S&S ISA Question

Blocker03

Hi everyone. I have a S&S ISA with Charles Stanley Direct and I have not used my full allowance for this year. When I go to invest again next month in the new tax year, still with Charles Stanley Direct, can I continue to invest in the same ISA account or do I have to open a new ISA account with them?

jimjames

You can open a new account or carry on paying into the same one - the choice is yours

innovate

I am not on top of the latest CS charges - but if they did charge by account, it would obviously be smarter to stick to your existing account.

Also, wouldn't it be easier to see all your investments in one account?

If there was an advantage in a new S&S ISA account, there would most likely also be an advantage in transferring-in any existing old accounts, as long as you can do the transfer in-specie (i.e. without selling and re-purchasing your existing investments).

Blocker03

So it differs from a cash ISA were you cannot pay into an account opened in the previous tax year?

jimjames

Blocker03 wrote: »

So it differs from a cash ISA were you cannot pay into an account opened in the previous tax year?

I've not used a cash ISA but if that's the way they work then yes they are different. You don't have to use the same S&S ISA each year but you can continue to do so if you wish, without needing to apply again so a regular monthly saving DD will just carry on.

jem16

Blocker03 wrote: »

So it differs from a cash ISA were you cannot pay into an account opened in the previous tax year?

Both are the same. There's nothing to stop you paying into a cash ISA from last tax year. Only exceptions to that would be some fixed rate ISAs that only have perhaps once chance to deposit the money.

innovate

Yes both are the same. Although in the main, you would not want to pay into ISAs you opened in previous years - you are, as has been mentioned, either not allowed to add to fixed term deals, or the interest rate is completely unappealing.

With S&S ISAs, you don't have these sort of issues, but there are others. For instance, you might get charged a fixed quarterly or annual amount for an ISA, so having more than one would unnecessarily add to the cost. Also, the face value of your investments is the same regardless of the platform you choose to manage them from, so there are plenty of incentives for keeping to just one S&S ISA.