Does FSCS protect the platform, the fund provider, or both?

[frammlinton]

I'm struggling to find an answer to these questions online.

1.If, hypothetically, I had £85k in a Fidelity account, invested in a Vanguard fund, am I relying on Fidelity's FSCS protection or Vanguard's? Or do they bith provide some protection?

1. If I wanted to invest another £85k, for full FSCS protection should I invest it through a different platform or just with a different fund provider?

There are different elements here.
Firstly the platform will have your (and all its clients) assets segregated. So if fidelity went under your money isn’t counted as theirs and you will get it back (there may be delays). There are lots of strict rules to make sure your money and holdings are protected.
If - for any reason they were not properly segregated and fidelity went under then I think £85k FCSC limit would apply.

In terms of the fund - there again is a separate company holding the fund assets. So if vanguard went under your investment is separate. Your FSCS claim in this case would be because vanguard mismanaged the fund and the 85k limit would be applying to your loss (not likely to be the full amount of your investment).

Hope that helps.

In terms of funds - I’d not worry about having everything on one platform but you should be looking to spread your risk across different types of funds.

Thanks, that makes sense.