Count Finance
Costs and Charges Disclosure
August 2026
1. Introduction
This document provides important information about the costs and charges associated with the investment services provided through the Count application ("the App"). Understanding these costs is important, as they will affect the overall return on your investments.
Count Finance Ltd, the provider of Count, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), operating in the FCA Regulatory Sandbox. Our FCA Firm Reference Number is 1017828.
This information is provided on an 'ex-ante' (forward-looking) basis. If you become a client and we have an ongoing relationship with you, we will provide you with an annual 'ex-post' statement detailing the actual costs and charges you have incurred over the previous 12-month period.
2. Our Services
Count provides a financial advice and intermediation service. Based on the information you provide about your financial situation, investment goals and risk tolerance, we will:
- Recommend suitable investment portfolios comprised of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
- Prepare and recommend suitable financial strategies covering investments, emergency funds and tax optimisation.
- Advise on your portfolio and execute your strategy on your behalf on an ongoing basis, including monitoring and rebalancing (with your instructions) when necessary.
- Arrange the execution of investment transactions (buying and selling ETFs) within your investment accounts.
Our service is designed to provide a diversified investment portfolio aligned with your chosen risk level.
3. Our Charges (Service Costs)
We offer two service plans: Freemium and Premium. The fees you pay depend on the plan you choose, and are a combination of subscription (advice) fees and assets-under-administration (AUM) fees.
With the exception of the advice fee, all our fees are calculated as a percentage of the value of your account. The advice fee is a fixed charge of £4.99 per month, regardless of the value of your account. All fees are typically deducted directly from the cash balance within your investment account monthly in arrears, and are exclusive of VAT where applicable.
Plan comparison
| Premium | Freemium | |
|---|---|---|
| Advice fee | £4.99 per month | £0 |
| Investment AUM fee | 0.25% p.a. | N/A |
| Emergency Fund (savings) AUM fee | 0.5% p.a. (charged on Emergency Fund savings only) | 0.75% p.a. |
| Operating charge | 0.072% p.a. | 0.072% p.a. |
| Trading costs | Passed through 'as incurred' (est. 0.06% p.a. for illustration) | N/A |
Explanation of our charges
Advice fee: Users of the Count Premium plan are charged an advice fee of £4.99 per month. This is our core financial advice fee and is charged together with your AUM fee for our intermediation services.
Investment AUM fee: This is our core investment administration fee. It does not apply to your Emergency Fund. The fee is calculated on your total investment value at the end of each month and is charged monthly in arrears.
Emergency Fund AUM fee: This is our core savings administration fee. It is payable only on Emergency Fund savings and does not apply to your investments. The fee is calculated on your total Emergency Fund value at the end of each month and is charged monthly in arrears.
Operating charge: This fee covers the costs associated with WealthKernel's platform administration, custody of your assets, and operational overheads. It is calculated as an annual percentage of your assets under administration, based on your portfolio's total value at the end of each month, and is charged monthly in arrears.
Trading costs: These are external costs associated with buying and selling the underlying ETFs in your portfolio. They are not charged directly by us but are incurred within the investment process and passed through to you. These costs can include brokerage commissions, stock exchange fees, Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) on purchases of UK-domiciled ETFs (if applicable), and foreign exchange (FX) spreads. These costs vary and are reflected in the execution price of your trades. For illustrative purposes in Section 5, we estimate these at 0.06% p.a., but actual costs may differ. Trading costs do not apply to your Emergency Fund on any plan, whether you are a Premium or Freemium user.
4. Underlying Investment Costs (Product Costs)
The ETFs held within your portfolio incur their own management fees and operating costs, charged by the ETF provider (the fund manager), not by Count.
Total Expense Ratio (TER): This is the primary measure of these underlying costs, covering the ETF manager's fee, administrative costs and other operational expenses.
TER range: For the ETFs used in our portfolios, total expense ratios range from 0.05% to 0.30% per annum. The average cost to you will vary depending on the specific portfolio strategy selected.
How it's charged: The TER is deducted from the ETF's assets by the fund provider and reflected daily in the ETF's price, or Net Asset Value (NAV). It reduces the ETF's overall return but is not a separate charge deducted from your account by Count.
Bid/ask spread: The cost illustrations include an estimate of the impact of bid/ask spreads — investment-related trading costs incurred when assets are bought or sold. The spread reflects the small difference between the price to buy and the price to sell an investment; it is not a fee paid to Count and may vary over time.
How it's charged: The bid/ask spread is incurred when investments are bought or sold, rather than as an ongoing charge, and is reflected in the transaction price rather than deducted separately.
5. Total Costs and Charges & Illustrations
The total cost of investing is the sum of our service costs (AUM fees, subscription fee, operating charge and trading costs) and the underlying investment costs (ETF TERs and bid/ask spreads).
The examples below show the potential impact of costs over one year. The calculations are based on £20,000 being invested at the beginning of a 12-month period, with no further deposits being made. They are illustrations only and are not based on your specific circumstances. Actual costs and returns will vary.
Example 1: £20,000 — Premium
Assumptions for the Premium example:
- Assumed gross annual growth (before any costs): 7.00%
- Assumed average ETF TER: 0.17% p.a. (average portfolio cost)
- Estimated trading costs: 0.06% p.a. (actual costs depend on activity)
- Estimated bid/ask spread: 0.05% (actual spreads depend on liquidity)
- 5% of your portfolio is allocated to your Emergency Fund
| Cost component | Calculation | Cost (£) | Cost (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service costs | |||
| Advice fee | £4.99 / month | £59.88 | 0.30% |
| Investment AUM fee | 0.25% | £47.50 | 0.24% |
| Emergency Fund AUM fee | 0.5% | £5.00 | 0.03% |
| Operating charge | 0.072% | £14.40 | 0.07% |
| Trading costs (est.) | 0.06% | £11.40 | 0.06% |
| Product costs | |||
| Bid/ask spread (est.) | 0.05% | £10.00 | 0.05% |
| ETF TER (avg.) | 0.17% | £34.00 | 0.17% |
| Total estimated cost | £182.18 | 0.91% | |
| Impact on return | |||
| Assumed gross return (7.00%) | £1,400.00 | ||
| Less total estimated costs | −£182.18 | ||
| Estimated net return | £1,217.82 | 6.09% |
Example 2: £20,000 — Freemium (no monthly advice fee; Emergency Fund only)
Assumptions for the Freemium example:
- Assumed gross annual growth (before any costs): 4.30%
- Assumed average ETF TER: 0.10% p.a. (average portfolio cost)
- Estimated bid/ask spread: 0.05% (actual spreads depend on liquidity)
- 100% of your portfolio is allocated to your Emergency Fund
| Cost component | Calculation | Cost (£) | Cost (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service costs | |||
| Advice fee | £0.00 | £0.00 | 0.00% |
| Investment AUM fee | 0.00% | £0.00 | 0.00% |
| Emergency Fund AUM fee | 0.75% | £150.00 | 0.75% |
| Operating charge | 0.072% | £14.40 | 0.07% |
| Trading costs (est.) | 0.00% | £0.00 | 0.00% |
| Product costs | |||
| Bid/ask spread (est.) | 0.05% | £10.00 | 0.05% |
| ETF TER (avg.) | 0.10% | £20.00 | 0.10% |
| Total estimated cost | £194.40 | 0.97% | |
| Impact on return | |||
| Assumed gross return (4.30%) | £860.00 | ||
| Less total estimated costs | −£194.40 | ||
| Estimated net return | £665.60 | 3.33% |
Important notes on the illustrations:
- Trading costs are variable estimates.
- Actual ETF TERs depend on portfolio allocation.
- Bid/ask spreads can vary with market conditions.
- The value of investments can go down as well as up; positive growth is not guaranteed.
6. How Fees Are Paid
Our service costs (subscription fee, AUM fees and operating charge) are deducted automatically from the available cash balance within your Count investment accounts monthly in arrears. We aim to ensure sufficient cash is available; if the cash balance is insufficient, we may sell a portion of your investments to cover charges, which could potentially trigger tax implications. Trading costs and ETF TERs are embedded within investment transactions and fund pricing.
7. Fees upon Account Closure
If you close your account, any fixed monthly advice fees will be charged in full for the month of closure. Any other fees calculated as a percentage of your investments will be applied on a pro-rata basis up to the date your account is closed.
8. Other Important Information
Conflicts of interest: We maintain a policy to manage conflicts of interest and act in your best interests. We will disclose any potential conflicts.
If you have any questions regarding our charges, please contact hello@count-finance.com or use the help function in the App.
