Stocks and Shares ISA

Why you might want to start investing early

There are potential benefits in making regular payments, compared to a one-off lump sum at the end of the tax year.

• Your money will be invested longer
• Monthly payments make it easier to budget

If you choose to start investing now in a Standard Life Stocks and Shares ISA we’ll send you £40 of Love2Shop vouchers. Terms and conditions apply.

Why choose a Standard Life Stocks and Shares ISA?

We make Stocks and Shares ISAs easy to understand and manage:

• Use your full ISA allowance - invest up to £11,520 in the 2013-14 tax year
• Easy to invest - from just £50 a month or a £500 lump sum
• Easy to manage - check the performance of your ISA online
• Easy to apply - it only takes around 10 minutes.

Two clear investment options

• Option 1: Selected range - simply choose the Standard Life Investments MyFolio Managed Fund which most closely matches your attitude to risk. Standard Life Investments will then actively manage it on your behalf.
• Option 2: Choose from our full range of funds - if you're comfortable choosing from a wide range of investment options, you can select from our full range of over 2,000* funds from leading fund management groups. These cover a wide range of asset classes, regions and investment styles.
  
  *As at November 2012.

As with any investment the value of your fund can go up or down and may be worth less than what was paid in.

Low charges

• No initial charges – there are no initial charges for any of our funds, as at November 2012.
• No switching charge – you can change your funds as often as you like
• Stepped product charge – the rate of this charge reduces the more you invest
• Rebates – we have been able to negotiate discounts on fund manager charges that are passed back to you as a rebate

We regularly review our charges and may alter them to reflect changes in our overall costs or assumptions. Any increases will be fair and reasonable.

View more information on our charges

Quick, easy application and great ongoing support

• It only takes around 10 minutes - apply online or call us on 0845 272 8810. Call charges will vary.
• Customer support - our ISA specialists at Standard Life Direct are only a phone call away
• Manage your ISA online - with your secure login

Please read the ISA Key Features Document PDF (205Kb) for information on the risks and commitments involved.

Transfer your other ISAs to Standard Life

Moving your existing ISAs to Standard Life is easier than you might think.

• We’ll manage the process for you - all you have to do is sign the finalised paper work and send it back
• Investment choice - choose from five Standard Life Investments MyFolio Managed Funds or over 2,000 funds* from the whole of the market
• No impact on this year’s ISA allowance - moving previous years' ISAs has no impact on current or future allowances
• You could save money - with our stepped product charge the rate you pay reduces as you invest more. There are no initial charges for transfers. Other charges may still apply.

* As at November 2012.

We can accept transfers in cash or re-registration (where permitted). Re-registration is where an asset is to be registered with another person or nominee.

Investments are transferred without converting to cash. We will deduct any additional charges by the manager for this. Where the transfer is in cash, there may be charges to your chosen fund.

Where an ISA transfer is in cash and you are temporarily not invested, there is potential for loss of income or growth until the transfer is finalised. Exit charges may also apply.

More about transferring ISAs

Standard Life Direct is provided by Standard Life Client Management Limited and only advises on and sells products from subsidiaries of Standard Life plc and some external providers. Where advice is provided, there may be an additional cost.

Option 1: Looking for a simple investment option?

Our customers tell us that choosing where to invest can feel daunting, so our selected range aims to make things simpler for you. Standard Life Investments' MyFolio Managed Funds offer a choice of five risk levels, so you can choose the option which most closely matches your attitude to risk.

Each of the funds holds a wide range of investments, which can help spread risk and provide smoother investment returns for you over the longer term.

The funds are also actively managed by Standard Life Investments on your behalf to make sure they maintain an appropriate level of risk and mix of investments, whatever's happening in the markets. This means you don't have to worry about managing your investments on an ongoing basis.

With Standard Life Investments' MyFolio Managed Funds, no initial charges apply, as at November 2012.

Not sure about your attitude to risk? Use Oxford Risk's risk questionnaire -  it only takes a few minutes

As well as considering your attitude to investment risk, you should consider how much risk you're able to take with your investments, bearing in mind your other financial commitments and personal circumstances.

More on MyFolio Managed Funds

Option 2: Comfortable choosing your own investment options?

We make that easy too. You can choose from over 2,000* funds from leading fund management groups, covering a wide range of asset classes, regions and investment styles.

Due to our size and purchasing power, we have been able to negotiate discounts on fund manager charges, which we pass back to you in the form of rebates.
No initial charges apply to any of the funds in our full range, as at November 2012.

See more information on our charges

As with any investment the value of your fund can go up or down and may be worth less than what was paid in.

Who can have an ISA?

Anyone who is over 18 and is living in the UK. Please see the Key Features Document PDF (205Kb) for more information.

What tax will I pay?

You don’t pay any personal income tax or capital gains tax on your Stocks and Shares ISA, and you don’t have to declare your ISA on your tax return. Remember that laws and tax rules may change in the future. The information here is based on our understanding in December 2012. Your personal circumstances also have an impact on tax treatment.

How much can I invest?

For the 2013-14 tax year, you can invest up to £11,520 in a Stocks and Shares ISA. Your spouse or civil partner can invest the same amount separately, giving joint potential investment of £23,040. Remember if you have paid into a Cash ISA this tax year your Stocks and Shares ISA subscription allowance will be reduced. If you have used up your allowance, you can invest more money through our Investment Funds.

As with any investment the value of your fund can go up or down and may be worth less than what was paid in.

How can I pay into an ISA?

You can pay in lump sums, or make regular investments from as little as £50 a month. You can stop, restart, increase or reduce your payments at any time.

Can I take money out of my ISA?

Typically, Stocks and Shares ISAs are regarded as a medium to long term investment and should be kept for at least five years. If your circumstances change you can still access your investment at any time. You can also make regular withdrawals – from once a month to every 12 months. You just have to leave a minimum of £250 invested to keep the ISA active.

Remember, once you’ve invested your maximum allowance for the tax year, you won’t be able to invest more in that year even if you take money out.

What can I do with any income I get from an ISA?

If you choose an ISA that generates income, you can:

• Re-invest the income
• Pay the income into a bank account at fixed intervals or in fixed amounts.

What is the Supermarket Cash Account?

The Supermarket Cash Account is used to pay product charges and receive any fund manager rebates.

It is important that you have enough money in this account to cover our charges, for example enough to cover 12 months of charges.

If there is not enough money within this account to pay your product charge, we will sell some units from your ISA. If your fund manager rebates exceed your product charges, cash will build up in this account and you may want to invest this cash back into your ISA.  This will count as part of your annual ISA allowance.

Please call us on 0845 272 8810 if you want to discuss or to allocate money to the Supermarket Cash Account (call charges will vary). Any money held within the Supermarket Cash Account is not included within your ISA annual allowance.

Can I move my funds around?

Yes, you can switch between funds as often as you like but remember that charges will be different depending on the funds you choose.

Can I check how well my ISA is performing?

We’ll send you two statements every year and you can check the value of your ISA online.

What's the difference between Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs?

Standard Life only offers a Stocks and Shares ISA, this table is for comparison purposes.

Your charges will vary according to the funds you invest in and the amount you invest with us.

Annual management charge

A charge applies to money invested in funds to cover the costs of running them. This is known as the annual management charge (AMC) and is shown as an annual rate. However, the AMC is deducted from each fund on a daily basis, which has the effect of reducing its unit price.

Additional expenses  

Additional expenses may be deducted from some funds. They include items such as trustees', registrars', auditors' and regulators' fees. Where a fund invests in other underlying funds, they may also include the underlying management charges. As the additional expenses relate to expenses incurred during the fund management process, they will regularly increase and decrease as a percentage of the fund, sometimes significantly. The additional expenses figure shown is the annual rate of the charge. But where additional expenses apply, they are taken into account when the fund's unit price is calculated each day.

Fund manager rebate

We have used our size and purchasing power to negotiate competitive rebates with some fund managers. We show the annual rate of rebates, but they are calculated on a daily basis and passed on to you as a monthly cash rebate into the Supermarket Cash Account.

Product Charge

We also apply a product charge, which varies depending on the amount you have invested. This is taken from the Supermarket Cash Account.
 

Other charges may still apply. We regularly review our charges and may alter them to reflect changes in our overall costs or assumptions. Any increase will be fair and reasonable.

No Initial Charge

No initial charges apply to any of the funds in our full range, as at November 2012.