Where to invest a last-minute Stocks and Shares ISA

The end of the tax year is the last chance to use this year’s £20,000 ISA allowance before it’s gone – a reminder, anything you put in an ISA has no tax on growth or income.

Don’t forget though, you don’t have to make a hasty investment decision right now. You can add money to a Stocks and Shares ISA, secure your allowance before the 5 April, and invest later on.

However, once you’ve added money into your ISA, you might be thinking about where you should invest it.

You might be dreading charts, spreadsheets, and lots of time doing research and agonising to make sure everything is right.

Good news is there’s an easy option which means you don’t have to do all that.

You can add money to an ISA and get someone else to do nearly all the hard work for you.

Here’s how.

This article isn’t personal advice. ISA and tax benefits depend on personal circumstances and rules can change. Investing for 5+ years increases your chances of positive returns compared to cash savings. But investments rise and fall in value, so you could get back less than you put in. If you’re not sure if an investment is right for you, ask for financial advice.

You can choose a ready-made investment

A Ready-Made Investment is an all-in-one portfolio of funds created by experts, making them a simple option if you need a bit of help with where to invest. They’re fully diversified, complete solutions.

And they’re available in the HL Stocks and Shares ISA.

What choices do you need to make?

You can choose whether you’re investing for growth, or you’re looking to take an income. If you’re looking for income, you can skip straight to step 4.

If you’re looking for growth, you’ll be given the option to choose a management style. You can choose to track the market or have experts try to outperform it. Tracking the market is usually lower cost, but there’s usually very little opportunity to outperform the stock market.

With our growth options you’ll select how much risk you’re looking to take.

Risk might sound scary, but generally it isn’t. It’s just how much of the ups and downs of the market you’re willing to experience.

Generally higher-risk investments have the potential for greater returns, but they could have more ups and downs over the short term.

You can invest up to the full ISA allowance of £20,000. But a managed investment isn’t just for rich people. You can start from £100 as a lump sum or £25 as a direct debit.

Once you’ve made your investment, that’s it. You don’t really have to do much more.

HL’s experts will look after your investment, making changes and any day-to-day decisions necessary to keep things aligned with your chosen risk level, and aim to get the best return over the long term.

You just need to check in every now and then to make sure that it’s something that meets your needs and objectives.

HL Funds are managed by HL’s sister company, Hargreaves Lansdown Fund Managers Ltd.