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Stocks & shares ISAs
Learn more about ISA and investment platforms
Every adult has a £20,000 ISA allowance for 2023/24 – but if you've not used it by 5 April, you lose it. And it's possible to use all or part of that ISA allowance to invest in the stock market. This guide runs through what you need to know before investing in a stocks & shares ISA.
There are no guarantees when you're investing
Investing comes with risk, as the value of your investments can go down as well as up. If you decide to do it, it's recommended you invest for the long term (five years or more), as the longer you invest, the longer you have to ride out any bumps in the market.
What is a stocks & shares ISA?

Everyone in the UK aged 18 or over has an annual ISA allowance – it's £20,000 for the 2023/24 tax year, which began on 6 April 2023 and ends on 5 April 2024.
You can use all or part of this ISA allowance to invest in a type of account called a stocks & shares ISA. Here, you can invest in funds (shares or bonds from various companies pooled into one investment), bonds (basically a loan to a company or a government), and shares in individual companies. The idea is that you don't pay dividend, capital gains or income tax on any gains or income from investments held in your stocks & shares ISA.
A stocks & shares ISA is very different from a cash ISA, which is just a savings account you never pay tax on. If this is your first experience of investing, read our Beginners' guide to investing to get a broader idea of what's involved.
Other MSE ISA guides...
Cash ISAs: All the best deals, plus help choosing.
Full ISA guide: For everything you need to know about ISAs.
Lifetime ISAs: Get a 25% bonus on your savings.
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Stocks & shares ISA need-to-knows
Stocks & shares ISA platforms to try
Investing isn't MoneySavingExpert's area of expertise. So, we don't tell you here what the 'best' platform for you is, or give you any top picks. What we've done is pull out a mix of both cheaper platforms and well-known platforms for the two main types (DIY platforms and robo-investment platforms), so you have somewhere to start your own research in to which suits you best.
'Do-it-yourself' stocks & shares ISA platforms to try

We list these different costs, but we haven't taken fund charges into account. These will vary depending on which fund you pick and – to an extent – which fund platform you choose (some platforms negotiate deals with fund managers for cheaper fees).
The table below has some cheap platforms plus some big name players, so you can start your research. Keep an eye on charges as which works out cheapest for you will depend on what you invest in, how much you have to invest and how often you trade...
DIY stocks & shares ISA platforms
Platform + min deposit | Cost | Fee to buy/sell funds | Fee to buy/sell shares (1) | How to manage |
InvestEngine* (min £100 plus newbies can get £10-£50 cashback) | None | None | Can't buy shares | Online/ app |
Trading212* (min £1 plus newbies can get a free share with code MSE) (2) | None | None | None | Online/ app |
Freetrade* (min £2 or min £50 for a free share) | £5.99/mth or £59.88/yr | None | None | App |
AJ Bell* (£500 or £25/mth) | 0.25%/year | £1.50 | £9.95 | Online/ app |
Hargreaves Lansdown* (£100 or £25/mth) | 0.45%/year | None | £11.95 | Online/ app |
Not a platform (it only sells its own funds) but can be a low-cost option. | ||||
Vanguard (£500 or £100/mth) | 0.15%/year | None | Can't buy shares | Online/ app |
(1) Fees based on up to 10 trades of UK shares per month, AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown offer discounted rates for more frequent trades. You can trade overseas shares but expect to pay a currency exchange fee of up to 1%. (2) Min £10 for deposits via bank transfer or min £1 via card. Deposits by card are fee-free up to £2,000, there's a 0.7% fee above.
Robo-adviser stocks & shares ISA providers to try

If you go for a robo-adviser then it will choose an investment portfolio for you, based on your attitude to risk and what your investment goals are.
In general, these platforms won't be the cheapest, as they're doing all the work for you. But, often costs are kept relatively low as they tend to invest in funds which have low management charges.
There are many robo-advisers out there who can help you with a stocks & shares ISA, so always do your own research. Though to help you on your way, we've provided a mix of cheap and well-known platforms in the table below.
Robo stocks & shares ISA platforms
Platform + min deposit | Management fee (1) | Average annual fund cost (2) | How to manage |
InvestEngine* (min £100 plus newbies can get £10-£50 cashback) | 0.25%/year | 0.23% | Online/ app |
Wealthify* (min £1) | No management fee in year 1 for newbies via our link, then 0.6%/year | 0.16% or 0.7% | Online/ app |
Moneyfarm* (min £500) | No management fee in year 1 for newbies via our link, then tiered: 0.6%-0.75%/yr
|
0.3% | Online/ app |
Nutmeg* (min £500) | No management fee in year 1 for newbies via our link, then tiered: 0.45%-0.75%/year. |
0.25%-0.4% | Online/ app |
Correct as of 5 September 2023. (1) Management fees based on investments of up to £100,000, there's a lower fee for larger amounts with Nutmeg and Moneyfarm. (2) Total cost comprises fund charges + market spread.
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Get free research to help choose a fund
We don't cover what to invest in because we never want to have told you to put your money in something, only for you to lose money on it – though these sites do:
- Hargreaves Lansdown – helpful and easy-to-navigate site, including a 'Wealth Shortlist' – a collection of funds selected for their performance potential.
- Interactive Investor – includes beginners' guides, a glossary of terms and tables showing the 10 top, bottom and most-traded funds via its platform each month.
- Bestinvest – a large range of free guides covering everything from how to spot the worst-performing funds, to the top-rated funds.
- Charles Stanley Direct – the market data section breaks down lists of FTSE companies and allows you to check performance for any time period from one day to three years, updated every 15 minutes.

Want help investing?
If you're not sure how to invest and what to invest in, seek independent financial advice. Read our Financial Advisers guide for more information.
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