The top 10 UK investment apps have gained around 1.6 million users on Google Play since March 2020, new analysis from App Radar has found.

According to the research, this brings the total number of UK users to at least 3.2 million.

If similar increases were recorded in iOS users the total number of UK app investors could be as high as 6.4 million with half of those added since the start of the pandemic, said the app optimisation platform.

Apps analysed included traditional investment choices such as Hargreaves Lansdown and FinTechs Plum, Nutmeg and Wealthify.

Plum was one of the biggest winners of the investment boom with 382,000 new users - an 80 per cent increase. Freetrade was close behind with 319,500 new customers via the Play Store.

App Radar’s analysis also revealed that the growth shows no sign of slowing with 140,000 new users added in May 2021 alone.

“We are seeing a seismic shift in how people manage their money in the UK,” said Thomas Kriebernegg, chief executive and co-founder, App Radar. “Gone are the days where investing was for a select wealthy few. Now, because FinTech companies have significantly lowered the bar to entry, more and more people are taking direct control of their finances.”

Kriebernegg added: “Undoubtedly the unique circumstances of the pandemic have helped to catalyse the app investment market, however, significantly, growth has shown no sign of letting up. With an estimated 12 per cent of UK adults now investing via their smartphones, there’s a strong commercial incentive to create new app offerings and this is likely to drive even faster growth. It would not be a surprise to see the vast majority of UK adults using at least one investment app in the next five years.”

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