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Stocks and shares Isa switching incentives: are they any good?
Whether it’s cash, a voucher, or the chance to win an electric car, stocks and shares Isa providers are fighting for your business as the tax year draws to a close.
Investors looking to use up their £20,000 Isa allowance for 2023-24 need to do so before 6 April, when the allowance resets for the new tax year.
If you're not happy with your current investment platform, or you're on the hunt for another provider to open a new Isa, you could benefit from a range of offers currently available.
Here, Which? compares the offers on the market to see whether they’re worth the switch.
How do the offers compare?
The table sets out the offers available across the platforms we have rated in our assessment of the best investment platforms.
Not every platform we reviewed has an offer, so there are fewer platforms in the table - we also didn't include any bonuses for referring a friend or paying exit fees.
The links take you to our comprehensive review pages. Members will be able to log in to see our reviews. If you're not already a member, you can join Which? to get full access.
| Platform | Offer | Minimum investment | Terms | Offer end date | Open an account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Bell | Open and pay into a stocks and shares Isa to get a £150 Amazon gift card | £10,000 | New investment or transfers | 30 April 2024 | Provider site |
| AJ Bell | Pay into a stocks and shares Isa to win one of 10 £1,000 John Lewis vouchers | £1,000 | New investment or transfers | 30 April 2024 | Provider site |
| Barclays Smart Investor | Set up a new monthly direct debit to a stocks and shares Isa (or general investment account) to enter in a £20,000 prize draw | £50 monthly direct debit | New investment or transfers | 5 April 2024 | Provider site |
| Bestinvest | Set up monthly savings to enter a £250 prize draw | £50 monthly savings | New investment or transfers | 12th of each month | Provider site |
| Charles Stanley Direct | Six-month fee waiver when you transfer Isa | £200,000 | Transfers only | n/a | Provider site |
| Fidelity | Between £200 and £2,000 when you transfer a stocks and shares Isa | £25,000 | Transfers only | 1 April 2024 | Provider site |
| Freetrade | Get a free share worth between £100 and £2,100 when you transfer or top up an Isa | £10,000 | New investment or transfers | 5 April 2024 | Provider site |
Most platforms run offers that only give cashback to those transferring or opening an Isa for larger amounts – all of the cashback offers we found had a minimum of £10,000.
You can benefit from some switching or sign-up bonuses even if you don't have £10,000, but there’s a catch. Most of the offers that apply on amounts less than £10,000 are prize draws, meaning that, more often than not, you’ll not actually get anything for signing up.
Aside from prize draws, Virgin Money offers investors who add £2,000 or more into their Isa – and leave it there until 31 October 2024 – a staggered amount of Virgin Red points. Those hitting the minimum amount could expect to get a coffee or something of similar value from their points, while those who meet the maximum threshold of £50,000 could get a free flight.
The only offer with no minimum investment is Interactive Investor's incentive of £50 worth of free trades, which translates to around 12 free trades of funds, UK/US shares, trusts, or ETFs.
- Find out more: how to invest: a beginner's guide
How much do you need to access the best deals?
Several platforms have a tiered rewards system, meaning only the biggest investment portfolios benefit from the top offers.
If you see an offer that says the reward is ‘up to’ a certain amount, you’ll generally need at least £100,000 transferred in order to access the top advertised amount, but it can be even more.
To access Charles Stanley Direct's six-month fee waiver, you’d need to transfer at least £200,000. Transfers larger than this will feel the benefits of a six-month waiver even more – for a portfolio of £500,000, a six-month fee waiver would result in a saving of £688.
Similarly, to get a free share worth the maximum £2,100 from Freetrade, you’d need to send £500,000 across.
The benefit that’s the hardest to access is Fidelity’s top cashback amount of £2,000, which you’d need at least a whopping £1 million transferred to get.
- Find out more: are fund charges eating into your returns?
Is it worth switching just to get the offer?
If you're opening a new stocks and shares Isa, a switching offer could help sweeten the deal. Just make sure you research the platform to investigate the fees and services, or you could be left out of pocket in the long term.
If you're transferring an Isa, it may be less clear-cut. Transferring an Isa can be a longer and more tedious process than something like switching a current account, with customers often reporting platforms being slow to move.
Though, progress on Isa transfers is being made. The STAR transfer scheme is a cross-industry effort to make it easier to switch platforms, and they hand out awards to those with the best transfer records. Of the stocks and shares Isas providers we rated, Hargreaves Lansdown and Abrdn (who own Interactive Investor) were awarded Gold accreditations, while Fidelity International picked up Silver, and Aviva picked up Bronze.
However, only eight of the 17 brands we surveyed were signed up. They were AJ Bell, Aviva, Barclays Smart Investor, Fidelity International, Hargreaves Lansdown, HSBC, Interactive Investor (through their owner Abrdn), and Vanguard.
Despite the difficulties you can sometimes come across when transferring, it can often be worth it because of the long-term savings. For example, we found that if you had £5,000 in funds in a stocks and shares Isa and switched from the most expensive provider for this amount, Halifax Share Dealing, to the cheapest, Vanguard, you’d save £104 a year.
- Find out more: compare investment platform fees and charges
What are the best stocks and shares Isas?
Our reviews of best stocks and shares Isas and general investment accounts have just been updated for 2024, so you can find the best investment platforms in the UK 2024.
We surveyed 4,136 customers and analysed fees to put together in-depth reviews of 17 investment platforms, with two named as Which? Recommended Providers.
Whether you’re looking for access to every investment you can get your hands on, or are in need of a little more guidance – our reviews can help you find the right platform to achieve them.
- Join Which? - members will be able to log in to see our reviews, but if you're not already a member, you can join Which? to get full access.
