The stocks and shares ISAs with the lowest fees

If you’re serious about investing for the future, opening a stocks and shares ISA and taking advantage of your annual allowance is an obvious and excellent first step. You can invest up to £15,000 in the tax year to 5^th April 2015, rising to £15,240 in the subsequent tax year. And any returns you make on your investments are free of capital gains tax for the whole time you keep it in the ISA ‘wrapper’.

Navigating the stock market on your own can certainly yield high returns if you know what you’re doing but if you don’t feel confident making investment decisions there are many investment management companies that will do all the hard work for you.

One of the key things to look for when considering using an adviser or an investment manager is fees. The cost of advice or investment management can vary greatly from one company to another and the full charges are often buried in the small print. Here are some of the stocks and shares ISAs that we think come with attractively low fees for the services offered.

ISAs from Nutmeg

Keen to invest but don’t have the time, interest or energy to make those important financial decisions and calculations? Then the discretionary investment management company, Nutmeg, could be just what you’re looking for. They’ll help you build up a diverse investment portfolio dependant on your attitude to risk and will carefully watch and adjust your assets as and when necessary to ensure the highest returns.

They charge just one annual management fee, which varies between 0.3% and 1% depending on how much you invest. There are the usual small fund charges on top of that but nothing else – no sneaky hidden fees or set up costs and you can withdraw your money for free. When Nutmeg invest your money they use exchange-traded funds to help keep fund costs (averaging 0.23% compared to 1.58% for UK active funds) and the bid-offer spread as low as possible.

You can open a stocks and shares ISA with Nutmeg, transfer in ISAs from previous years and invest beyond the ISA limit too if you wish. Nutmeg also has a personal pension service. It’s worth noting there is a minimum fee of £9 per month for their pension to cover administration charges.

Here’s what Nutmeg customers had to say about the services offered

• “They give me absolute trust that they’re on top of my finances — as much as I would be if I was managing it.” — Helen, managing director
• “Nutmeg have taken away the burden of managing my money. I feel safe. With Nutmeg, I have an expert investment team.” — Fergus, chartered accountant
• “I like how open and transparent Nutmeg is about what’s being charged.” — Lynette, senior manager

AJ Bell Youinvest

AJ Bell Youinvest is a multi-award winning provider of SIPPS (self-invested personal pensions), stocks and shares ISAs, junior ISAs, Junior SIPPS and share dealing accounts. Founded in 1995 they’re dedicated to providing a transparent, reliable and cost-effective service in a rapidly developing market and remain one of the fastest growing businesses in the financial sector.

They operate to the best practice corporate governance standards that allow them to manage risk prudently and professionally and have a range of great stocks and shares ISAs that are notoriously affordable. With no annual account charges or set up costs, they’re an attractive option for many allowing you to deal online from just £4.95 and never paying more than £9.95 per online deal.

Here’s what some of AJ Bell Youinvests customers had to say about their services:

• “I think the platform is good and service received when I contact by phone is also good.”
• “I am very pleased with the service. It does exactly what it says on the tin!”
• “Initial reaction is ‘straightforward & good value.”
• “They make it easy to find the equities you are looking for, and they are quite clear about the quoted price, and the charges.”
• “Happy with dealing and account costs.”

Charles Stanley Direct

Charles Stanley Direct is one of the leading investment management companies in the UK offering a quick, simple and easy way for private investors to navigate the stock market. The award-winning D2C platform has gained a reputation within the financial world for slashing investment prices and keeping investments as affordable as possible.

In short, Charles Stanley Direct offers stocks and shares ISAs with no initial charges or additional annual feed. Customers can enjoy all the financial advantages of the Direct service, such as commission-free fund pricing and automatic “clean” conversion of fund transfers (where possible) coupled with the tax benefits of an ISA account. You pay only the annual platform fee and share dealing fees where applicable.

For stocks and shares ISAs, there is no charge if six of more chargeable trades are placed in a six-monthly charging period which run from 1 April – 30 September and 1 October – 31^st March. Otherwise you pay 0.25 per cent per annum on all share investments (excluding cash balance) held across all accounts (minimum £20, maximum £150 per annum), charges pro rata six-monthly in arrears.

Here are some customer reviews of Charles Stanley Direct:

• “Charges are so low that investing with Charles Stanley Direct is typically the cheapest means of investing in popular funds.”
• “The charges are very clear.”
• “For ISA and Investment Accounts with regular contributions the 0.25% charge makes it an attractive proposition especially against the Hargreaves charge of 0.45%.”