The Best Stocks & Shares ISA for Investing in 2024
Financial Interest was founded by Damien Talks Money (234,000 YouTube subscribers) to teach the personal finance lessons he wished he'd been taught at school.
Last updated 10th April 2024
6 min read
Top Platforms
| Broker | Platform Fee | Trading Fee | Minimum Deposit | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trading 212 (Our top pick) | £0 | £0 to buy/sell funds or shares | £1 | Free share worth up to £100 for new customers via this link. Terms apply. |
| InvestEngine (Fee free) | £0 | £0 to buy/sell funds | £100 | Up to £50 cashback for new customers via this link. Terms apply. |
| Vanguard (Most reputable) | 0.15% (capped at £375) | £0 to buy/sell funds | £500 or £100 per month | None at time of writing. |
The two platforms we’ll be using as investors in the 2024/25 financial year are Trading 212 and InvestEngine.
Despite the fact we won’t be using Vanguard, it’s hard to ignore their reputation, quality, and technological and fund range improvements, so they also earn a place amongst our top picks.
Remember: we’re not financial advisors and this is not financial advice. We’re just regular investors doing research and forming our own opinions – you should always do the same. Your capital is at risk when you invest. Investments can decrease in value.
We’ll write about our picks for the best Stocks & Shares ISAs in more detail below, but let’s cover some of the other leading options so you can see how their fees compare.
Fees aren’t the only thing you should consider when choosing a broker, but we’ll get into that.
Other Large Platforms
| Broker | Platform Fee | Trading Fee | Minimum Deposit | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freetrade | £5.99 per month or £59.88 per year | £0 to buy/sell funds or shares | £2 or £50 for the offer | Free share worth up to £100 for new customers via this link. Terms apply. |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | 0.45% per year (capped at £45 per year for funds & shares in Stocks & Shares ISA) | £0 to buy/sell funds, £11.95 to buy/sell shares* | £100 or £25 per month | None at time of writing. |
| AJ Bell | 0.25% per year | £1.50 to buy/sell funds, £9.95 to buy/sell shares* | £500 or £25 per month | £150 gift card when you deposit £10,000+. Terms apply. |
| Interactive Brokers (IBKR) | £3 per month | Fees are complex. Details here. | £0 | None at time of writing. |
| Interactive Investor (ii) | £4.99 per month | £3.99 to buy/sell funds or shares | £25 per month | No platform fees for 6 months. Ends 31st December. Terms & trading fees apply. |
| iWeb | £100 account opening charge | £5 to buy/sell funds or shares + 2% of dividend reinvestment (max £5). Fees explained here. | £0 | Fee-free trading and £100 account opening charge wavered for a limited time. Terms apply. |
| Fidelity | 0.35% per year | £7.50 to buy/sell funds or shares | £25 per month | None at time of writing. |
Worth Mentioning
| Broker | Why We Wouldn’t Use Them |
|---|---|
| eToro | eToro don’t offer their own ISA. |
| Moneybox | Robo-adviser ISAs have high fees. |
| Nutmeg | Robo-adviser ISAs have high fees. |
| Moneyfarm | Robo-adviser ISAs have high fees. |
| Wealthify | Robo-adviser ISAs have high fees. |
All accounts listed on this page are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and have FSCS protection.
Now that we’ve listed the majority of leading brokers and platforms, let’s discuss our favourite picks in more detail.
We do not – and never will – take sponsorship from brokers. People trust what we say and we value that more than anything. We sometimes use affiliate links and you should read our affiliate disclosure for more information on that.
Trading 212
Trading 212 is one of two platforms that we’ll be investing with in the 2024/25 financial year.
They offer over 3,000 funds on their platform including Vanguard, Blackrock’s iShares and many more. They also offer the ability to trade individual stocks and shares, meaning they’ve got both passive and active investors covered.
Despite a huge number of funds and features, Trading 212 still manages to offer their ISA services with minimal fees.
The only fee you’ll incur when investing is their 0.15% FX fee; this applies if you buy an investment not listed in pounds (e.g. Tesla stock), and it’s still a low fee (Freetrade, for example, charge a 0.99% FX fee). Many investors can use Trading 212 entirely free from fees if they passively invest in index funds via bank transfer.
They’ve been established since 2004, they’re a profitable business, and they offer a close-to-market-best 5.2% interest on uninvested cash held in your Stocks & Shares ISA.
New customers can get a free share worth up to £100 when you join via this link, or use promo code ‘FIN’.
InvestEngine
The other platform we’ll be using for our ISA investments in the 2024/25 financial year is InvestEngine.
This ‘new kid on the block’ (that was actually founded back in 2019) continues to rise in popularity – they claim they were the fastest growing investment platform last year.
They have zero fees. Yes, you read that right; there are no platform fees or trading fees – assuming you manage your own investments.
So how do they make money? Well, they offer a ‘managed’ service with a 0.25% annual fee if you do not want to be in control of your own investments. They also show off ‘featured partners’ within their ETF range – we assume these partnerships are paid arrangements.
InvestEngine is an ETF-only platform; a good option for those wanting to avoid the temptation of buying and selling individual shares.
New customers can get up to £50 in cashback when you join and deposit at least £100 via this link.
Vanguard
Vanguard are proof that fees aren’t everything.
It’s been possible for a few years now to purchase Vanguard’s funds via different brokers for less than Vanguard charge for their own fund. We wish Vanguard’s platform was the cheapest place to buy Vanguard funds but due to their 0.15% platform fee (capped at £375) it is not – they are cheaper via a number of competitors.
Not only that, other platforms have even offered Vanguard funds that Vanguard’s customers haven’t been able to buy on the Vanguard platform. Customers would go straight to the supplier but the shop around the corner has more choice. Fortunately, Vanguard have focused on expanding the range of funds available on their platform – and they’ve improved the platform from a technological standpoint too (although there’s still no app).
Despite some quirky drawbacks, Vanguard remain a firm fan favourite in the investing world and it’s for good reason – their reputation is arguably the best around.
They are one of the most established brokers and people feel safe trusting them with their money.
Other fund-only brokers like InvestEngine might offer zero platform and trading fees, but as a much newer and smaller business, many consider them a risk.
For more information on a wide range of Stocks & Shares ISAs – including why we didn’t select many leading brokers within our top picks – check out this video on the Damien Talks Money channel:
