Stocks and Shares ISA's - how/wehre to buy stocks and shares

EmmieAwards

Hello guys,  simpleton here.

If I buy an S&S ISA with Santander for example, can I buy other companies stocks and shares through this account?

Im really confused as to how/where I buy the actual stocks and shares..is another account needed for these, and the ISA is where the profits go?
any really basic advice here would be great.

Thanks guys.

dunstonh

If I buy an S&S ISA with Santander for example, can I buy other companies stocks and shares through this account?

With bank products, you are typically limited in selection.  Often to their own brand funds.

Im really confused as to how/where I buy the actual stocks and shares..is another account needed for these, and the ISA is where the profits go?

Typically, you are looking at a whole of market investment platform being required.   Then you will have 30,000 odd options to select from within the ISA.

eskbanker

EmmieAwards said:

any really basic advice here would be great.

You clearly need to spend much more time reading up on the principles of investing (not a criticism, we all have to start somewhere!) - as well as other newbie investor threads on here, there are plenty of sites suited to inexperienced investors wanting to research, such as:

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/investing-beginners-guide

https://www.hl.co.uk/beginners-guides/investing

http://www.monevator.com

http://kroijer.com/

http://diyinvestoruk.blogspot.com/

https://www.ifa.com/indexfundsthemovie/

as well as bearing in mind a number of key points of principle:

1. Only consider investing once you have adequate accessible cash reserves.
   
2. Only invest if you're happy to commit for at least 5-7 years and preferably 10-15 or more.
   
3. Diversify - ignore individual shares, etc, and concentrate on collective investments that spread your eggs over many baskets. Global multi-asset funds are a good place to start, available from the likes of HSBC Global Strategy, Vanguard LifeStrategy, Blackrock Consensus and L&G Multi-Index.
   
4. Choose what you want to invest in before considering which platform to hold it/them on.
   
5. Keep an eye on ongoing costs for funds and platforms - they shouldn't be the primary consideration but can make a noticeable difference over the long term.
   
6. Use a Stocks & Shares ISA as a tax-efficient wrapper to avoid liability for income and capital gains tax.

EmmieAwards

Thanks for your help guys

For the records, im not even thinking about buying anything at the moment, its just to simply know how the transactions work as the bank ISA's Ive looked at didn't seem to have stock options, but again perhaps that's because I don't know what I'm doing.

Albermarle

For some Stocks and shares ISA's there is a link between the provider of the ISA and the investment products offered ( like with Santander I guess ) As mentioned above you instead you can have an ISA with a whole of market platform , with a massive range of investment choices . 
However as 'I don't know what I'm doing'  best to take a step back and read some of the links eskbanker posted first .

Linton

The basic process for operating an S&S ISA is that you register with a provider, which these days is normally a specialist company rather than a bank.  They operate web based "platforms" which allow you to buy and sell an very large range of funds and individual shares and to monitor the gains/losses.  Your current account is linked to your platform allowing you to transfer cash in and out as you wish up to the normal limits.

EmmieAwards

Linton said:

The basic process for operating an S&S ISA is that you register with a provider, which these days is normally a specialist company rather than a bank.  They operate web based "platforms" which allow you to buy and sell an very large range of funds and individual shares and to monitor the gains/losses.  Your current account is linked to your platform allowing you to transfer cash in and out as you wish up to the normal limits.

Ah ok got it thanks.
 Coincidently I was looking at RobinHood platform the other day, nice idea, but no launch in UK for time being. 

Albermarle

EmmieAwards said:

Linton said:

The basic process for operating an S&S ISA is that you register with a provider, which these days is normally a specialist company rather than a bank.  They operate web based "platforms" which allow you to buy and sell an very large range of funds and individual shares and to monitor the gains/losses.  Your current account is linked to your platform allowing you to transfer cash in and out as you wish up to the normal limits.

Ah ok got it thanks.
 Coincidently I was looking at RobinHood platform the other day, nice idea, but no launch in UK for time being. 

It is a nice idea if you fancy losing lots of money . It is not launching in the UK partly due to bad publicity.
Normally an S & S ISA is used for investing in collective funds - this means funds that contain a wide variety of shares and other investments to spread the risk . You invest for the long term ( >10 years ) . It is possible with some to also buy individual shares.
Robin Hood and other similar platforms , promote trading . Which means lots of buying and selling to try and beat the market in the short term . It is more similar to betting on a horse race .