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Finance · refreshed weekly

How AI wants investment platforms

Investment Platforms is decided on attraction: Trading 212 indexes 112 there against EQi at 88, a 24-point spread. Trading 212 holds the strongest overall profile, indexing 110 against the category average: ahead on all three. But the brand assistants name most often is Capital.com, not the category's market leader: being desired and being named are not the same measurement. Across these 27 brands, attachment tracks being named most closely (rank correlation 0.56).

27 brands · 60 AI answers · 401 dimension scores · measured, never estimated

Attraction Standing out in the answer: named first, described as superior, magnetic and influential.
Affinity Belonging in the answer: tied to identity, values and legitimacy, not just specifications.
Attachment Staying in the answer: recommended again, dependable, easy, part of the routine.
AttractionAffinityAttachment Each whorl lights one ring per index threshold cleared (90 / 96 / 102 / 108 / 115)

100 = the average brand in the same category.100 = the average brand across every category in the index.

Finance

Investment Platformsupset

#Brand AttractionAffinityAttachment SummaryNamed in
1 Trading 212: Attraction 112, Affinity 108, Attachment 107Trading 212: Attraction 116, Affinity 108, Attachment 109Trading 212 112116 108108 107109 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 25%
2 Vanguard: Attraction 108, Affinity 112, Attachment 104Vanguard: Attraction 112, Affinity 112, Attachment 106Vanguard 108112 112112 104106 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 20%
3 eToro: Attraction 111, Affinity 104, Attachment 108eToro: Attraction 115, Affinity 103, Attachment 110eToro 111115 104103 108110 Ahead on all threeChosen, not loved 2%
4 Interactive Brokers: Attraction 111, Affinity 103, Attachment 99Interactive Brokers: Attraction 115, Affinity 102, Attachment 100Interactive Brokers 111115 103102 99100 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 8%
5 CMC Markets: Attraction 111, Affinity 101, Attachment 104CMC Markets: Attraction 115, Affinity 101, Attachment 106CMC Markets 111115 101101 104106 Chosen, not lovedChosen, not loved 3%
6 InvestEngine: Attraction 108, Affinity 107, Attachment 106InvestEngine: Attraction 112, Affinity 106, Attachment 107InvestEngine 108112 107106 106107 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 17%
7 Freetrade: Attraction 107, Affinity 104, Attachment 104Freetrade: Attraction 110, Affinity 103, Attachment 106Freetrade 107110 104103 104106 Ahead on all threeChosen, not loved 13%
8 IG: Attraction 107, Affinity 100, Attachment 103IG: Attraction 110, Affinity 99, Attachment 104IG 107110 10099 103104 Noticed, not returned toChosen, not loved 8%
9 XTB: Attraction 107, Affinity 101, Attachment 104XTB: Attraction 110, Affinity 101, Attachment 106XTB 107110 101101 104106 Chosen, not lovedChosen, not loved 3%
10 Interactive Investor: Attraction 104, Affinity 97, Attachment 100Interactive Investor: Attraction 107, Affinity 97, Attachment 102Interactive Investor 104107 9797 100102 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 13%
11 Saxo: Attraction 104, Affinity 99, Attachment 99Saxo: Attraction 107, Affinity 98, Attachment 100Saxo 104107 9998 99100 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 8%
12 Dodl: Attraction 101, Affinity 104, Attachment 99Dodl: Attraction 105, Affinity 103, Attachment 100Dodl 101105 104103 99100 Credible, not first choiceNoticed, not returned to 8%
13 Nutmeg: Attraction 100, Affinity 104, Attachment 99Nutmeg: Attraction 103, Affinity 103, Attachment 100Nutmeg 100103 104103 99100 Credible, not first choiceAverage on all three 3%
14 J.P. Morgan Personal Investing: Attraction 101, Affinity 101, Attachment 95J.P. Morgan Personal Investing: Attraction 105, Affinity 101, Attachment 96J.P. Morgan Personal Investing 101105 101101 9596 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 2%
15 Pepperstone: Attraction 101, Affinity 101, Attachment 98Pepperstone: Attraction 105, Affinity 101, Attachment 99Pepperstone 101105 101101 9899 Average on all threeNoticed, not returned to 3%
16 Hargreaves Lansdown: Attraction 94, Affinity 97, Attachment 104Hargreaves Lansdown: Attraction 98, Affinity 97, Attachment 106Hargreaves Lansdown 9498 9797 104106 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 25%
17 AJ Bell: Attraction 97, Affinity 97, Attachment 100AJ Bell: Attraction 100, Affinity 97, Attachment 102AJ Bell 97100 9797 100102 Average on all threeAverage on all three 28%
18 Capital.com: Attraction 97, Affinity 97, Attachment 99Capital.com: Attraction 100, Affinity 97, Attachment 100Capital.com 97100 9797 99100 Average on all threeAverage on all three 40%
19 fidelity: Attraction 94, Affinity 97, Attachment 99fidelity: Attraction 98, Affinity 97, Attachment 100fidelity 9498 9797 99100 Relied on, not excitingAverage on all three 10%
20 Wealthify: Attraction 93, Affinity 97, Attachment 95Wealthify: Attraction 96, Affinity 97, Attachment 96Wealthify 9396 9797 9596 Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen 7%
21 Moneybox: Attraction 93, Affinity 97, Attachment 98Moneybox: Attraction 96, Affinity 97, Attachment 99Moneybox 9396 9797 9899 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 3%
22 Plum: Attraction 94, Affinity 96, Attachment 98Plum: Attraction 98, Affinity 95, Attachment 99Plum 9498 9695 9899 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 3%
23 Barclays Smart Investor: Attraction 90, Affinity 97, Attachment 95Barclays Smart Investor: Attraction 93, Affinity 97, Attachment 96Barclays Smart Investor 9093 9797 9596 Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen 3%
24 Moneyfarm: Attraction 90, Affinity 93, Attachment 99Moneyfarm: Attraction 93, Affinity 92, Attachment 100Moneyfarm 9093 9392 99100 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 3%
25 Halifax Share Dealing: Attraction 88, Affinity 97, Attachment 95Halifax Share Dealing: Attraction 91, Affinity 97, Attachment 96Halifax Share Dealing 8891 9797 9596 Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen 0%
26 Lloyds Bank Direct Investment: Attraction 88, Affinity 97, Attachment 95Lloyds Bank Direct Investment: Attraction 91, Affinity 97, Attachment 96Lloyds Bank Direct Investment 8891 9797 9596 Liked, not chosenLiked, not chosen 0%
27 EQi: Attraction 88, Affinity 90, Attachment 95EQi: Attraction 91, Affinity 90, Attachment 96EQi 8891 9090 9596 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 2%

Indexed against the average of the 27 indexed investment platforms brands, so 100 is the category average and a brand is read against the rivals it actually competes with.Indexed against the average of every indexed brand in the whole index — 1,605 brands across 61 categories — so 100 is the average brand anywhere here and a number reads the same on every board. 27 investment platforms brands, measured across 60 AI answers in the latest weekly run.

Driver by driver

Where the category actually separates. A wide spread means assistants describe these brands very differently on that driver; a narrow one means it is table stakes.

Attraction

24-point spread · tracks being named 0.39
Trading 212112
EQi88

The widest field of the three: this is where the category separates.

Affinity

22-point spread · tracks being named 0.24
Vanguard112
EQi90

Real separation, but not the category’s defining contest.

Attachment

13-point spread · tracks being named 0.56
eToro108
EQi95

The tightest of the three: most brands land close together here.

Where each brand stands

Each brand's three indices, summed up in a line: which drivers it is ahead on, which it is behind on, and the one to build next. A brand that is noticed but not returned to has a different problem from one that is relied on but not exciting.

Trading 212: Attraction 112, Affinity 108, Attachment 107
Ahead on all three
Above average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Trading 212 · Vanguard · eToro · InvestEngine · Freetrade
No driver is behind; protect the lead.
Interactive Brokers: Attraction 111, Affinity 103, Attachment 99
Noticed, not returned to
Attraction is its strongest driver; attachment trails behind it.
Interactive Brokers · IG · Interactive Investor · Saxo · J.P. Morgan Personal Investing
Build next: attachment
Hargreaves Lansdown: Attraction 94, Affinity 97, Attachment 104
Relied on, not exciting
Attachment is its strongest driver; attraction trails behind it.
Hargreaves Lansdown · fidelity · Moneybox · Plum · Moneyfarm
Build next: attraction
Dodl: Attraction 101, Affinity 104, Attachment 99
Credible, not first choice
Affinity (identity, values, legitimacy) is its strongest driver.
Dodl · Nutmeg
Build next: attraction
Wealthify: Attraction 93, Affinity 97, Attachment 95
Liked, not chosen
Affinity is its strongest driver; attachment is below average.
Wealthify · Barclays Smart Investor · Halifax Share Dealing · Lloyds Bank Direct Investment
Build next: attachment
Pepperstone: Attraction 101, Affinity 101, Attachment 98
Average on all three
Close to average on every driver.
Pepperstone · AJ Bell · Capital.com
Build next: attraction
CMC Markets: Attraction 111, Affinity 101, Attachment 104
Chosen, not loved
Attraction and attachment are ahead; affinity trails behind them.
CMC Markets · XTB
Build next: affinity
EQi: Attraction 88, Affinity 90, Attachment 95
Behind on all three
Below average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
EQi
Build next: attraction
Trading 212: Attraction 116, Affinity 108, Attachment 109
Ahead on all three
Above average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Trading 212 · Vanguard · InvestEngine
No driver is behind; protect the lead.
Interactive Brokers: Attraction 115, Affinity 102, Attachment 100
Noticed, not returned to
Attraction is its strongest driver; attachment trails behind it.
Interactive Brokers · Interactive Investor · Saxo · Dodl · J.P. Morgan Personal Investing · Pepperstone
Build next: attachment
Hargreaves Lansdown: Attraction 98, Affinity 97, Attachment 106
Relied on, not exciting
Attachment is its strongest driver; attraction trails behind it.
Hargreaves Lansdown · Moneybox · Plum · Moneyfarm
Build next: attraction
Wealthify: Attraction 96, Affinity 97, Attachment 96
Liked, not chosen
Affinity is its strongest driver; attachment is below average.
Wealthify · Barclays Smart Investor · Halifax Share Dealing · Lloyds Bank Direct Investment
Build next: attachment
Nutmeg: Attraction 103, Affinity 103, Attachment 100
Average on all three
Close to average on every driver.
Nutmeg · AJ Bell · Capital.com · fidelity
Build next: attraction
eToro: Attraction 115, Affinity 103, Attachment 110
Chosen, not loved
Attraction and attachment are ahead; affinity trails behind them.
eToro · CMC Markets · Freetrade · IG · XTB
Build next: affinity
EQi: Attraction 91, Affinity 90, Attachment 96
Behind on all three
Below average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
EQi
Build next: attraction

What assistants actually talk about

The sixteen dimensions underneath the drivers, scored 0–10 on how the answers describe each brand. Spread is the distance between the strongest and weakest brand: the widest are where a brand can still separate itself, the narrowest are the price of entry.

Where brands separate

DimensionDriverCategory avgStrongestSpread
Boldness & Creativity Attraction 6.7 eToro 9.0 4.0
Value & Pricing Attraction 7.4 Trading 212 9.3 3.6
Differentiation vs Sameness Attraction 7.3 eToro 9.0 3.0
Leadership & Momentum Attraction 7.5 Vanguard 9.0 3.0
Heritage & Authority Attraction 7.4 Vanguard 9.0 3.0

Where everyone reads alike

DimensionDriverCategory avgStrongestSpread
Customer Service & Support Attachment 7.1 Hargreaves Lansdown 7.7 0.7
Sustainability & Ethics Affinity 6.2 Vanguard 7.0 1.0
Reliability & Consistency Affinity 7.8 Vanguard 9.0 2.0
Trust & Credibility Affinity 8.0 Vanguard 9.0 2.0
Lifestyle Fit & Identity Affinity 6.6 Trading 212 8.0 2.0

Does desire track being recommended?

Rank correlation between a brand's driver index and the share of answers naming it, across the 27 indexed brands in this category. A relationship inside one run's answers — descriptive, never causal, and easily moved by a single brand at this sample size.

Attraction0.39
Affinity0.24
Attachment0.56

Method & limitations

Every week, each category runs a fixed set of unbranded consumer prompts against ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. A separate model reads the answers and scores every brand named in them across 16 perception dimensions, 0–10. Those dimensions are grouped into the three Drivers of Desire from the Havas Science of Desire framework, and each brand's driver score is indexed against the average brand in its own category — 100 is the category average, 115 is fifteen per cent above it. The Vs all categories switch re-indexes the same scores against the average of every indexed brand across every category, so boards can be read against each other; the ranking inside a category is the same either way. Each category's own average, indexed against the whole index, is its place in the category table. The summary beside each brand describes where it stands on the three drivers against whichever benchmark is showing: above 104 counts as ahead, below 96 as behind.

This measures how AI assistants describe brands in their answers. It is not a survey of people, and it is not an endorsement: the scores are a reading of machine-generated text at the time of the run, and relationships between drivers and how often a brand is named are correlational. A brand needs at least six scored dimensions in a run to be indexed, and a category needs at least four such brands to get a board. See the full methodology.