7 Best Stocks and Shares ISAs for 2021

Taking the top spot is Hargreaves Lansdown’s stocks and shares ISA. Whether you’re new to investing or already an expert, you can shelter up to £20,000 from UK tax in Hargreaves Lansdown’s award-winning ISA. Investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest.

You can opt for a do-it-yourself (minimum investment £100 or £25 per month) or a ready-made portfolio in which the provider will buy and sell for you in accordance with your risk appetite (minimum deposit £1,000). The ISA account is free to set up and has a maximum yearly charge for holding investments of 0.45%. There is no charge to buy or sell funds, and the maximum for share trading is £11.95 per trade.

Taking the do-it-yourself route, you have the option of tailor-making your investment portfolio and the freedom to diversify across sector, regions, asset types and different investment vehicles such as funds, investment trusts, and exchange traded funds (ETFs). The website is rich with data and research tools, and there's commentary from analysts on individual stocks and funds, as well as 'macro' coverage on the economy, and particular sectors such as technology or pharmaceuticals. And to keep an eye on your investments on the move, the mobile app is first class.

Nutmeg is a powerful 'robo advisor' that offers a stocks and shares ISA. Unlike its Wealthsimple competitor that accommodates low-income traders, Nutmeg is biased towards medium-to-high income traders, as evidenced by its relatively high minimum investment requirement of £500.

It, nonetheless, does have a lower-cost option in addition to offering a non-managed fixed allocation portfolio. The portfolio can be drawn from a wide range of low-cost exchange-traded funds. The annual management fee for the fully managed portfolios starts from 0.75% for investments below £100,000 and 0.35% for those above this level. Its fixed allocation 'passive' portfolios, on the other hand, are charged at 0.45% for investments below £100,000 and 0.25% for those above this level.

Wealthsimple is a pre robo-advisor, so all activities here are automated. Opening an ISA stocks and shares investment account is relatively straightforward and wholly online. It starts with answering a simple questionnaire that’s especially designed to help the system gauge your risk tolerance, equity market interest, and time limit to reach your investment goals. It then uses your answers to invest your funds in one of the nine pre-set investment portfolios.

The annual management fees at Wealthsimple are as low as 0.7% for investments below £100,000 and 0.5% for anything else above this. The investor is also currently running a promotion where the system promises to manage up to £10,000 of your first year’s deposit free of charge. There is also no minimum investment required to invest here.

Fidelity International is an established finance and investment industry player with a solid reputation built over five decades. It has a well-earned reputation for transparency, reliability, and affordability.

Opening a stocks and shares ISA that with Fidelity is straightforward and the minimum investment requirements is £50 per month. If you have a fair amount of experience in stock trading, you can choose their self-managed investment option while beginners can opt for the managed option. The platform has a large pool of funds, ETFs, trusts and equities to choose from when creating your investment portfolio.

Investments below £7,500 attract an annual 0.45% charge, while those below £250,000 and £1 million have an annual management fee or 0.35% and 0.20% respectively, and no fees for investments valued above £1 million. The expert-managed portfolio, on the other hand, attracts a fixed 1.5% management fee with transactional charges averaging 0.33%.

Interactive Investor describes itself as the best shares and stock platform for frequent traders.

First off, the investment company has one of the largest pools - over 40,000 -of both local and international investment options to choose from. This is complemented by its innovative platform that allows for easy stocks and shares ISA account creation. You only require a smartphone or desktop computer to access and manage your account from anywhere in the world.

The minimum deposit is £100 for lump sums and £25 for monthly contributions. Note that unlike most other investment platforms, where fees are charged as a percentage of the invested amounts, Interactive Investor's 'service plan' is charged monthly. The quarterly administration fee stands at £22.50 while the monthly charge is £9.99 a month. Each month you receive a £7.99 trading credit to be used within 90 days.

If you are looking for a relatively diversified investment portfolio for your stocks and shares ISA, you may like Scottish Friendly’s My Choice plan. Opening a stocks and shares ISA is quite straightforward, and so is managing it through their online platform. Its £10 minimum deposit requirement makes it suitable for low-income earners while their selection of low-risk/low-return investment options appeals to the risk-averse investor.

You have the option of investing in one of the nine funds listed on their website. These range from low to high-risk investments. Investments with this robo-advisor offering are protected by FSCS, plus you stand to benefit from the ongoing £45 promotion given to individuals that open and fund their ISA.

Moneyfarm describes their stock and shares ISA as ‘an easy-access and tax efficient’ managed portfolio that’s specifically designed to fit your changing lifestyle.

Launched in 2016, the stock and shares portfolio has consistently outperformed other types of ISA ready-made portfolios in both the low, medium, and high-risk investment classes. One of its strengths is keeping the management fee at a minimum while maintaining one of the most diversified portfolios. The company maintains a highly transparent fee structure that is dependent on your invested amounts.

The first £10,000 is, for instance, charged 0.75% annually, amounts below £50,000 are charged 0.60%, 0.50% for investments £50,000-£100,000, and 0.35% for any investment above £100,000. These annual charges cover investment advice, investment management, custodial fees, and all relevant trading fees with no hidden costs.