Stocks and Shares ISA
INVESTMENTS
- Named Best Stocks and Shares ISA Provider
- Invest from £50 and help grow your money tax-free
- Open an account in minutes
Capital at risk. Tax rules may change.
The value of investments can fall as well as rise so you may get back less or more than you invest. Tax rules can change and their effects vary depending on your individual circumstances. Please check the costs involved before transferring. ISA rules apply.
It’s free to hold your investments with us
We've removed our monthly customer fee on all investment accounts held with Direct Investing. Other charges, such as trading fees, apply.
What is a Stocks and Shares ISA?
A Stocks and Shares ISA is a tax-efficient investment account that lets you invest in shares, funds, bonds and more without paying UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax on any returns. You can invest up to £20,000 each tax year across all ISAs and choose either a Ready-made Investment or build your own portfolio. A Stocks and Shares ISA is considered the most popular investment choice in the UK.
Tax-free investing
Invest up to £20,000 per tax year without paying
UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax
Choose how to invest
Pick a Ready-made Investment
or build your own portfolio
Grow your money
Investing tends to provide higher returns than saving over the long term
Best Stocks and Shares ISA provider
Choose how you want to invest
Whether you’re new to investing or more confident with your money, we’ve got a choice of investment options for you.
Open a Stocks and Shares ISA account and choose an option that matches your needs.
Ready-made Investments
- Ideal if you’re new to investing or short on time
- Simply choose from five options and leave the rest to us
- Allows you to pick a risk and reward level that’s right for you
Build your own portfolio
- Choose from 8,000+ investments
- Shares, funds, bonds, Exchange Traded Funds and more
- Research and expert insights available
What our customers say
Harry, 32, London
I opened my ISA account on the app and that was very simple. I thought the transfer would be a painful process but it all went really smoothly and it’s good to have my banking and investments in one app.
Graham, 60, Oxfordshire
I’ve been a Barclays customer for years and am happier investing with the bank I know and trust.
Pavenpreet, 33, Worcestershire
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. Our goal is to one day own our forever home so that’s what I’m looking to invest for.
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.
Used up your ISA allowance?
If you’ve used your £20,000 ISA allowance for this tax year, consider our Investment Account. There is no limit on how much you can invest.
Learn more about investing
Five ISA Myths Exposed
ISAs often seem confusing, causing many people to miss out on valuable tax benefits. In this article, we tackle five most common ISA myths and explain how ISAs really work.
How to become an ISA millionaire
Discover how ISAs can be used as part of a long-term investment approach and what factors can influence the outcomes.
Should you save cash or invest?
Not sure whether to keep your money in savings or start investing? Learn about the differences and decide what’s right for your goals.
FAQs
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.
You can open your Stocks and Shares ISA account in minutes online or via the Barclays app. You can start investing from £50 as a one-off payment or set a monthly Direct Debit.
A Stocks and Shares ISA is a tax-efficient account for investing in shares, funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), bonds and more. You can invest up to £20,000 per tax year across all your ISAs, and any gains are tax-free. Choose a Ready-made Investment or build your own portfolio.
You can have more than one Stocks and Shares ISA if you don’t exceed your annual allowance of £20,000 each tax year across different ISAs.
For the 2025/2026 UK tax year, the annual Stocks and Shares ISA allowance is £20,000. That’s the total amount you can pay in across all your ISAs combined within the say tax year. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. If you have a Lifetime ISA, its subscription limit is £4,000 and it counts towards the £20,000 overall allowance. ISA limits and rules can change, so check the latest guidance before you invest. ISA allowance & ISA rules.
Yes. You can sell investments in your Stocks and Shares ISA and withdraw the available cash at any time without any fees or penalties.
Yes. You can hold a Cash ISA and a Stocks and Shares ISA at the same time and split your £20,000 annual tax allowance between them. You might keep cash for short-term goals and invest the rest for longer-term growth. Just make sure your total contributions into all your ISAs don’t exceed the yearly tax allowance.
Yes. You can transfer a cash ISA into a Stocks and Shares ISA. Simply open your Stocks and Shares ISA account with us and request an ISA transfer online. Just tell us where you are transferring from, and what you want to transfer, and we take care of the rest.
Yes. You can transfer an existing Stocks and Shares ISA to Barclays Direct Investing without losing your tax benefits. Just open an investment ISA account and request an ISA transfer online. How to transfer an ISA.
There is no minimum holding period in a Stocks and Shares ISA. You can sell your assets and withdraw cash whenever you choose. Although there’s no fixed minimum, it's advisable to keep your investments for a minimum of 5 years. This allows your investments to bounce back from market fluctuations and grow in value.
Yes. Dividends and gains inside a Stocks and Shares ISA are free from UK Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax and do not count towards your annual dividend allowance. The dividend allowance and dividend tax only apply if you hold shares outside of ISA (for example, in an Investment Account).
Get the Barclays app
Join the 10 million Barclays app customers. If the account’s just for you and you’re over 18, you can use our app.
Download the Barclays app
The quickest way to open a new bank account is using our app. Scan the QR code using the camera on your mobile device to download the Barclays app.
If you’re using your mobile device now, download it from your app store below.
Important information
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We were voted Best Buy ISA 2026, Best for Customer Service 2026 and Value for Money Winner 2026 from Boring Money.(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. Call charges.(Return to reference)