Editorial Policy
How we create, review, and maintain the content on The Investors Centre — and the standards we hold ourselves to.
Last updated: 13 February 2026Our Editorial Mission
The Investors Centre exists to help UK investors make informed decisions about trading and investment platforms. We do this by testing platforms with real money, writing honest reviews, and explaining complex financial topics in plain language.
We are not financial advisors. We don't tell you what to invest in or which trades to make. Our role is to give you accurate, up-to-date information about the platforms and tools available — so you can make your own informed choices.
Our guiding principle: Every piece of content we publish should be something we'd be comfortable sharing with a friend or family member who was asking for genuine advice.
Our Editorial Principles
Accuracy First
We verify information before publishing. When we cite fees, features, or regulatory status, we check primary sources — the platform itself, FCA registers, Companies House records. If we can't verify something, we don't publish it as fact.
Experience-Based
Our reviews are based on hands-on testing with real money, not manufacturer specs or press releases. We open genuine accounts, make real deposits, execute real trades, and withdraw funds. This is what sets our content apart.
Independence
Commercial relationships never influence our editorial content. We earn revenue through affiliate commissions, but our ratings and rankings are determined by our testing, not by who pays us. We've rejected partnerships with platforms that failed our standards.
Transparency
We're upfront about how we make money, how we test platforms, and what our limitations are. When we have a commercial relationship with a platform, we disclose it. When we don't know something, we say so.
Usefulness
Content should help readers make decisions or understand something better. We avoid filler, unnecessary jargon, and content that exists purely for SEO purposes. If a page doesn't serve a genuine reader need, we don't publish it.
How We Create Content
Every piece of content on The Investors Centre goes through a consistent process to ensure accuracy and quality.
Our Content Process
Research & Testing
For reviews, this means opening real accounts and testing platforms firsthand. For guides, it means researching primary sources — regulatory documents, official platform information, and verified data.
Writing
Content is written by our editorial team, all of whom have direct experience with investing and trading. We write in plain language, avoiding unnecessary jargon while maintaining accuracy.
Editorial Review
Before publication, content is reviewed by at least one other team member. This review checks factual accuracy, clarity, and compliance with our editorial standards.
Publication
Content is published with a clear date. For time-sensitive content like platform reviews, we include a "last updated" date so readers know how recent the information is.
Ongoing Monitoring
Published content is reviewed regularly and updated when platforms change, fees are adjusted, or new information becomes available. We aim to review all major content at least annually.
Our Editorial Team
All content is created and reviewed by our team of experienced investors and analysts. We don't outsource content to freelancers without relevant expertise, and we don't publish AI-generated content without substantial human review and verification.
Editorial Responsibilities
Affiliate Relationships & Commercial Independence
How we make money: The Investors Centre earns revenue primarily through affiliate commissions. When you click a link to a platform on our site and sign up, we may receive a referral fee from that platform. This comes at no additional cost to you.
How this affects our content: It doesn't — or at least, it shouldn't, and we work hard to ensure it doesn't. Our testing methodology is applied identically to all platforms, whether they have an affiliate relationship with us or not. Ratings are determined by our testing results, not by commercial considerations.
What we won't do: We won't feature platforms purely because they pay well. We won't adjust scores to favour commercial partners. We won't hide negative findings about platforms we have relationships with. We've rejected partnership offers from over 20 platforms that failed our vetting process — platforms that would have paid us to feature them.
Disclosure: Pages that contain affiliate links include a disclosure notice. We aim to make these disclosures clear and prominent, not buried in small print.
Fact-Checking & Verification
For a financial comparison site, accuracy isn't optional. Incorrect information about fees, regulation, or platform features could lead readers to make poor decisions with real financial consequences.
What We Verify
Primary Source Checks
- FCA registration status via the FCA Register
- Company details via Companies House
- Fee information from platform's own documentation
- Feature availability through hands-on testing
- FSCS protection status
Testing Verification
- Spreads measured during live market hours
- Withdrawal times tested with real withdrawals
- Customer support response times logged
- Platform features confirmed through actual use
- Mobile apps tested on real devices
When we can't verify something firsthand, we're clear about that. We'll say "according to the platform's website" or "we haven't tested this feature" rather than presenting unverified information as confirmed fact.
AI and Automated Content
We use AI tools in our workflow — for research assistance, initial drafts, and editing suggestions. However, we don't publish AI-generated content without substantial human review, verification, and rewriting.
Our policy: All published content must be reviewed and verified by a member of our editorial team with relevant expertise. AI can assist our process, but a human with genuine investing and trading experience is responsible for every piece of content we publish.
This matters because AI tools can generate plausible-sounding content that's factually wrong — especially for time-sensitive information like current fee structures or platform features. For YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content like ours, that's not acceptable.
Corrections & Updates
We make mistakes. When we do, we correct them promptly and transparently.
How We Handle Errors
Minor errors (typos, small inaccuracies that don't affect the substance of the content) are corrected without specific notation, though we update the "last updated" date.
Significant errors (incorrect fees, wrong regulatory information, factual mistakes that could affect reader decisions) are corrected with a note explaining what was changed and when. We don't silently edit significant errors.
Outdated information is updated when we become aware of changes. We monitor major platforms for fee changes, feature updates, and regulatory developments.
Found an error? Please let us know at info@theinvestorscentre.co.uk or use our contact form. We appreciate corrections — it helps us maintain accuracy.
What We Don't Do
Being clear about our limitations is as important as explaining what we do.
- We don't provide financial advice. We provide information and reviews, but we're not authorised to give personal financial advice. Our content shouldn't be treated as a recommendation to invest in any particular way.
- We don't guarantee outcomes. Past performance of platforms or investments doesn't guarantee future results. Trading and investing involve risk, including the risk of losing money.
- We don't cover every platform. We focus on platforms available to UK users with proper regulation. We don't review unregulated platforms or those not accessible in the UK.
- We don't accept payment for reviews. Platforms cannot pay us to be reviewed, and they cannot pay to influence their scores. Our commercial relationships are limited to affiliate commissions based on reader sign-ups.
- We don't publish sponsored content without disclosure. If content is sponsored or paid for (which is rare), it will be clearly labelled as such.
Reader Feedback
We read feedback from our readers and take it seriously. If you've had an experience with a platform that differs significantly from our review, we want to hear about it. Reader experiences help us identify when platforms have changed or when our testing may have missed something.
That said, we don't change reviews based solely on individual reader feedback. One person's experience might not be representative, and platforms can have inconsistent service. We consider reader feedback as one input alongside our ongoing testing and monitoring.
Questions About Our Editorial Policy
If you have questions about how we create content, how we handle affiliate relationships, or anything else covered in this policy, please get in touch. We're happy to explain our processes in more detail.