What is Standard Life Self Investor?

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you paid in. Laws and tax rules may change in the future. Your own circumstances and where you live in the UK also have an impact on tax treatment.

About our Self Investor service

Standard Life Self Investor provides an online investment service for people who want to choose and look after their own investments without receiving personal financial advice.

How do I apply for a Standard Life Self Investor account?

Standard Life Self Investor is for existing customers only. If you’re a new customer looking to open a Stocks and Shares Individual Savings Account (ISA), you can open our Standard Life ISA online.

If you already have an account with Standard Life Self Investor, log in to your account to choose or manage your investments.

Where can I find documents for my Standard Life Self Investor accounts?

Log in to Smart+ (our secure online portal which allows you to select, view and manage your investments 24/7) and select 'My Documents' from the top menu to see your personal account documents, or select 'Literature' to see documents about the Standard Life Self Investor service, accounts and charges.

What can I transfer in to a Stocks and Shares ISA?

You can transfer:

• A Stocks and Shares ISA from a different provider for the current tax year. You can only transfer these in full
• Any Stocks and Shares ISAs from previous years from different providers. You can transfer the full amount or just part of these
• Cash ISAs from the current tax year must be transferred in full. For previous tax years you can transfer some of your cash or the full amount

You should check with your current provider if you will be charged for transferring your ISA.

If you wish to transfer part of an ISA from another provider please call our transfer team on 0800 1522 522. Your investments can be re-registered in an ISA with us as long as we offer the same funds in the same share class, and your existing ISA plan manager supports this. If not, your existing ISA plan manager will sell the investments and transfer as cash. The minimum amount you can transfer to us is £500, with further transfers requiring a minimum of £100. You must already have a Self Investor ISA to be able to transfer another ISA in.

If you transfer as cash you'll be out of the market until the transfer is complete. You won't lose out if the market falls but your money won't be subject to any potential income or growth if the markets rise in this period.

To find out more about our transfers please visit our account overview page.

What can I transfer into a Trading Account?

You can re-register investments from General Investment Accounts, Trading Accounts, Fund Trading and Dealing accounts into our Trading Account as long as we offer the same funds in the same share class, and your existing provider supports this.

If you re-register at least one fund to our Trading Account, you can also transfer any other funds you hold that aren't available from Standard Life Self Investor as cash.

The minimum amount you can transfer to us is £500, with further transfers requiring a minimum of £100.

If you transfer as cash you'll be out of the market until the transfer is complete. You won't lose out if the market falls but your money won't be subject to any potential income or growth if the market rises in this period. Once the transfer is complete you'll need to choose your funds to invest in.

If you're transferring funds you'll remain invested during the transfer. You'll be unable to switch or sell these funds while the market falls or rises during this time. You must already have a Self Investor Trading Account to be able transfer other investments in.

To find out more about our transfers please visit our account overview page.

How do I transfer other investments I have to Standard Life Self Investor?

First decide whether you want to transfer to our Stocks and Shares ISA or Trading Account, and read our Standard Life Self Investor: In specie guide to transfers which provides you with further information on our transfer processes. Then call us on 0800 1522 522 and let one of our dedicated team help you get started with your online transfer. Or if you prefer you can set it up yourself online by following the steps below:

1. Log in to Standard Life Self Investor and choose which account you want to transfer into - a Stocks and Shares ISA or Trading Account  
2. Complete the online application and then print, sign, date and return the transfer form to us. Please include your sort code if transferring a Cash ISA from a bank 
3. We'll arrange the transfer for you so you won't need to do anything. We'll ask your existing provider to transfer your account as cash and/or your investments to Standard Life Self Investor

If you transfer as cash you'll be out of the market until the transfer is complete. You won't lose out if the market falls but your money won't be subject to any potential income or growth if the market rises in this period.

If you're transferring funds you'll remain invested during the transfer. You'll be unable to switch or sell these funds while the market falls or rises during this time.

How long will it take to transfer my investments to Standard Life Self Investor?

It can take up to 30 days to complete the transfer or re-registration from receipt of your signed transfer form, depending on how long your existing provider takes to complete the request. You can track the progress of your transfer by logging in to your account with Standard Life Self Investor and selecting 'Transfer status' from 'Transactions' in the menu.

We'll notify you when the transfer is complete.

How do I close a Standard Life Self Investor account or service?

To close your Stocks and Shares ISA, Trading Account or Cash Account, you'll need to transfer your account(s) to another provider or withdraw the full balance to your chosen UK bank account and then tell us to close the account.