With an individual savings account (ISA), you can earn profits from your investments without having to pay any capital gains tax. Each person gets an ISA allowance of £20,000 for the 2024/2025 tax year. Read on to find out the different types of stocks and shares ISA, what you’ll need before you begin and how to open a stocks and shares ISA.
These are two terms for the same thing — an individual savings account in which you hold investments (such as shares), rather than cash (which would be a cash ISA).
Here are the basic steps to opening a stocks and shares ISA. it usually takes no more than 10 minutes, depending on how quickly the provider verifies you. You may find that your chosen provider has a couple of extra steps, such as a short quiz that either determines your investment experience (share dealing) or works out how you feel about risk (ready-made).
Here are some DIY investment platforms that offer stocks and shares ISAs. These accounts let you buy individual investments to craft your own perfect blend.
To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Costs, features, ease and range of investments across 30+ platforms are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the platform – simple.
Read the full methodologyThese are platforms that will invest on your behalf – you’ll be able to choose between portfolios that have been made by professionals and will be fully managed going forward.
To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Costs, features, ease and range of investments across 30+ platforms are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the platform – simple.
Read the full methodologyAll investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Broadly speaking, you can categorise stocks and shares ISAs into two categories: DIY and ready-made.
With a DIY platform, you’re in complete control of choosing what you invest in. Think of it like choosing sweets at a pic-n-mix — you want to get a pretty decent variety of different types of sweets, but you also want to make sure you’ve got a nice mix of sweet treats that you enjoy.
With a ready-made platform, you choose between a set of different portfolios that have been made by experts. You can’t swap one stock for another, so there may be investments mixed in that you’re not a fan of, like the pile of milky ways and bountys left in the Celebrations tub after Christmas.
You can get providers that offer both DIY and ready-made. These are good for you if you think you’d like to choose stocks eventually, but would prefer to start off with something ready-made. Longer established platforms tend to have both options available, so the user experience or app might not be as intuitive as those dedicated to one or the other. To find one of these platforms, use our comparison tool and check the boxes for “share-dealing” and “ready-made portfolios”.
Your investment profits may be subject to capital gains tax when you earn more than £3,000 in profit in each tax year. By investing in an ISA, you’re able to invest up to £20,000 in each tax year and earn investment profit without paying any tax. This is typically the best account to go with first, then once you’ve hit your allowance, you can start investing in a general investment account.
It’s not difficult to open a stocks and shares ISA — as long as you’re ready with all of the necessary documents and paperwork, the whole process will only take a few minutes. That means if you make yourself a cup of tea before you begin, by the time you’re done it’ll be the optimum drinking temperature andyou’ll be all set to start investing tax-free!
Before you sit down to open a stocks and shares ISA, make sure you have the following ready:
You’ll also want to double check that:
The first step when deciding on which stocks and shares ISA to go with is to determine the way you want to invest: DIY or ready-made. You can check out the key difference between these options below.
Once you’ve determined what type of account you want, consider the following:
Some platforms have quite complex charting and a great deal of research and fundamentals on each investment — consider how much of this you’ll actually use.
There may be a quiz to help you work out your risk tolerance. Check out what the mobile app looks like and any saving features available to you.
Check that the stock exchanges you want access to are on your chosen platform. If you want other types of investment, such as gold or silver, check for these too.
You’ll get a choice between a few different portfolios, usually based on risk. You might also get to choose an ethical or sustainable portfolio.
You typically pay a commission each time you make an investment with DIY platforms. There are low-fee and commission-free platforms. You may also incur a foreign exchange fee if you need to convert your money into another currency.
You’ll typically pay a percentage fee based on the amount you invest. This is usually less than 1%.
It’s really easy to open a stocks and shares ISA, as long as you have ID and some basic details ready. When choosing between providers, you’ll broadly be able to choose between DIY providers and ready-made providers — take some time to understand the difference. Remember that not all investment platforms offer ISAs, so you may notice some missing from our comparison tables.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
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