Zero commissions
No extra cost for an ISA
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.
ISA stands for “individual savings account”. The difference between saving in an ISA compared with other savings accounts is that any interest you receive isn’t subject to any tax.
Mostly, ISAs are just “wrappers” for savings or investment accounts, kind of like an invisibility cloak that lets you, totally legally, hide your profits from the tax man.
Everyone has an annual limit to how much you can put into an ISA. This is your ISA allowance, and it differs year on year. The 2024/2025 ISA allowance is £20,000. For the savers under eighteen, the annual Junior ISA (JISA) allowance is £9,000.
Sometimes, a trading app is considered the best because…well, it’s a great app and has loads of features. A lot of the time, it’s down to you, and what features you’re looking for. You wouldn’t judge a goldfish on how well it can climb a tree, would you?
There are loads of different things that you should consider when choosing the best stocks and shares ISA account for you, such as:
A stocks and shares ISA is a type of ISA which lets you invest your savings in the stock market. As with all ISAs, you can invest up to £20,000 per year tax-free.
If you want to, you can split your allowance between different types of ISAs, such as cash ISAs or Lifetime ISAs (LISAs). You need to ensure that you stay within your allowance.
There are several different ways that you can invest with a stocks and shares ISA.
For example, you might do some research and open an account with a share trading provider and decide that you want to invest in companies that you know or use, like Greggs, boohoo or Barclays. You can choose the shares yourself and manage the investments yourself.
Another option is to choose a managed account and let the experts look after the money for you. You might choose which sector you want to be invested in, or how ethical your investments are, but the experts will keep track on your investments and try to ensure that they perform in the way that you want them to.
You can also get a mix of the two.
With a stocks and shares ISA your money is at risk, but the potential reward is growth on your investments that is higher than your average savings accounts.
Before you ask this, ask yourself what your financial goals are and what your current situation looks like.
But:
Before you open a stocks and shares ISA thinking you’re the next Warren Buffet, you need to weigh up whether you’re willing to take risk that comes with investing.
In the 2008 crash for instance, many people’s stocks and shares ISAs lost a lot of value. We’ve gone into just how badly it hit people’s stocks and shares below.
A simple rule of thumb is this: if your investments are going to keep you up at night, don’t do it.
Some providers, such as IG, Moneyfarm and Fidelity have risk assessment quizzes which give you an indication of how suitable you are for investing.
There are plenty of different ways to work out how much stocks and shares return over a period of time. You can look at the performance of specific providers’ funds to see how they’ve performed over several years or at specific funds. The FTSE100 is a collection of the top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Since it started in 1984, the FTSE 100 has risen by 654% in price. This is an annualised return of 5.77%. At the moment, the most you can generally get in returns for a typical savings account is somewhere between 1% and 5%.
The returns you’ll receive could differ from these figures. Past performance isn’t indicative of future results. Your returns will depend on how much you invest, what you choose to invest in, and how long you invest for.
Let’s say, for example, you invested £10,000 in the FTSE 100 over a time period of 10 years (this is sometimes called an “investment horizon”).
This graph shows the rough difference between investing your money in the FTSE 100 and putting it in your average savings account. You can toggle to the table to see the numbers in a bit more detail.
With a stocks and shares ISA you can invest in a whole load of things. Here are a few examples:
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.
Discover who can pay money in at the Post Office, how you do this and whether your bank is supported at Post Office Everyday Banking.
This new account comes with cashback on direct debits, interest on the balance in your account and a regular saver with one of the best rates in the market.
Hold, send and manage multiple currencies with this digital account from HSBC.
Could an alternative prize draw savings account work for you?
Everything we know about the Bluesky IPO, plus information on how to buy shares.
Choose carefully and your bank account will be up and running the same day.
Check out your options for withdrawing cash from an ATM and the alternatives.
Find out which banking apps offer savings pots to help you budget.
Need to send a payment fast? Find out how long it might take.
Learn more about the best ways to earn cashback and what to watch out for.