solely in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Client Classification

All clients are classified as retail clients, as defined in Chapter 3.4 of COBS.

Execution Factors

The best possible result for our clients is determined by ‘Total Consideration’, which represents the execution price, the shares bought or sold of each ETF and the costs related to execution. In executing an order under our execution policy, we will consider and exercise our discretion in assessing the following execution factors:

a) Price — This is the price at which a trade is executed;

b) Cost — any costs related to execution to ensure the best possible net outcome;

c) Likelihood of execution and settlement — the probability that the trade will be successfully executed and completed;

d) Size and nature of the order — size of the trade and how any particular characteristics of a trade can affect best execution;

e) Speed — how quickly the trade can be completed;

f) Timing of execution — whether executing immediately or at a later time would deliver a better overall result for clients; and

g) Any other relevant considerations.

When executing a customer order, we will take into account and exercise our discretion in assessing the following criteria for determining the relative importance of the execution factors:

  • The characteristics of the customer including the categorisation of the customer;
  • The characteristics of the customer order;
  • The characteristics of the financial instrument that are the subject of that order.

In exceptional circumstances, such as technical faults leading to loss of connections with an execution venue, we may have to use other execution methods than those listed below.

The instruments that we may trade in include UK and Non–UK domiciled ETFs.

The risks of these types of Investments are covered in Key Features Documents and within the ETF’s FAQ on our Website.

Quality of Execution

We provide both a Managed (discretionary) and DIY (execution) portfolio to our clients. To provide these services we execute orders for your investment with participants in the market.

We typically trade once daily. We reserve the right to trade more frequently if we regard it as necessary or desirable to do so.

Execution of fractional shares:
To facilitate lower minimum trading and improve diversification, we trade in fractional shares. InvestEngine seeks to achieve execution prices that are generally consistent with the prevailing bid/offer on the reference exchange at the time the order is placed. However, due to market liquidity, order size, and other trading conditions, execution prices may occasionally fall outside the prevailing bid/offer spread. We take all reasonable steps to ensure that client outcomes are consistent with our Best Execution obligations.

Timing of Execution
While InvestEngine typically executes client orders once per business day, there may be circumstances where same‑day execution is not practical or may not achieve the best possible result for clients.

In such cases, we reserve the discretion to delay execution to the next available trading window or business day where doing so is considered necessary to achieve Best Execution — for example, due to market volatility, liquidity constraints, operational issues, or third‑party venue delays.

Any delay will be applied consistently and in clients’ best interests, with ongoing monitoring to ensure our approach continues to deliver outcomes at least as good as could reasonably be obtained through immediate execution.

Execution Venues

All trading shall be conducted with Winterflood Securities Ltd, at appropriate trading times.

The main market that your securities will be traded on is the London Stock Exchange. Winterflood Securities Ltd may also deal directly with certain execution counterparties which provide the best liquidity for the ETFs we use. In some circumstances, Winterfloods may also perform internal matching services where they are unable to achieve execution with an external counterparty.

Winterflood Securities Ltd will determine the best possible result by considering the price of the relevant investment, and the total cost of buying or selling it.

InvestEngine performs best execution monitoring regarding the services of Winterfloods on a daily basis.

Relying on a single venue

The FCA has clarified that a firm is permitted to rely on a single venue or custodian to execute client orders. However, in order to demonstrate that best execution is being provided in this situation, firms must be able to show that its reliance on this single venue or custodian provides the best possible result for its clients on a consistent basis, and that the results are at least as good as could be obtained from relying on other entities.

InvestEngine (UK) Limited conducts regular post‑trade best execution analysis to evaluate the execution performance of trades against market prices at the time of each trade and other quantitative and qualitative criteria. This is to ensure that clients are consistently obtaining the best possible result and that these are at least as good as the results that could have been obtained from other execution venues.

If we find that clients are not consistently obtaining the best possible result, we will make the necessary changes to ensure that we achieve best execution for our clients.

Cut Off Times

InvestEngine will trade once per day per security for both discretionary and execution portfolios. In order to ensure your transaction is included in the next available trading cycle, you must fund your portfolio and confirm your order prior to the cut‑off times below:

ETFs: All investment instructions to buy or sell ETFs must be made prior to 14:00 GMT. Instructions received before this time on a trading day will ordinarily be executed by the close of trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on the same business day.

Any instruction made at or after 14:00 GMT will be processed in the next available trading cycle, which will ordinarily be the next business day, depending on when the next trading window occurs.

If an instruction is received on a non‑trading day (for example, a weekend or public holiday), it will be executed on the next available trading day.

Your account will only be considered funded where the funds have been received and cleared by us. Any payment delays may result in your order being executed in a subsequent trading window.

Account Restrictions

Please note that certain account restrictions may prevent trading activity, even where an order and corresponding funding have been submitted before the applicable cut‑off time. Restrictions may be applied for various operational, regulatory, or compliance‑related reasons, including but not limited to:

  • Pending verification of your identity or source of funds
  • Ongoing checks as part of our regulatory obligations and customer due diligence process
  • Incomplete or outdated Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation
  • Legal or regulatory requirements affecting account activity
  • Outstanding requests for additional information
  • Platform maintenance or system integrity checks, where operational or cybersecurity concerns arise

Where an account restriction is in place, investment and withdrawal instructions may be temporarily suspended until the matter is resolved. In such cases, any order submitted may be delayed and processed at the next available trading window once the restriction is lifted.

Cancellation

If you wish to cancel an order you should do so in App or on the Platform, or by emailing support@investengine.com before the cancellation cut off time below. Any email received after the cut off time below will not be accepted, and your order will be executed.

ETFs: All cancellation instructions relating to an ETF order must be received by 14:00 GMT on the day the order would otherwise be executed.

  • If an order is instructed on a non‑trading day (for example, a Saturday, Sunday, or UK bank holiday) and would normally be executed on the next available trading day, cancellation instructions can still be accepted up to 14:00 GMT on that next available trading day, prior to execution.

Specific Instructions

If you provide us with specific instructions to deal for you, there is a risk we cannot achieve Best Execution in respect of that aspect covered by your specific instructions and we may not accept a specific instruction as a result.

Settlement

Once execution has taken place, the trade must then settle. Settlement is the process which finalises the trade, by completing delivery of cash to buy a security, or delivery of the security in return for cash in a sell transaction.

We will seek to carry out settlement on a T+2 basis. This means that we aim to settle trades within 2 business days of execution. Whilst trades are in the settlement process, you will be unable to create any other order, transaction or withdrawal regarding the assets or funds relating to the trade.

Whilst the risk of settlement failure is very low, there is a risk that settlement of transactions is delayed as a result of external factors, such as market liquidity, broker trading bandwidth or other unforeseen operational issues. We will seek where possible to settle T+2, but this may not always be possible, and settlement may take longer.

Trade Aggregation and Allocation

To facilitate efficient trading, InvestEngine may aggregate client orders before sending them to the market. Aggregation can reduce settlement and counterparty risk, improve economies of scale, and increase the likelihood of achieving the best price available.

In line with COBS 11.3.7A, we ensure that:

  1. No Overall Disadvantage: Aggregation is unlikely to disadvantage any client overall. While very small trades or trades with very small consideration/units may occasionally experience a wider bid/offer spread, this is to be expected and is monitored as part of our ongoing Best Execution analysis.
  2. Disclosure to Clients: Clients are informed in advance that aggregation may, in some instances, result in an order being executed at a price that is less favourable than if the order were executed independently.
  3. Order Allocation Policy: We maintain a formal and effectively implemented allocation policy, which provides that:
    • Orders are allocated fairly among clients based on the size of their orders and the execution price obtained.
    • Partial fills are allocated proportionally across participating client orders.
    • No trades are conducted on our own account; client orders are aggregated only with other client orders within the same service (DIY with DIY, Managed with Managed).

All aggregated trades are reviewed as part of our post‑trade Best Execution monitoring, and adjustments to the policy or procedures are made where necessary to ensure compliance and fairness to clients.

AutoInvest

AutoInvest is a feature that allows eligible cash in your DIY portfolio to be automatically invested in the next applicable trading window, subject to minimum order size and portfolio eligibility.

Cut off time: There is a cut off time of 12pm for funds to be settled into the account, in time for the autoinvest cycle of the same day.

Minimum Order Size: Only amounts of £1 or more per ETF will be placed as an AutoInvest order. Any amount below £1 for a particular ETF will not result in an order and will remain in your cash balance.

Timing of Execution: Once AutoInvest is turned on, we will take sufficient steps to achieve Best Execution on any orders executed. Your instruction will be treated as given at the time the AutoInvest order is processed, and portfolio weights used will reflect your DIY portfolio at that time.

Pending Order Validations: AutoInvest orders may not be created in certain situations, including, but not limited to:

  • Another pending order already exists for the same trading window;
  • The portfolio holds securities that are not currently tradable;
  • Any other operational or regulatory restrictions that prevent execution.

In these cases, AutoInvest will not process the affected funds. Clients will be notified where relevant, and no investment will occur until the next eligible trading window once all conditions are met.

External Fees: InvestEngine will not be liable for any external transaction costs or fees that may arise from selling fractional or small holdings in your portfolio to fund AutoInvest or rebalancing orders. These fees are charged by the relevant ETF or execution venue, not by InvestEngine.

Savings Plans: When setting up a variable recurring payment or Direct Debit, AutoInvest will be enabled by default. If you do not wish to use the AutoInvest feature, it can be disabled via the Platform dashboard after setting up your Savings Plan.

AutoInvest may also be temporarily paused in certain operational scenarios, such as In‑Specie transfers, Corporate events, or other administrative adjustments. During such pauses, any pending AutoInvest orders will not be executed. Clients will be notified by email when action is required to resume AutoInvest.

Cash Buffer: You can set a cash buffer amount when enabling AutoInvest. Only funds over the cash buffer will be invested automatically; funds equal to or below the buffer will remain in your account.

Contingency Planning

In the unlikely event of a disruption to normal market operations or an execution venue, InvestEngine has procedures in place to protect client interests and maintain best execution standards. Contingency events may include, but are not limited to:

  • Temporary outage or connectivity issues with our execution venue (s);
  • Suspension or closure of the London Stock Exchange;
  • Limited liquidity or trading restrictions in specific ETFs;
  • Other operational or market events that prevent normal order execution.

In such circumstances:

  • InvestEngine may delay execution until the market or venue resumes normal operations;
  • Alternative execution methods may be considered where feasible to achieve the best possible outcome;
  • All actions will be taken in the best interests of clients, in line with our execution policy and the FCA’s Consumer Duty;
  • Clients may experience delays in trade execution and will be informed where appropriate.

These procedures are designed to ensure that, even during extraordinary events, client orders are handled fairly, consistently, and with attention to minimising any adverse impact.

Conflicts of Interest

InvestEngine maintains a Conflict of Interest Policy aligned with FCA requirements. In relation to execution:

  • The Firm does not receive payments, inducements, or non‑monetary benefits that could impair best execution.
  • Staff are prohibited from routing orders to brokers that offer incentives and would result in a conflict of interest.
  • The firm maintains an order allocation policy that ensures fair allocation amongst customers and does not favour any particular customer group over another
  • When conflicts cannot be fully mitigated, clients will be informed in advance.
  • The firm does not trade on a principal basis, and as such conflicts cannot exist between firm trading and client trading.

Review and Monitoring

We will review the effectiveness of our order execution arrangements (including the venues that we use) and the execution policy at least annually (and also on an ad hoc basis in response to any material change affecting a relevant execution venue). We will monitor our compliance with the policy, making enhancements to it or to our order execution arrangements where necessary and advising you of such changes and/or our on–going compliance with the policy, as appropriate.