What’s a Stocks and Shares ISA?
It’s an account that allows you to invest in the stock market and save on tax.
Tax-free returns
You won’t be taxed on the returns from your ISA, which means you get to keep more of your returns and reach your goals sooner.
£20,000 allowance
To encourage smart financial habits, you can invest up to £20,000 total into your ISA accounts every tax year.
Withdraw for free
You can access your money whenever you need it. We don’t charge any exit or withdrawal fees.
To begin your investment journey and open your account, we’ll ask you to make an initial payment. You can make a single contribution from £500 or set up a monthly contribution from £100. Or, choose to make both types of payment from the start.
There’s no minimum payment if you’re transferring an ISA from another provider.
Yes, you can have both a Cash ISA and a Stocks and Shares ISA. You can pay into multiple ISAs each tax year. Just remember not to go over your £20,000 annual ISA allowance across all your ISAs (for example, you might pay £3,000 into a cash ISA, leaving you with up to £17,000 to invest in a Stocks and Shares ISA).
You can only open a Stocks and Shares ISA with us.
You can do both. Just remember, you can't contribute more than £20,000 per tax year (6 April to 5 April).
Keeping all your savings in one ISA makes it easier to manage and track. Plus, adding to the same ISA can help your money grow faster thanks to compounding.
You can only have one Stocks and Shares ISA with us.
Yes. You can:
- Transfer a Stocks and Shares ISA to us from another provider
- Move a Cash ISA, which will be converted into a Stocks and Shares ISA
If you already have a Vanguard Self-managed ISA, we can switch this to a Managed ISA any time.
What you get from us
Over 50 years of experience
We’ve been taking a stand for investors since 1975. Today, more than 50 million clients worldwide invest with us for their future.
UK-based customer service team
Our team is here to help you. Reach out to us by phone or chat with us live online.
Different investment options
You can build your investments independently or ask us to choose your funds and manage your portfolio for you.
No hidden fees
Our fees are simple and transparent. We don't charge for trades, transfers or withdrawals. In some situations, a trading fee applies when buying ETFs.
Our investment philosophy
We believe the most successful investors set goals, stay disciplined, balance their investments, and keep costs low.
Protection by the FSCS
Vanguard is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means that if we are unable to meet our financial obligations to you, you could be entitled to compensation of up to £85,000.
Endorsed by Which? and Boring Money for more than 5 years in a row
Protect your money from inflation
We all see the impact of inflation. Everything becomes more expensive – from the price of a coffee to our weekly food shop and energy bills. It affects cash in the same way.
If you do nothing with your money, its value in real terms will decrease over time, giving you less spending power in the future. Investing offers you a chance to beat inflation and grow your money.
There is no perfect time to invest — get started as soon as you can, stay patient and keep disciplined.
Choose how you want to invest
Self-managed ISA
Build your own investments from scratch by choosing 1 or more funds from our selection of more than 85.
Or, keep things simple with one of our ready-made funds. For example, our LifeStrategy options mix bonds and shares to balance risk and reward.
Managed ISA
Choosing and managing your investments takes time and confidence, no matter how new or experienced you are.
A Managed ISA makes getting started a little easier. We’ll build an investment plan based on how you feel about risk, then we’ll manage your investments for you.
Compare how you want to invest
With a Vanguard Stocks and Shares ISA, you can manage your investments yourself, or let us do it for you. Here’s a quick comparison of the 2 options, so you can pick the right ISA account for your circumstances.
Do it yourself | We do it for you | |
|---|---|---|
24/7 access to your investments | ||
UK-based customer service team | ||
Which? Recommended Provider for Investment Platforms | ||
No hidden charges or exit fees | ||
A personal risk profile based on how you feel about risk | ||
Choosing your funds | You pick from our range of over 85 | We pick for you based on your risk profile |
Managing your portfolio | You manage your portfolio yourself | We regularly monitor your portfolio and make changes when needed |
Personalised guidance from our investment experts | ||
Stocks and Shares ISAs: Costs Explained
Compare costs of investment options for our Stocks and Shares ISA - charges vary by invested balance, account type, and fund fees.
Our fees
|
Self-managed |
Managed |
Account fee for invested balance under £32,000 |
£4 a month (£48 a year) |
0.15% a year |
Account fee for invested balance of £32,000 and over |
0.15% a year (max £375 a year) |
0.15% a year (max £375 a year) |
| Fund management cost | 0.06% to 0.79% a year (depends on the funds you choose) |
0.17% a year on average (depends on your portfolio) |
| Management fee | None | 0.20% a year |
You can find our fund management cost for each fund on our fees and charges page
What this could mean for you if you invested:
Investing £10,000 in a Self-managed ISA
Account fee £48 a year |
+ |
Fund management cost £26 a year |
= |
Total £74 a year |
These examples are only to give you an indication. We assume you invested into one of our LifeStrategy Funds. We’ve shown average fund management cost, which may vary depending on your portfolio.
Investing £10,000 in a Managed ISA
Account fee £15 a year |
+ |
Fund management cost £17 a year |
+ |
Management fee £20 a year |
= |
Total £52 a year |
- These examples are only to give you an indication. We’ve used an average fund management cost, which may vary depending on your portfolio.
- Your account fee may be different where you have both Managed and Self Managed accounts. Find out more about our account fee.
Why is the account fee different for our Managed ISA?
We’re committed to helping individuals throughout their investment journey – from getting started to achieving their lifetime goals. For our Managed ISA service, we’ve carefully considered the benefits of lowering the cost of entry to give more people a helping hand with investing their money.
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Your questions, answered
It’s easy, all we need is your:
- name, address and mobile phone number
- date of birth
- debit card details (if you’re making a lump sum payment)
- bank account details (if you’re making a regular payment by Direct Debit)
- National Insurance number
Yes, you can now pay into more than one Stocks and Shares ISA in the same tax year. For example, you could pay into a Stocks and Shares ISA with us and a Stocks and Shares ISA with another provider in the same tax year. This change to the ISA rules came into effect on 6 April 2024.
You just need to make sure you do not go over your overall ISA allowance of £20,000.
You can only have one Stocks and Shares ISA with us.
Yes, you can transfer your Cash ISA to a Stocks and Shares ISA.
Let’s start with the similarities, before getting into the differences. Both pensions and ISAs are investment accounts and both allow you to save for your future with your returns protected from UK Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax.
The first big difference between pensions and ISAs is that with pensions you get tax relief, but you do not with ISAs. Tax relief is money added by the government to top up your pension. Basic rate taxpayers get an extra 20p for every £1 they contribute. Higher rate taxpayers can claim an extra 20p on their Self-Assessment tax return (25p for additional rate taxpayers).
The other big difference is when you can withdraw your money. With a pension you can only start taking money out from when you turn 55 (going up to 57 from 2028). With an ISA you can withdraw money whenever you like. Learn more about SIPPs and ISAs and how to decide which one is for you
Yes – which means that you can take money out and then put it back in again later in the same tax year, without it affecting your ISA allowance. All you need to do is make sure you stay within the annual ISA allowance across all your ISAs. However, our Junior ISA is not flexible.
No, transfers do not use up your ISA allowance.
Yes, you can cancel your Stocks and Shares ISA by sending us a secure message to let us know. Please note that it has to be done within 14 days of the date we served you with cancellation rights.
On cancellation, any investments can either be sold to you or transferred to another nominee on your behalf. If investments are sold, you may get back less than you invested because of market value loss. Any applicable charges will apply until your account is closed, and they will not be refunded.
Have another question?
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Go to help and supportImportant account documents
Read these documents carefully before you apply to open an account or invest.
We also offer
Personal Pension
Make your retirement savings go further with our simple low cost pension.
Junior ISA
Invest for your child’s future. Any returns are free from income tax and capital gains tax.
General Account
Invest without limits. This account could be ideal if you’ve already used up your ISA or pension allowances.