General Investment Account UK (GIA's)

Why choose a Willis Owen GIA?

	Invest flexibly and without limits
	A wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and ETFs
	View your portfolio 24/7 on our easy to use and secure platform
	Get started from as little as a £25 contribution

What is a GIA?

A General Investment Account provides a flexible way of investing without limits on how much you can put in. Although they don’t provide the same tax benefits as an ISA, a General Investment Account can be useful if you’ve used up your ISA allowance and have more money to invest. You can also use money you hold in a Willis Owen GIA to pay the service fee on your Willis Owen ISA if you have one. This can help to make best use of your tax-free ISA allowance.

You can invest in a wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and exchange traded funds (ETFs) and there are no restrictions as to when you can take your money out.

How much can you invest?

You can start investing from as little as £25, either as a lump sum or regularly. There is no limit to how much you can invest.

Is a GIA right for you?

Right for you if:

 You’re over 18 and a UK resident

 You’ve used up or don't want to use your ISA allowance

 You're comfortable with the risk involved

Wrong for you if:

 You want to invest free of income and capital gains tax

 You’re uneasy with any market volatility

 You need the money in the short term

Fees explained

When investing you will pay a Willis Owen service fee as well as investment charges. If you invest in more specialist things like shares, investment trusts and exchange traded funds, you may also pay trade fees and government levies. Further details of all costs and charges can be found below and include VAT where applicable.

You can get an idea of how much you might pay in fees by using the ‘Charges estimator’.

Why choose a Willis Owen GIA?

	Invest flexibly and without limits
	A wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and ETFs
	View your portfolio 24/7 on our easy to use and secure platform
	Get started from as little as a £25 contribution

Willis Owen service fee Investment charges Trade fees / levies Charges estimator

The service fee is paid to Willis Owen for administering your account and for running and maintaining our platform. It also covers the cost of our independent investment research and insights, independent analysis from our research partner Morningstar and of our dedicated customer support services.

The amount of the service fee is shown below:

Tier	Rate
£0 - £50,000	0.40%
£50,001 - £100,000	0.30%
£100,001 - £250,000	0.20%
£250,000 +	0.15%

These costs are for each 'tier' of your overall balance. So, on the first £50,000 invested in your accounts, you pay 0.40%, which equates to £200 per annum, then for the next £50,000 you pay 0.30%, which equates to £140 per annum and so on.

Tier and fee calculations are based on your overall balance, including funds, shares, investment trusts, ETFs and cash.

The service fee is charged as 1/12th of the annual percentage on the monthiversary of your registration. The charges are calculated on the balance of your portfolio each day. The service fee is taken from any available cash in your account or, if there is insufficient available cash, by selling investments within your account proportionally in order to create the required amount to cover the charge.

Trade Fees

Trade fees are applied when buying and selling shares, investment trusts and exchange traded funds. They cover the costs associated with arranging to buy or sell these types of investments on your behalf. There are no trade fees for buying or selling other types of funds. The table below sets out the amount of the fees applied:

Investment Options	Single Transaction	Regular Saving
Funds	no fee	no fee
Shares	£7.50	n/a
Investment Trusts	£7.50	n/a
ETFs	£7.50	n/a

Due to the nature of these types of investments, they are traded singularly. Regular saving and dividend reinvestments into shares, investment trusts and ETFs are therefore not permitted. We offer a Quote and Deal facility where you can choose whether to accept the price quoted during market hours. You will also be presented with full details of all additional fees applicable at the point of each trade.

Government Levies

If you buy shares or investment trusts, you will be subject to UK Stamp Duty at a rate of 0.5% of the value of the trade.

You also pay a levy of £1 if you buy or sell shares or investment trust holdings worth more than £10,000. This is called a PTM (Panel of Takeovers & Mergers) levy.

These taxes and levies do not apply if you buy or sell units/shares in funds or exchange traded funds.

Choose a GIA

Transfer a GIA

We don’t provide advice as to whether an investment is suitable for you. Before investing you should make sure you understand the risks involved and, if you’re unsure, seek expert financial advice.

Past performance of an investment is not a guide to future performance, the value of investments or income from them may go down as well as up and you may get back less than you originally invested. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change.

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Call 0800 597 2525

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Willis Owen Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered in England (No.3283706) at Ground Floor, 507 (Unit 2), Centennial Business Park, Elstree, WD6 3FG. The information and content of this site is intended for UK consumers.

General Investment Account (GIA)

Why choose a Willis Owen GIA?

What is a GIA?

How much can you invest?

Is a GIA right for you?

Fees explained

Why choose a Willis Owen GIA?

Trade Fees

Government Levies

Accounts

Investment options

Help and information

Willis Owen

Accounts

Investment options

Help and information

Willis Owen

Connect with us

See our reviews

See our reviews

Have a question?

Connect with us

See our reviews

Have a question?