Investment Account
Low-cost investing with no upper limit
INVESTMENTS
A great choice for when you’ve used your ISA allowance. Enjoy unlimited investing and you can start from £50 with our low-cost Investment Account.
What is an Investment Account?
An Investment Account offers no upper limit on how much you can invest. This makes it a useful option if you’ve already used your ISA allowance. Unlike a Stocks and Shares ISA, any returns or income from your investments will be subject to tax. You can choose from a range of funds, shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds and more. You can also withdraw your cash at any time.
No upper limit
Help grow your money with no upper limit on how much you can invest in an Investment Account.
Wide investment choice
Choose from over 8,000 investments or if you're not sure where to invest or short on time, select from one of five Ready-made Investment options and leave the rest to us.
Withdraw your money at any time
You can sell investments and withdraw your cash at any time. There are no fees for withdrawing cash.
Protected
As a FTSE 100 company with over 300 years’ experience, we’re committed to protecting your investments. We're also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invest. If you’re unsure which investments are right for you, please seek independent advice. Tax rules can change, and their effects will depend on your individual circumstances.
"Opening my Investment Account was very straightforward. I’ve invested in some funds and shares – it’s so easy to do on my phone that I don’t feel I need to put a lot of time aside for it.”
– Pavenpreet, 33, Worcestershire
Investment Account VS Stocks and Shares ISA
Investment Account
- You can invest an unlimited amount
- You may need to pay tax on any income or gains you make
Stocks and Shares ISA
- You can invest up to £20,000 per tax year
- You pay no UK income or capital gains tax on any returns you make
Investing could grow your money more than savings
Over the 5-year period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024 holding money in a savings account would have produced different returns to investing in Ready-made Investments. The graph below shows the performance over this period of our Barclays Everyday Saver compared to investing in each of our Ready-made Investments funds. You should also bear in mind that the past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
The graph shows a starting investment of £10,000 on 1 January 2019 and the return provided over 5 years for the Everyday Saver account versus the five Ready-made Investment funds. At the end of the 5 year period Barclays Everyday Saver would have provided a return of £10,302, Ready-made Investment Defensive £10,856, Ready-made Investment Cautious £11,716, Ready-made Investment Balanced £13,022, Ready-made Investment Growth £14,095 and Ready-made Investment Adventurous £15,095.
Important information – This is one example and there are different savings and investment products available which would have earned different returns. Barclays Everyday Saver is an easy access savings account and there are other savings options available with us that could earn you a higher return. Returns are not the same each year and in some years savings can outperform investments. Returns include compound growth where income is re-invested and have been calculated before fees and charges which after being applied would lower fund performance. All comparisons exclude inflation. Data source: Barclays internal.
Award-winning investment platform
We were voted Best Buy ISA 2026, Best for Customer Service 2026 and Value for Money Winner 2026 from Boring Money.
Why choose our Investment Account?
Free to hold your investments
No customer fee on all investment accounts. Other charges, such as trading fees, apply.
Easy to manage
Opening an Investment Account with us is easy. You can place a trade and check your investments anytime within Online Banking or the Barclays app.(1)
Earn interest
Earn interest on cash held in your Investment Account. See the current interest rates.
Secure
We are a FTSE 100 listed business with 48 million customers worldwide. We’re the first bank to achieve BSI KITEMARK™ for Secure Digital Banking.
"I opened a general investment account because I’d already used my ISA allowance. It was so easy to do via the app.”
– Martin, 55, Surrey
How to open an Investment Account
1. Choose your account
The Investment Account has no upper limit and no restrictions on withdrawals. This account is popular with investors who have used their ISA allowance.
2. Decide how much to invest
Get started with just £50 and set up a monthly Direct Debit. There’s no charge to add to your account or make withdrawals from an Investment Account.
3. Pick your investments
It’s easy to choose from over 8,000 investment options or let the experts give you a hand with our Ready-made Investment options.
Choose how you want to invest
Are you interested in opening an Investment Account but not sure what to invest your money in? Well, we offer more than 8,000 investments including UK and international shares and over 2,400 funds, meaning you can build a portfolio to fit your exact goals. You can also leave the hard work to us by choosing from five Ready-made Investment funds.
Earn interest on cash
When you open an Investment Account, you’ll gain access to our Investment Saver service. This means you can earn interest on any uninvested cash you hold in your Investment Account. Find out more about the Investment Saver.
Any cash held in your Investment Saver will earn:
1.00% AER
per year variable for balances from £1
Work out your investment future
Wondering where investing could take you? Use our handy calculator to see what your investments could be worth in the future.
Our costs and charges
Holding your investments with us
Free
No customer fee* on all investment accounts
Regular investing
Free
Available for funds, UK shares, ETFs and investment trusts
Buying or selling funds
Free
This includes our Ready-made Investments
Buying or selling shares
£6 per trade
Including ETFs, Investment trusts, bonds and gilts
*Customer fee is defined as the amount you pay to hold your investments with us and is sometimes referred to as a custody fee. This was charged as a percentage of the value of your investments (excluding cash) across your accounts and was taken monthly.
£25 per trade by telephone. Taxes may apply when buying shares. A foreign exchange and an international brokerage fee will be charged when trading international shares.
Funds, ETFs and investment trusts all have their own built-in fees that cover the costs of running the fund.
Transfer your investments to us
If you have Investment Accounts elsewhere, you can transfer them to us at any time. First, you’ll need to open a Direct Investing account (the new name for a Smart Investor account). Then, once your account is open, you can start the transfer process. Before transferring you should make sure you understand any penalties you may have to pay or benefits you may lose.
Learn more about our Investment Account
Direct Investing is the new name for Smart Investor. We’re making this change because we want to provide more clarity that this service is for customers who want to make their own investment decisions.
You can choose from thousands of investments including funds, shares, gilts and bonds, and take advantage of our expert insights, research tools and resources to inform your decisions.
If you have a Barclays Investment ISA, or use Barclays Online Banking to manage a current account, you can log in and make it simpler to apply for an Investment Account.
If you don’t have a Barclays Investment ISA and don’t use Barclays Online Banking to manage a current account, it’s still easy to apply for an Investment Account.
Yes – you can sell investments and withdraw your cash at any time. There is no charge to withdraw your cash.
The key differences between an ISA and an Investment Account are the tax and the upper investment limit. Within an ISA your investments are protected from UK income and capital gains tax. Investment Accounts do not shelter your income or profits from tax.
There is an upper limit on how much you can put into a UK ISA in a tax year. Currently the ISA limit is £20,000. There is no upper limit on investments within an Investment Account.
Yes, you can open and pay into as many Investment Accounts as you wish.
You can add money to your Investment Account with a debit card, a monthly Direct Debit or by moving money from your Barclays account.
Exchange-traded funds offer investors access to a wide range of markets around the world usually at low cost. Most ETFs are passive investments, meaning they simply aim to track the performance of an underlying group of investments. ETFs can also help investors build a diversified portfolio. They’re listed on the stock exchange, so you can buy and sell shares in them just like you would in any other company. This means you can build and rebalance your portfolio relatively quickly and easily.
Governments and corporations issue bonds when they want to raise money. If you buy a bond, you're giving the issuer a loan, and they agree to pay you back the face value of the loan on a specific date. The issuer also pays you interest payments along the way.
Yes – a GIA is just an acronym for a General Investment Account.
Need help? Call us
If you have any questions, you can call our UK-based team on 0800 279 3667.(2)
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Important information
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You need to be 18 or over to access this product or service using the app. (Return to reference)
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Lines are open from 7:30am to 7:00pm Monday to Thursday, 7:30am to 6:00pm on Friday, and closed during weekends and public holidays. To maintain a quality service, we may monitor or record phone calls. (Return to reference)