What happens to my investments if my platform goes bust?
If your investment platform or broker fails, your shares and funds are usually held separately from the firm's own money, in a nominee account in your name, so they are not the failed firm's to lose and are normally returned or moved to another provider. If money or assets are genuinely missing, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) can cover up to £85,000 per person, per firm. It does not cover your investments simply falling in value.
How are my shares actually held?
On most UK platforms your investments are held in a nominee account: a separate legal structure where the platform is the holder on paper but you remain the beneficial owner, the person entitled to any gains, dividends and voting rights. Crucially, these assets are kept ring-fenced from the platform's own money.
Any uninvested cash is meant to be held under client-money rules, in segregated accounts kept apart from the firm's funds. The point of both arrangements is the same: if the firm fails, your money is not simply part of what its creditors can claim.
What does the FSCS cover, and what doesn't it?
The FSCS is a statutory safety net. If an authorised UK firm fails and money or assets are actually missing, it can compensate you up to £85,000 per person, per firm (the limit as of 2026; check fscs.org.uk for the current figure). Note it is per firm, so spreading across providers can raise the total covered.
What it does NOT cover is just as important: the FSCS does not protect you against your investments falling in value. If a share or fund you own drops, or a company you hold goes bust, that is a market loss, not something any compensation scheme repays.
So does this mean investing is risk-free?
No. It is worth separating two very different risks. Platform risk, the provider itself failing, is what nominee accounts and the FSCS are designed to handle, and it is rare. Investment risk, your holdings going up and down in value, is the everyday risk of investing and is never compensated.
For most people the second is far more likely to affect their money than the first. Knowing which is which stops the fear of one being confused with the other.
A worked example
Say you hold £120,000 of shares on a platform that goes bust. Because the shares sit in a nominee account in your name, they are normally transferred to another provider intact, and the £85,000 FSCS limit only comes into play if some assets or cash are genuinely missing. Separately, if one company you own falls 40%, that is a market loss of real money, but not something the FSCS repays.
Common questions
Is my money protected if my broker or investing app goes bust?
Usually yes, in the sense that matters most: your investments are held in a nominee account separate from the firm's own money, so they are not the failed firm's to lose and are normally moved to another provider. If assets or cash are missing, the FSCS can cover up to £85,000 per person, per firm.
Does the FSCS cover my investments losing value?
No. The FSCS covers an authorised firm failing, not markets falling. If a share or fund you own drops in value, or a company you hold goes bankrupt, that is investment risk, a real loss but not one any compensation scheme repays. It is the everyday risk of investing.
Is the £85,000 limit per account or per person?
It is per person, per authorised firm. Holding investments across more than one provider can therefore raise the total that could be covered. The figure can change, so fscs.org.uk always has the current limit and the detail of what qualifies.
Where to next
General information to help you understand investing, not advice about your situation. Figures are illustrative and the rules can change - always check gov.uk or your provider for the latest.