Scottish Widows Stocks and Shares ISA

Scottish Widows Stocks and Shares ISA

Scottish Widows plc is a life, pensions and investment company located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Its product range includes life assurance, pensions, investments and savings.

Why Choose a Stocks and Shares ISA?

Whether you’re looking to put aside some money each month or have some spare money which you’d like to do something with, an investment ISA could be a tax-efficient way for you to do that.

You are able to invest anything up to the tax threshold for that year and choose to have it spread across a Cash, Stocks and Shares and Innovative Finance ISA or consolidated within one account.

As you can only fund one Stocks and Shares ISA per tax year it’s a good idea to shop around before you make your choice. However, as all providers must allow you to move your money you are able to transfer but it’s worth checking if your current provider charges penalties. Otherwise you could receive back less than you originally invested.

Generally, Stocks and Shares ISAs have the potential to provide better returns than a savings account but customers must be prepared for the risks that are always present with investing. There is a chance you could end up with less than you invested depending on market growth.

Scottish Widows Stocks and Shares ISA Review

1. Invest using single or monthly payments
2. The minimum investment for monthly payments is £10 per fund subject to a minimum application of £50
3. The minimum single payment you can invest is £1,000 for each application (or £500 per fund if you choose to invest in more than one fund)
4. There is no minimum or maximum investment period and you can access your investment at any time, however, they recommend that you invest for at least 5 years to see returns
5. They currently offer 13 funds for direct applications by post
6. You can choose to invest in one, or spread your investment across funds with varying degrees of risk
7. There are maximum investment limits each year as per the tax-allowance limit.

Income or growth?

Sottish Widows help you to choose whether you would like to invest in a fund aiming for income or growth or a combination of both. This is great for people new to investing as they are provided with options fully tailored to them in terms of risk and target.

Income

This fund aims to provide you with a regular income from your investments

You can also select Accumulation shares if you wish to have any income added to the value of the fund

You can only select income shares if you invest a single payment

Growth

This fund which aims to build up an investment for your future

This option offers Accumulation shares which retain any income earned by the shares within the fund and this is reflected in the value of the shares

Combined Income and Growth

These funds offer both Income and Accumulation shares

Overall, Scottish Widows offer a tailored service which helps you strive towards a pre-decided goal. This accountmay not be suitable for people who would like access to more investments as they only offer a small selection or those who wish to manage their account online.