S&S ISA transfer - checking my understanding

Aylesbury_Duck · 9 August 2018 at 3:41PM

I've instigated a transfer of an old S&S ISA I have with Fidelity to my new ISA with Vanguard. Am I right in thinking that once the transfer is made, the funds sit as cash in the Vanguard account until I make my fund choice and Vanguard implements it? So if the fund performed well in the intervening period I miss out on some marginal gains but if the fund were to drop in value in the same period my cash would be buying units at the marginally reduced price?

I'm not trying to second-guess the market here, my attitude to all of this is very long term, I'm just interested in how it works.

eskbanker · 9 August 2018 at 5:53PM

If it's a Vanguard fund then it can be transferred 'in specie' from one S&S ISA to another (i.e. directly without being out of the market), but if you're holdings something else on Fidelity then you'd have to sell first before transferring the cash to Vanguard and buying one of their own products on their platform, which, as you say, you'd need to instigate. Or buy the relevant Vanguard fund(s) on Fidelity before an in-specie transfer, which may minimise time out of the market but might cost more in fees....