New to Investment (S&S ISA)

With out know your cash and work situation its hard to advise but I suggest looking at the vangaurd lifestyle funds 20/40/68/80/100 these are split between bonds and stocks and shares so lifestyle 60 would be 40% bonds and 60% stocks find the right balance for lifestyle and risk reward level.

Outsider_83 wrote: »

I am new to investment and I have a little disposable income at present that I would like to use to invest. I have never invested before and I was wondering are Stocks and Shares ISAs a good way to begin? If so how do they work?

S&S ISA is one of the tax efficient ways to begin investing. You pay no tax on dividends or Capital Gains on investments held within the S&S ISA. The predominant advantage of the S&S ISA is that is is easily accessible, not that you should be planning to access it within the short term.

Consider other tax efficient ways of investing, eg Company pensions, SIPPS, etc They may be less flexible but has the added advantage of immediate tax relief.

What are your plans? Why are you investing?

Don't buy individual stocks, buy funds (collective investments that hold hundreds or thousands of stocks). Do it through a broker or platform.
See Monevator blog for lots of useful observations and hints. See their comparison of brokers page and/or SnowMan's spreadsheet to find the best platform for your circumstances.
That's just a starting point. Read this forum, other blogs, investment books for more opinion - and avoid all offers to directly invest in hotel rooms, student pods, parking spaces, trees, anything offering a guaranteed 8% return, or any other unregulated investment.

S&S ISA funds are not short term savings. If you have an emergency fund of 3-6 months of your salary, then look at S&S ISA if you're looking for something in 5-10+ years. Saving for a holiday next year, look at more traditional monthly savings. You can get OK interest on some of the monthly savers if you move your money around a bit with very little risk.

Vanguard is a good fund for those looking to start as it's all taken out of your hands and the rates are competitive. If you're interested in passive investment, have a look at monevator.com - it explains a lot. If you're looking for active fund management (someone who is going to try and beat the market) get an IFA who'll assess your appetite for risk and suggest appropriate funds to buy.