Once you set up a Pie with AutoInvest, you have full control over how your plan is funded, adjusted, and managed. Below are the different ways to fund your AutoInvest Pies and how to update your settings.
How to fund my AutoInvest plan?
You can fund your AutoInvest Pies in several ways:
- Debit/Credit Card or Apple/Google Pay: Set up a recurring card payment based on your deposit schedule. The funds will be invested automatically.
- Free funds: If you are registered under Trading 212 UK Ltd, Trading 212 Markets Ltd., Trading 212 EU, or Trading 212 AU Pty Ltd., you can use your account’s available free funds by selecting Free funds as your payment method.
- SEPA Direct Debit: Available only to German residents registered under Trading 212 EU
- Instant Bank Transfer: Available only to clients registered under Trading 212 UK Ltd.'s Invest, SIPP, and Stocks & Shares ISA accounts.
📄 Note
А 0.7% fee is applied to any deposit made via a payment method different from BankWire transfer, SEPA Direct Debit or Instant Bank transfer, which is over the limit of £2,000.
You can also set up scheduled deposits from your linked bank account:
- Choose a frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.).
- Deposits will be automatically invested in your Pie according to your selected distribution type (Self-Balancing or By Targets).
📄 Note
AutoInvest requires at least half of your chosen schedule cycle to pass before processing the next payment. If this condition is not met, the scheduled deposit will be skipped.
How does “Use my cash first” work?
Trading 212 UK Ltd’s clients who choose an external payment method for AutoInvest can see the Use my cash first toggle. This option is off by default.
- If Use my cash first is turned on and your free cash covers the full scheduled deposit, the deposit will be taken from your free cash and your external payment method will not be charged.
- If your free cash is short, your selected external payment method will be charged for the full scheduled amount in the same cycle. No partial amount is taken from free cash.
- If the external payment method is declined or cannot be charged, the scheduled deposit will be missed and you will be notified.
- You can turn Use my cash first on or off from AutoInvest settings.
❗️ Important
Once an existing AutoInvest is moved away from Free funds only to an external payment method, it cannot be switched back to Free funds only. You can still use the Use my cash first option to try your free cash before charging the selected external method.
You can also set up scheduled deposits from your linked bank account:
- Choose a frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.).
- Deposits will be automatically invested in your Pie according to your selected distribution type (Self-Balancing or By Targets).
📄 Note
AutoInvest requires at least half of your chosen schedule cycle to pass before processing the next payment. If this condition is not met, the scheduled deposit will be skipped.
What if there aren’t enough free funds?
How AutoInvest behaves depends on your payment setup:
- If your AutoInvest is funded from Free funds only, the scheduled deposit cannot be completed when your available free cash is lower than the deposit amount. You will receive a notification.
- If Use my cash first is enabled, AutoInvest will check your free cash first. If it does not cover the full scheduled deposit, your selected external payment method will be charged for the full amount. If that payment is declined, the deposit will be missed.
If your account does not have enough funds to cover the scheduled deposit, you will receive a notification that AutoInvest cannot complete the deposit.
Additionally, if the scheduled deposit is below the minimum investment amount, the money will be placed in your Pie cash instead. An order will only be triggered once there are enough funds in the Pie to meet the minimum investment.
💡 Example
- AutoInvest is set for $50 once a month.
- The minimum investment is $100.
Month 1:
- No order is placed, as the deposit is below the minimum.
- $50 is stored in Pie cash.
Month 2:
- AutoInvest adds another $50.
- With $100 total ($50 from deposit + $50 Pie cash), an order is triggered.
- Pie cash balance returns to $0.
What happens if I reach my ISA allowance?
If you hold a Stocks & Shares ISA, AutoInvest and recurring deposits cannot take you over your £20,000 annual ISA allowance.
If a scheduled deposit would take your contributions over your remaining allowance for the current tax year, the deposit is not processed - no money is taken from your linked payment method, and nothing is added to your ISA. This, however, applies only to your AutoInvest being funded.
📄 Note
Only the first skipped deposit sends a notification. If your allowance stays fully used, later scheduled deposits keep being skipped without further notifications until your allowance resets at the start of the new tax year (6 April). Your AutoInvest schedule stays active and resumes automatically once you have allowance available again.
Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and regulations, which may change. This check only covers contributions to your Trading 212 ISAs. If you hold ISAs with other providers, you're responsible for keeping your total contributions across all of them within your £20,000 annual allowance - we can't see ISAs held elsewhere.
Where can I find my Autoinvest settings?
All AutoInvest settings for a specific Pie can be managed directly in the app:
- Go to the Overview tab of the Pie you want to manage.
- Tap on AutoInvest settings.
For UK AutoInvests with an external payment method selected, the Use my cash first setting can also be viewed or changed from AutoInvest settings where available.
📄 Note
For single instrument AutoInvest plans, you can view and manage your settings from the instrument’s details page or from the Portfolio tab - AutoInvest section.
How to adjust and control my Autoinvest schedule?
You can change your AutoInvest plan at any time:
- Change Deposit Amount: Increase or decrease the recurring deposit.
- Adjust Frequency: Change how often your deposits occur (e.g., weekly, monthly).
- Change Payment Method: For UK AutoInvests, you can choose an external payment method. If an existing Free funds-only AutoInvest is changed to an external payment method, the change is one-way and it cannot be switched back to Free funds only.
- Use my free cash first: Turn the setting on or off where it is available. When turned off, your selected external payment method is used directly.
- Pause Schedule: Temporarily stop AutoInvest deposits. No funds will be debited until you resume.
- Resume Schedule: Restart a paused AutoInvest plan whenever you’re ready.
💡 Example
If you enable AutoInvest on July 19, 2025, and set your schedule for every 2nd of the month, the August 2, 2025 payment will be skipped.
This is because there are fewer than 15 days (half of a monthly cycle) between enabling AutoInvest and the first scheduled date.
📄 Note
For Single instruments, you will not see a pause option. You can only adjust the deposit amount or frequency.
Why did my AutoInvest or Recurring Deposit still go through after I cancelled it?
If you cancel a scheduled AutoInvest or Recurring Deposit too close to its scheduled date, the cancellation may not be processed in time and the payment or investment may still go ahead.
To avoid this, we recommend cancelling:
- AutoInvests and Recurring Deposits: at least one day before the scheduled date
- Direct Debit-funded recurring payments: at least six days before the scheduled date.
📄 Note
Cancellation requests made after these timeframes may not prevent the scheduled payment or investment from being processed.