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Stocks and shares ISAs explained

Important information - please keep in mind that the value of investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.

A stocks and shares ISA is a tax-efficient investment account. It allows you to invest up to £20,000 in the current tax year and pay no income or capital gains tax on your investments. If you’re thinking about saving into a stocks and shares ISA, we understand there are plenty of questions you may need the answers to before making a decision. In this video, we explain how a stocks and shares ISA works and what to consider.

You can also look through our list of FAQs below to help you understand how they work, how to open one with us, managing your ISA and more.

A stocks and shares ISA is a flexible, tax-efficient account for your investments that comes with a range of tax benefits. Any gains are exempt from UK capital gains tax and income tax. And, you don't need to declare any of this on your tax return.

Let’s weigh up the pros and cons of a stocks and shares ISA. A stocks and shares ISA allows you to save your yearly allowance into a wide range of investments including funds, exchange-traded funds, investment trusts, bonds and shares. There is also the option to temporarily hold your money in cash until you decide where to invest it, when you’re ready. Plus, you can access your money at any time.

With a stocks and shares ISA, it's possible to choose investments with more growth potential. But remember, the value of stocks and shares can go down as well as up, so you may not get back what you invest. With a cash ISA your money typically sits in a deposit account, which means it's low risk.

Here are some ISA rules:

  • There’s an annual limit on how much you can invest called the ISA allowance. It's currently set at £20,000 - good news for investors.
  • You need to be 18 years old to open a stocks and shares ISA.
  • Over a few years, it means you can have lots of ISAs and lots of different providers.

Some people find it simpler to have one provider - making it easier to manage and track their investments all in one place. If you have several ISAs in different places, it's often possible to transfer them to one provider further down the line. If that works for you.

So, there you have it. If you think a stocks and shares ISA might be right for you, then you can find out more on our website.

Thanks for watching.

ISA FAQs

A stocks and shares ISA (or investment ISA) is an account that allows you to invest in a wide range of investments such as individual shares, exchange-traded funds and investment trusts.

You can invest up to the current ISA annual allowance with the benefit of not needing to pay tax on your investment gains.

Find out more about ISAs

An ISA is a type of tax wrapper. This means that you don't pay tax on any gains from the investments you hold in it.

Find out more about tax and ISAs

To be eligible for a stocks and shares ISA, you must be:

  • Aged 18 or over
  • A UK resident for tax purposes

If you are not a UK resident, you can still be eligible if you are a crown employee, or your spouse or civil partner is.

Opening a stocks and shares ISA

Opening a stocks and shares ISA with us can be completed online. Find out more about our ISA and how to open one. If you need additonal help, download our step-by-step guide on how to open an account with us.

For the current tax year 2025/2026 you have until midnight on 5 April to open an ISA with us by phone or online. Any contributions made after this time will count towards the next tax year's allowance.

You can start a regular savings plan from as little as £25. If you're making a lump sum contribution, you can invest from £1,000.

You can hold as many stocks and shares ISAs as you like across different providers.

Find out more about how many ISAs you can have

As a third party, you are allowed to contribute to an ISA for someone else. Using our online application, you will have the option to provide your payment details once the account holder has given consent.

There is no requirement to invest through an adviser. However, if you are unsure of your personal financial circumstances or need advice, we recommmend that you speak with an authorised financial adviser.

Paying into a stocks and shares ISA

The current ISA allowance is £20,000. Some or all of this can be used to invest in a stocks and shares ISA. 

Find out more about the ISA allowance

You can contribute to your ISA on a regular basis depending on your preference (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly) or as a lump sum amount. These options will be available to you during your application process.

Yes, you have the option to set the payment frequency to collect monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly. Find out more about  our ISA and how to open one.

No, if you're unsure where to invest, your money will be held as cash in your account until you're ready. If you're unsure where to invest, speak to an authorised financial adviser. Looking for guidance on where to invest? Explore our favourite funds - selected by experts.

There are no incentives to invest bulk lump sums.

Managing a stocks and shares ISA

We offer a wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds that you can choose from. If you're unsure where to invest, speak to an authorised financial adviser. Find out more about what's available.

Yes, there is no limit as to how many different investments you can hold in your ISA.

The income generated by investments in a stocks and shares ISA can either be paid out directly to you, reinvested back into the investment it has come from or held as cash in your account. However, there are some investment types that will only have the option to reinvest so it is important to understand what your preference is before choosing investments.

The tax benefits of the ISA continue during the administration of your estate or the third anniversary of your date of death if sooner. Once probate is granted, your personal representative(s) can distribute your investments to the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

If eligible, your spouse (or civil partner) would be entitled to an additional allowance based on the value of your ISA. This is known as an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS).

Find out more

Yes, you can withdraw money out of your ISA at any time. But please note that if, during a tax year, you withdraw money from your ISA and then reinvest at a later date, it will count towards your annual ISA allowance. We do not yet offer the flexibility to withdraw and replace money without the replacement money counting towards your ISA allowance.

Transferring a stocks and shares ISA

You can transfer an ISA to us online. The information you provide will be used to contact your existing provider to begin the transfer. Read more about transferring your ISA.

Yes, investments and cash in an ISA can be transferred to us. We'll even cover any exit fees incurred up to a total of £500 per person ( T&Cs apply). Read more about transferring your ISA.

Yes, any investments held will be sold and transferred as cash.

You can transfer the cash within a cash ISA into a stocks and shares ISA where you will get the chance to invest in a wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds.

Transferring your ISA into a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) is not currently possible, but if you wished to, you can withdraw the value of your ISA and use the proceeds to contribute into a SIPP. Find out more about our SIPP.

Transferring a cash ISA to us

Your ISA will be moved into your Fidelity ISA as cash, which you can then choose to invest how you wish. If you selected cash ISA, but are actually transferring a stocks and shares ISA, this may result in your investments being sold.

Transferring a stocks and shares ISA to us

If we offer the same investments you currently have, they will be transferred to Fidelity as they are. 

If your investments are in a different share class to the one we offer, we will work with your current provider to convert them into the share class that we do have. Where this is possible, we will try to convert those investments into the cheapest share class available on our platform. 

If this isn't possible, or the investments you hold with the other provider are not available with us at all, they will be sold and then transferred as cash to your Fidelity ISA. You can then invest that cash how you wish.

There are no deadlines when it comes to transferring your ISA, so you can transfer your ISA anytime.

An ISA transfer can usually take up to eight weeks to complete but this can vary depending on the handling times of the fund groups or platforms involved in the process. This will also depend on whether they are processed by post or electronically. Read more about transferring your ISA.

No, you cannot transfer an ISA to another person.

Stocks and Shares ISA fees and charges

  • If you have between £25,000 and £250,000 invested with us, you will pay our standard service fee of 0.35%.
  • If you have more than £250,000 invested, you will benefit from our lower service fee of 0.20%. We do not charge you a service fee on any investments above £1 million.
  • If you have less than £25,000 invested, you will pay a flat-rate fee of £90 a year, that’s only £7.50 a month. However, if you set up a regular savings plan, you will be eligible for our standard service fee of 0.35%.
  • There is no service fee on junior accounts, or on exchange-traded investments held in an Investment Account.

There are also charges set by the company managing any funds you own and charges related to share dealing. For a comprehensive view of our fees and charges please visit our fees and charges pages

We deduct your service fee around the 1st of every month. This is calculated based on the total value of your investments held over the previous month.

If you hold any joint accounts, we include them when we are adding up all of your investments to work out what service fee you pay. This ensures that you will pay the lowest possible rate.

The total value is then divided by 12 to determine the monthly amount that’s taken from your individual account.

When you pay service fees, they are always taken from your Cash Management Account.

  • If you have cash in there, we will take your fees from this cash. This helps protect any tax-wrapped ISA and SIPP investments you may have, as it allows you to pay these fees from separate cash.
  • If you don't have enough cash in there, we will sell from your investments to make up the outstanding balance and transfer that to the Cash Management Account. When we do this, we have a hierarchy and start by selling from your largest investment by value and by asset class. This means for example we would take the fee from the largest fund before we take it from an exchange-traded fund or investment trust.

Getting started with a Fidelity ISA

Begin saving today

Take a look at why our award-winning Stocks and Shares ISA might be just what you’re looking for. If you like the sound of it, you can open an account too.

Transfer ISAs to us

It helps to have all your investments under one roof. Find out how to start your transfer and bring your ISAs together.

Double your money with our ISA prize draw

Invest £5,000 or more in an ISA online by 31 May for the chance to win back the total amount you invest up to £20,000, plus weekly cash prizes. The sooner you invest, the more chances you have to win! T&Cs apply.