Browsers, devices and security
Security
1. Your money is kept separate from our own
Bestinvest does not hold client money. Your assets are held in nominee by our custodian, SEI, in a ‘nominee company’, and are ring-fenced from SEI’s assets in accordance with the FCA rules.
SEI holds client assets in ‘client money’ bank accounts, which are established with statutory trust status. This means that money held within these accounts is recognised by the bank as belonging to a client rather than SEI itself. In this way SEI holds your money as a trustee.
More information can be found in our Terms of Business available through our website.
2. Your money is protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) pays compensation for financial loss to customers of authorised financial services firms.
Should you be entitled to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, you may be able to recover up to £85,000.
SEI uses a number of partner banks and FSCS covers £85k per person per failing bank. Since SEI never holds more than 50% of your cash with one bank, in the unlikely event of multiple bank failures your cash could therefore be covered by multiples of the £85k FSCS cover. This depends on how the cash is spread across different partner banks and whether you have other money invested with them outside of our Bestinvest accounts.
It may also protect certain qualifying temporary high balances of up to £1 million for six months from when the amount was first deposited. Life events causing a temporary high balance which the FSCS may protect, include property transactions, benefits payable on retirement, inheritance and divorce settlements.
Further information about compensation arrangements is available from the FSCS directly:
- Website: fscs.org.uk
- Telephone: 0800 678 1100
- Address: Financial Services Compensation Scheme, Scheme PO Box 300, Mitcheldean, GL17 1DY
Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners is a trading name of Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom. Our FCA registration number is 165169.
You can check this on The Financial Services Register. See our Terms of Business for further information.
Each insolvency is different and likely to depend on the exact circumstances of the entity in question and its assets at the point of its failure.
In the unlikely event of our insolvency, an external administrator would be appointed, who would be expected to liaise with both the FCA and FSCS to ensure your assets are transferred to a new provider as quickly and efficiently as possible. Evelyn Partners Group, of which Bestinvest is a part, has personal indemnity (PI) insurance of £25 million to protect against its going insolvent. This protection is reviewed on an annual basis by the group’s Legal team and Chief Financial Officer, and also externally by our brokers.
Since Bestinvest does not hold client money, SEI holds your assets in a ‘nominee company’, ring-fencing them from SEI’s assets in accordance with the FCA rules.
If SEI was to become insolvent or cease trading, your assets (investments) are protected as they are ring-fenced from the rest of SEI’s assets and liabilities. There is no upper limit as all client assets, regardless of value, are afforded the same level of protection.
There are multiple layers of controls in place to ensure clients are protected from internal and external fraud. You may be asked security questions by our staff at any time for example. Our fraud controls are reviewed and updated regularly to counter potential new threats.
For further information regarding how we protect you and your data, please refer to Keeping you safe.
Our custodian is SEI.
SEI Investments (Europe) Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under the reference number 191713. SEI provides the following services:
- holding all Customer Assets or arranging for them to be held in safe custody
- collecting all distributions and other entitlements arising on Customer Assets and accounting for them to the Customer
- settling transactions to acquire or dispose of Customer Assets on the instructions of the Intermediary (Bestinvest) and using funds provided for the purpose by the Customer
- informing the Customer or Intermediary of corporate actions and other events affecting Customer Assets
- holding money on behalf of the Customer where required for the purpose of providing the above services
- transferring all Customer Assets and money held on behalf of the Customer to the Customer, or as they or the Intermediary may direct, on termination of the appointment.
More information about how SEI keeps your assets safe can be found here.
Embark Pensions is the Scheme Administrator for the BestSIPP.
Embark Pensions is a trading name of EBS Pensions Limited and Embark Services Limited (registered in England No. 00998606) (“EBS”). EBS is authorised and regulated by the FCA under the reference number 134908. The Scheme Trustee is Embark Pensions Trustees Limited (registered in England No.06300217) (“Embark”).
The Scheme Trustee acts as a bare trustee in relation to the Scheme. All monies received by the Scheme on your behalf will be applied to your SIPP for your benefit alone. Any client money which is not due and payable to EBS will be segregated in a client money bank account, in accordance with the FCA rules, thereby ensuring it is segregated from EBS’s own money.
Login
If you are logged in:
- Navigate to the profile icon in the top right hand corner of your screen and select the 'Security details' link
- Click on the ‘Edit’ button next to your password
- Follow the instructions to make any changes
If you are logged out:
- Go to the login page
- Click on 'Forgot login details?'
- Enter your email address and client number
- Go to your email inbox and click the link in the email we send you
- Follow the steps to reset your password
You will receive a confirmation email when your password information has been updated.
If you are logged out of your account and have forgotten your username, password or PIN:
- Go to the login page
- Click the 'Forgot login details?' link
- You will be asked to enter your email address and client number so we can send you a link to reset the details
- Click the link in the email and follow the steps
If you are struggling to reset your login information through this method, get in touch with our Client relations team and they can help.
Your PIN number is a unique number you choose when you create your login details to access your account online.
Your PIN is part of our two-step log in process, and is used along with your username and password when you log into your account.
Security is really important to us. Having a two-step login process where we ask for your PIN means there's an extra layer of security in place to protect your account.
Your account may be locked for a number of reasons. The most common reasons are that there have been too many incorrect login attempts or a block that you have requested yourself due to security concerns. The quickest way to resolve this is by calling our Client relations team on 020 7189 9999 who will take you through the security process and can unblock your account over the phone.
If you believe someone has access to your account, the first thing you should do is call our Client relations team on 020 7189 9999.
We will then be able to block your account, meaning no activity will be able to continue. Once you feel that you are able to access your account again, you can contact us in the same way to unblock your account. We can also reset your details so you can set up a new password and PIN number.
Browsers and devices
As an online platform, we are committed to providing a secure and consistent experience across browsers and devices.
For the best online experience, we recommend keeping your browser and devices up to date.
Which web browsers do we support?
Which mobile device operating systems and versions do we support?
| OS type | OS version |
| iOS | iOS 13 and up |
| Android | Android 6 and up |
To clear cookies in Google Chrome:
- Click the three dots in the top right of the browser window to access the browser's settings
- Select 'Delete browsing data...' in the menu
- Select 'Cookies and other site data' and choose the time range for deletion and then click 'Delete data'
To clear cookies in Microsoft Edge:
- Click the three dots in the top right of the browser window to access the browser's settings
- Select 'Delete browsing data' in the menu
- Select 'Cookies and other site data' and click 'Clear now'
You’ll find our app on both the Apple App Store and on the Google Play store. Just search ‘Bestinvest’, it's free to download!
Our app is designed for mobile devices. If you are on a tablet device and looking to manage your account or buy or sell investments, we recommend using a web browser.
Is the app safe and secure?
The app follows the same industry and government guidance on account security as the Bestinvest website, and we regularly test and audit our systems. In addition, you can log into the Bestinvest app using the fingerprint and face biometrics that come with your device.
Key functionality of the app:
- Check how your investments are performing
- Buy and sell shares, funds and ETFs
- Open or transfer an account
- Add cash or set up monthly contributions
- Book a free investment coaching session
- Link accounts to friends or family
- Use our smart planning tools in the Life plan section
Dealing on the app
You can buy and sell funds and shares on the app just as you can on a web browser:
- Tap ‘Invest’ and you’ll be directed in a new browser window to our investment search
- Search for the investment you want to trade
- Tap ‘Invest now’
- You’ll be automatically redirected back to the app from our investment search page to complete the trade
Not being taken back to the app? Try holding down your finger on ‘Invest now’ and selecting ‘Open in Bestinvest’
We recommend setting your default browser to popular browsers like Chrome or Safari and make sure they are up to date.
If you have any other browser set up as your default, and you’re having trouble being redirected back to the app from investment search in your browser, make sure the browser is set to open links within the app.