You certainly have to be smart to be able to cope with the admin involved in an IG Smart Portfolio.

By the time I got around to selling, IG had racked up nearly 500 transactions. Putting them into the cgtcalculator took a bit of effort (not sure what I was doing wrong to begin with, but I persevered and managed eventually). Thankfully (or maybe not), no CGT liability.

Then I had to check that the ishares etfs that IG had used were all reporting funds. I used the justETF website at first, then downloaded HMRC's list of reporting funds. So far, all OK.

All that effort for a 10% total return from April 2021 to March 2024. The portfolio did nicely between April and end Dec 2021, gaining nearly 10%, then went sideways, falling to its original level of investment at one point, before making headway again. It finally regained its end Dec 2021 level in Feb 2024.

What really annoys me is the constant churn in the portfolio. It's more than just rebalancing. A small amount of something new is bought, then a bit more, then it's sold for a loss. It feels like tinkering for the sake of tinkering. I did a rough calculation and I think total return would have been better if they had just put the money in the first 11 chosen etfs and left it be.