Best Junior Stocks and Shares ISA in the UK 2025

Junior Individual Savings Accounts (junior ISAs, or JISAs) allow you to put money aside for your children in a long-term, tax-free manner. Invested in stocks and shares, their money will grow and they can access it once they turn 18. Any parent or guardian in the UK can open a Junior stocks and shares ISA for a child under 18 years old who doesn’t have a child trust fund. Children with existing child trust funds can transfer them to JISAs.

You can contribute up to £9,000 annually to a junior ISA, and anyone can make contributions. Since the junior ISA is owned by the child, when they turn 18, they have full control over how to use the money, and it can also roll automatically into an adult ISA.

According to HM Revenue & Customs latest available statistics, around 1.25 million junior ISA accounts were subscribed to in the 2022/2023 tax year, the 11th full financial year since the scheme launched, up from 1.21 million in the 2021/2022 tax year. Let’s look at some of the best junior stocks and shares ISAs available.

An in-depth look at these junior ISAs 

w, let’s take a more detailed look at these eight top junior ISAs in the UK:

1. eToro: Partnership with Moneyfarm offers unique investment options

eToro is known as a social trading platform that allows you to copy the trades of successful investors. It’s particularly popular among beginners due to its easy-to-use interface and educational resources.  The platform has made ISAs, including junior ISAs, available to its investors through an arrangement with Moneyfarm, meaning that user’s JISA balance would be displayed within their eToro portfolio. While eToro is geared more toward contracts for difference (CFD) and forex trading, its site offers plenty of investment options, as well as tools, such as technical analysis for investors. The partnership with Moneyfarm enables eToro customers to keep and monitor their various investments, including ISAs and JISAs under the same roof.

Moneyfarm aims to match customers with professionally managed investment portfolios for its ISA and JISAs, designed to spread your risk across various asset classes and geographical locations. A downside with that service is that while its junior ISA fees are transparent, they are a bit high. The minimum deposit for an account is £500, and at least a £10 monthly contribution is required.

The total of management fees and financial instrument fees for active management of a JISA account averages around 0.96%, though that number falls to 0.67% for fixed investment styles. Users can choose from more than 1,000 assets including UK-listed stocks as well as ETFs, mutual funds and bonds with global exposure.

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2. Vanguard: Best for a simple, straightforward site

The investment firm, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, has more than $10 trillion in assets under management (AUM), making it the largest asset manager in the world. Its European operations are based in London. Vanguard is known for its low-cost, index-based funds. It offers a variety of investment products, including junior ISAs. 

It has various investments within its junior stocks and shares ISA, including index funds, active funds, ETFs and ready-made portfolio funds. The most popular choices for its JISA are its five LifeStrategy funds, most of which are designed for passive investing, which have an annual management fee of 0.22%. Vanguard also has nearly 80 individual funds, mixed between active and passive management, with annual management fees of between 0.06% to 0.79%. 

There’s also an annual account fee of 0.15%, capped at £375. However, for accounts with JISAs and a self-managed account, there would be an additional 0.15% for those accounts with £32,000 or more or £4 a month for accounts with less than £32,000.

Its other charges are straightforward, with no fees for transferring or withdrawing funds or closing your account. Its actively managed JISAs can incur fees for monitoring your investments or for changing your mix of shares and bonds when needed.

It offers two options for starting a JISA as investors can either enter a lump sum of £500 to start an account or deposit £100 each month. The main plus for Vanguard is its website is easy to navigate and plenty of investment options.

3. AJ Bell: Established broker delivers plenty of investment options

The platform is known for its user-friendly interface and competitive pricing. AJ Bell offers a wide range of investment options, including approximately 2,000 funds, 3,400 ETFs, 450 investment trusts, and more than 8,000 shares. Unlike some other brokers, it also allows bonds and gilts in JISAs. The well-established broker has more than 400,000 customers and more than £96.2 billion in AUM.

Its junior ISA fees are transparent, with no inactivity fee. Its funds also don’t have any dealing fees to buy and only £1.50 to sell. Shares are a little pricier to trade at £5 per trade, though that drops to £3.50 per trade if you had 10 or more trades in the prior month. Its annual account fee is 0.25% for shares or funds, capped at £2.50 per month. Investors who want help managing their funds can do so with fees that range from 0.31% for growth funds to 0.65% for income funds.

AJ Bell offers plenty of educational resources for investors. While it is easy to sign up for the platform, at times its website can be difficult to navigate. One plus to the site is it is easy to toggle between types of investment accounts.

4. Hargreaves Lansdown: Experienced platform can be surprisingly inexpensive

The platform, based in Bristol, is one of the UK’s largest and most prestigious investment platforms with more than £155.3 in AUM and 1.9 million clients, offering a vast selection of investments and a strong customer support team. Its fees can be higher than some competitors, though that’s not necessarily the case with its junior ISA. It removed all JISA platform and dealing fees last year. It also pays at least 2.75% interest on uninvested funds in your JISA.

HL’s JISA includes four ready-made investments, basically portfolios created by its experts, as well as funds, including a ‘Wealth Shortlist’ of more than 70 selected funds. UK and overseas shares. It also offers financial advice on investments, at a price of 1-2% of the assets advised on.

The company is known for good customer service and educational resources. The potential for expert advice, though it doesn’t come cheap, is a bonus that isn’t offered by some of its competitors. The website can be tough to navigate for less-experienced investors.

5. Interactive Investor: Plenty of investment choices, educational resources

The popular investment platform has more than 400,000 customers. It offers a wide range of investments and competitive pricing. It has a strong focus on providing tools and resources to help investors make informed decisions. Its fees, though, can seem high, especially on smaller accounts.

Interactive’s stocks and shares junior ISA is free for investors who already use its Investor or Super Investor plans. The Investor plan is £11.99 a month and includes free regular investing and one free trade a month.  The minimum investment is £25 per month.

You can add as many JISAs as you have children. Additional UK and US trades cost £3.99 a month. The Super Investor plan costs £19.99 a month and includes two free trades a month, with additional UK and US trades costing £3.99. The junior ISAs include the opportunity to trade in stocks, investment trusts, funds, ETFs and bonds. It has six quick-start funds, managed by Vanguard, that cost 0.22%, so £1,000 invested would incur a charge of £2.20. Royal London-managed 40 sustainable funds are also available with ongoing yearly charges ranging from 0.67% to 0.77%. It also has 60 funds, called Super 60, that have both active and passive funds.

The big positives, besides its wealth of investment vehicles, are the platform’s educational offerings, including news and technical analysis. 

6. Fidelity International: Good on fees, customer support

The well-established investment firm with more than 1.6 million UK customers delivers a wide range of products, including more than 2,000 stocks, more than 440 ETFs, and nearly 3,000 managed funds. It has a strong reputation for customer service and competitive fees. Fidelity UK has more than $862 billion in AUM in its direct-to-consumer business.

Fidelity gets high marks for no account fees for junior ISAs and transparent fees for trades. It charges £1.50 for deals as part of a regular savings or withdrawal plan, or for a reinvestment of income or a dividend, but share trades cost £7.50 per trade. You can open a JISA account for as little as £25 a month or a one-time lump sum of £100.

Fidelity doesn’t offer ready-made portfolios, but it does offer a Navigator tool for fund ideas based on various criteria depending on the investor. It also has Select 50 fund that lists passively managed and actively managed funds, from Fidelity and with other brokers. Fidelity’s site offers plenty of technical analysis and educational opportunities and is easy to manage. The biggest negatives for its JISA are the relatively high share dealing fees and the relatively small number of stocks available to trade in the JISA.

7. Nutmeg: Robo-advisor designed for passive investors

The platform, which has been part of US bank JP Morgan Chase since 2021, offers one of the few robo-advisor platforms for a junior ISA, using algorithms to create personalised investment portfolios based on risk tolerance and financial goals. It’s a great option for those who prefer a hands-off approach to investing and requires only £100 to open an account. It has more than £4.5 billion in assets under management for more than 200,000 clients. 

Nutmeg has a limited number of funds, built from ETFs, for investing and doesn’t offer shares. It makes up for that lack of choice because its funds are professionally managed. Those funds are subject to management fees. For example, 0.45% for the first £100k invested in a fixed allocation fund and 0.25% for any amount invested in the fund over £100k. Those fees don’t count the fees that come with the funds themselves.

The fees for the funds range from 0.45% to 0.75% for accounts under £100,000 to between 0.25% to 0.35% for accounts with more than £100,000. So, it’s a good option for those able and willing to invest more, but less of a good choice for lower-end investors. One of Nutmeg’s better services is that customers can also book a free phone-based financial guidance appointment. Its own site’s educational resources were a bit underwhelming, however.

8: Wealthify: Keeping costs down by focusing on simplicity

Wealthify allows investors to begin a JISA account for as little as £1. It doesn’t offer as many investment options, but its actively managed funds focus on ethical and sustainable investments. The account fee is 0.6% and its fund fees range from an average of 0.16% for original plans and 0.7% for ethical plans.

Because its investments are in funds, there’s no dealing fee. You choose your plan depending on your preference and risk level. The broker offers fund ethical plans built from as many as 20 investment funds from providers such as Blackrock and Vanguard, designed to provide a diverse range of investments.

The broker’s simplicity isn’t for everyone, as there are fewer options than many JISAs and no direct share, gilt or bond trading available. It has decent educational opportunities, and its user-friendly app lends itself well to teaching children about their investments.

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How do the best stock and shares junior ISA providers stack up?

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What is a stocks and shares junior ISA?

Junior Individual Savings Accounts (JISAs) are long-term, tax-free savings accounts designed for children. Parents and guardians can open a JISA for a child who doesn’t have a child trust fund. Children with existing child trust funds can transfer them to JISAs.

You can contribute up to £9,000 annually to a JISA, and anyone pay into the account. Since the JISA is owned by the child, only they can access the funds upon turning 18. At that time, they have full control over how to use the money.

What are the different types of child ISAs?

There are two main types of junior ISAs:

• Cash JISAs: These are similar to regular savings accounts. Your cash is protected, but growth is typically slower due to lower interest paid than the typical returns on money invested in assets.
• Stocks and Shares JISAs: These invest your money in the stock market. They offer higher growth potential but also carry higher risk.

To learn more about investing in ISAs, see our guide on the best adult stock and shares ISAs.

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Pros and cons of kids’ stocks and shares ISAs

There are several pros and cons to junior stock and shares ISAs. Their main advantage is they are a tax-efficient way to save for your child’s future. When a child turns 18, they can withdraw the money without paying tax on any interest or returns.

The money invested in a JISA is locked and can’t be touched until they turn 18. It’s a great way to teach your child about money management and long-term savings, helping them to develop healthy financial habits. While parents or guardians are the only ones who can open a JISA for a child, anyone can contribute to it, making it a good gift for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions. 

There are some disadvantages of a JISA, though. The lock-in period means your child can’t access the funds in a JISA until they turn 18, even if they need the money before then. Also, with stocks and shares junior ISAs, like any other investment dealing with the stock market, there is the possibility of losing money.

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How to invest in a stocks and shares junior ISA

Here are the steps involved in investing in a stocks and shares junior ISA:

1. Eligibility: Ensure the child is under 18 years old and a UK resident.
2. Choose a Provider: Select a provider that offers Junior Stocks and Shares ISAs. Consider factors like fees, investment options, and customer service.
3. Open an Account: Provide the necessary details, including the child’s name, date of birth, and National Insurance number (if available). You might need to provide your own identification as well.
4. Fund the Account: Make a contribution to the ISA. The annual allowance varies. The current limit is £9,000. You can contribute a lump sum or set up regular payments.
5. Choose Investments: Decide how you want to invest the money within the ISA. Options include:
   • Individual Stocks: Directly invest in specific companies.
   • Funds: Invest in a collection of assets managed by a professional fund manager.
   • Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): These track a particular market index or asset class.
6. Review and Manage: Regularly monitor the performance of your investments. You can adjust your investment strategy as needed based on the child’s age, risk tolerance, and financial goals.

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Junior stocks and shares ISA FAQs