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Our ISAs make it easy for you to use your annual ISA allowance, with straightforward service, a wide range of investments to deal in (see Dealing options) and practical support, including practical advice on UK shares.
As we've described in the 'getting started' section, we offer you various choices, such as what you pay for dealing, whether you combine your various ISAs into one, or keep different tax years separate, what you do with your dividends, how you receive contract notes and regular valuation statements from us, and whether or not you want to receive a Company's Annual Report & Accounts.
You'll find more details below.
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ISA options
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Some people like to keep different tax years separate, but many choose to combine them into one easy to manage account. There's no right or wrong way, it's whichever suits you best.
So when you open an ISA at The Share Centre you decide how you want to operate them - one combined account or separate accounts for each year. Whichever you choose, we make it easy to monitor your investments online and to buy and sell the investments you want, when you want.
As well as opening accounts for each new tax year, you can also transfer existing ISAs you hold elsewhere to The Share Centre. To do so simply tick the 'transfer' box on the 'open account' page when completing your application and enter details of your existing provider.
Your existing provider will need a signed authority, so when you tick the 'transfer' box and enter details of your existing account we'll provide the forms you need and arrange the transfer.
How long it takes to receive your investments or cash balance depends on your existing provider, so remember that during the transfer period you will not be able to pay in to the ISA you're transferring, or make any sales or purchases. Therefore, there is the potential to that you may have a loss of income/growth whilst the transfer is being completed.
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The Trader option
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When it comes to dealing costs, what you pay to buy or sell investments depends on the value of that transaction. We don't ask you to deal frequently or set minimum investment amounts: how often you deal is entirely up to you. But if you are expecting to be quite actively trading you might want to choose the Trader option, where you pay a fixed amount for each transaction instead.
You can buy or sell shares up to the value of £25,000 for a flat dealing commission of £7.50. Deals over this size are charged at an additional £7.50
per £25,000 of value. The Trader option costs just £20 + VAT each quarter in advance, no matter how many accounts you've got.
Which is best for you is likely to depend on how often you will be buying or selling investments, and what the value of each transaction will be. Use our Dealing charges calculator to help you decide which suits you best.
We appreciate it can be difficult to see in advance what your dealing pattern might be, so if you later find it's different from what you had anticipated, no problem. Simply ask us to switch you over to the more appropriate option.
Equally, we understand you might want to set up a number of different accounts, or different types of accounts for different purposes, taking advantage of the ISA or Self-Invested Personal Pension schemes for example.
When you choose the Trader option it applies to all your accounts (apart from Certificate Sales) - whichever account you deal in, the same fixed commission rate applies. When you're working out which option suits you best, do take into account transactions you might want to carry out across all your accounts. Equally, changes in the prices, and therefore values, of your shares might also affect your choice.
You'll find full charges details under the 'costs' tab.
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managing your dividends
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If you're investing to build up the capital value, you may want to choose to have dividends and other income automatically re-invested every quarter. Because we carry this out for all our customers at the same time, you benefit from reduced commission, as described in 'costs'. Alternatively, you can leave your income in the account ready for you to invest when and where you want.
However, if you are investing for income, you may prefer to take your dividends paid out to you. Choose this option and we will automatically pay them into your bank account each quarter. If you're not sure which option is right for you we'd recommend you seek independent advice.
When you choose to reinvest your dividends, and any other income such as interest on any cash balance in your account, you can:
Invest into any individual share, so long as you already hold some of those shares in the account. You can change your re-investment instructions at any time but please allow at least 3 days before the next re-investment is due to take place so we can act on your new instructions. Invest into the share of the highest value in the account.
You can also choose to have income automatically paid into your bank account; a particularly useful option if you're using investing for income.
Set your choice when you open the account and if you want to make a change simply call our Customer Service team.
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contract notes by email
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To keep right up to date with purchases or sales you've completed, ask us to send your contract notes by email.
Shortly after your order has been completed we'll email you full details, including confirmation of which investments you have bought or sold, the price, dealing commission and other costs (such as stamp duty) and the order reference.
You can set up this option from 'my profile' once you've signed in using your unique Customer Reference and PIN / Password. And if you change your mind at some point in the future simply alter your selection.
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statements by email
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Each half-year we'll send you a statement showing all transactions completed during the previous six months, and a summary of your investments and their value.
Many customers choose to receive this by email, whether for convenience or perhaps to help reduce the amount of paper passing through their hands.
So if you prefer to have your statements electronically, select the email option in 'my profile' after signing in.
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company reports
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Some investors like to receive a printed copy of a company's Report & Accounts so, as part of our service, you can ask us to arrange for you to receive these from company's whose shares you hold.
For an even more convenient and faster way to review a company's Report you may be able to receive your copy electronically. Our Annual Report & Accounts service means you can get the latest available reports direct to your pc. Register for this free service and not only can you see the Reports from companies you invest in, but you can also look at those for other companies too.
Not all companies subscribe to the Annual Report service and, for those that do, not all make their Reports available electronically. But our search function makes it easy for you to see if the information you want is available. To make it easier, you'll see a  against shares you hold in your accounts, or in your ShareWatch, to show a Report is available through this service.
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