If you’ve used up your ISA allowance, a General Investment Account (GIA) could be the best option for you. Here are the best ones.
A General Investment Account (GIA) is an investment account that’s usually best for those who have already made use of their ISA allowance for the year — if you haven’t, you probably want to see the best Stocks & Shares ISAs instead, as these have a £20,000 annual allowance in which you don’t need to pay tax.
Here are the best General Investment Accounts available to invest with at the moment.
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Here at Be Clever With Your Cash, we’re not regulated to give you financial advice. We aim to give you the facts about a provider or investment but it’s up to you to decide if it’s suitable for you. If you’re looking for more personalised guidance, find a financial adviser who can give you specific advice. Remember that your capital is at risk when investing — don’t invest more than you are prepared to lose.
DIY GIAs
Top picks
Sponsored
Customer rating
4.8/5
- Annual fee£8 per month custody fee**
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£0
- OfferUp to £200 of free shares*
*New customers can get up to £200 of free shares when they sign up and invest at least £50 by 30 November 2025.
**You can reduce the custody fee to £0 per month when you place more than 3 trades in the previous quarter.
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 4.5% on up to £100,000
- Fractional shares No
- Foreign exchange fee 0.70%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Offer details You can get up to £200 of free shares when you sign up for a General Investment Account, ISA or Self Invested Personal Pension and make your first investment of at least £50 between 1 November and 30 November 2025. You have to remain invested until 31 December 2025.
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 944492
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Our top pick
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee£0
- Trading feeETFs: £0
- Minimum deposit£0
- OfferUp to £100 welcome offer*
*Sign up with the code BECLEVER25 or click the button to get up to £100 in a US fractional share to your GIA. Capital at risk. Terms apply
- FSCS Protected? If Lightyear goes out of business and there is a shortfall in the funds they are holding for customers, they may be able to claim for losses up to the value of £85,000 through FSCS
- ETF trading fee £0 (FX and fund manager fees may apply)
- UK shares trading fee £1 per order
- EU shares trading fee €1 per order
- US shares trading fee 0.1%, up to $1 max - min $0.10 per order
- Fractional shares Available in General Investment Account only
- Interest on uninvested cash 1% on GBP for UK customers
- Foreign exchange fee 0.35%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.78% depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 987226
- Offer details Sign up with the code BECLEVER25 or click the button to get up to £100 in a US fractional share to your GIA. Capital at risk. Terms apply: https://lightyear.com/en-gb/signup-promotion-terms. You must be a new user and deposit at least £100. The reward can be withdrawn 6 months after it’s credited
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Our top pick
Customer rating
4.8/5
- Annual fee£0
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£100
- Important details You can't invest in individual shares with InvestEngine, just exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Fund fees When you invest in funds you'll also have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.89%, depending on which ones you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 801128
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Our top pick
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee£0
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£1
- OfferFree fractional share up to £100*
*Free fractional share: New customers get a free fractional share worth up to £100 when you sign up via our link or use the code BCWYC.
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Fractional shares Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 4.05%
- Foreign exchange fee 0.15%
- Fund fees If you invest in ETFs, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Offer details To get the offer, you need to open a Trading 212 Stocks and Shares ISA or Invest account and deposit at least £1 within 10 calendar days
- Offer New customers get a free fractional share worth up to £100 when you sign up via our link or use the code BCWYC
- Important details Remember, the value of any money invested, which includes your free share, could go up or down
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 609146
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Other options
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee£0
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£0
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Fractional shares Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 4.50%
- Foreign exchange fee 0.50%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 522157
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Freetrade General Investment Account
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee£0
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 1% on up to £1,000
- Fractional shares Yes
- Foreign exchange fee 0.99%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 783189
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Customer rating
4.5/5
- Annual fee£0
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 2.02%
- Fractional shares No
- Foreign exchange fee 0.99%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 948126
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Emma General Investment Account
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee£0
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Fractional shares Yes
- Foreign exchange fee 0.99%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 669450
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Customer rating
4.8/5
- Annual fee0.15% + £1 per month
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£100 or £25 per month
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Other investment options You could also choose to invest in managed portfolios with Dodl
- Fractional shares No
- Foreign exchange fee 0.75% (up to £10,000)
- Interest on uninvested cash 4.06%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.45% depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 211468
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Customer rating
4/5
- Annual fee0.3% (min £5 per month)
- Trading fee£50 worth of free trades every 6 months
- Minimum deposit£0
- Trading fees You get £50 worth of free trades every 6 months. Funds cost £4 per trade and shares cost £10 per trade
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose. There are no platform or trading fees when you invest in Charles Stanley Multi Asset Funds
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Fractional shares No
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Foreign exchange fee 1.00%
- Offer details The amount you'll get in cashback depends on how much you transfer. A transfer of £20,000 gets you £300 cashback
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 124412
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Customer rating
4.5/5
- Annual fee0.45%
- Trading fee£11.95
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 2.53%
- Foreign exchange fee 1.00%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 115248
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee£2.99 per month + 0.45% annual fee
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes - up to £85,000
- Important details You need a Plum Pro account which costs £2.99 per month to start investing in funds
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Fractional shares Yes
- Foreign exchange fee 0.45%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Investment funds available You're limited to 16 funds to invest in, and can invest in the full range of 26 funds with the Premium plan which costs £9.99 per month
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 900573
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Vanguard General Investment Account
Customer rating
4.5/5
- Annual fee0.15% (minimum £4 per month)
- Trading feeup to 0.46%
- Minimum deposit£100 per month or £500
- Important details Sells its own funds only
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 2.35%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 527839
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
AJ Bell General Investment Account
Customer rating
4.7/5
- Annual fee0.25%
- Trading fee£5
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 2.07% up to £10,000
- Foreign exchange fee 0.75%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.04% and 1.16%
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 211468
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Customer rating
4.4/5
- Annual fee£4.99 per month
- Trading fee£3.99
- Minimum deposit£25 per month
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 1.51%
- Fractional shares No
- Foreign exchange fee 1.50%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 1.5%
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 141282
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Customer rating
4.8/5
- Annual fee£8 per month custody fee**
- Trading fee£0
- Minimum deposit£0
- OfferUp to £200 of free shares*
*New customers can get up to £200 of free shares when they sign up and invest at least £50 by 30 November 2025.
**You can reduce the custody fee to £0 per month when you place more than 3 trades in the previous quarter.
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash 4.5% on up to £100,000
- Fractional shares No
- Foreign exchange fee 0.70%
- Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
- Offer details You can get up to £200 of free shares when you sign up for a General Investment Account, ISA or Self Invested Personal Pension and make your first investment of at least £50 between 1 November and 30 November 2025. You have to remain invested until 31 December 2025.
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 944492
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up
Managed GIAs
Top picks
Our top pick
Customer rating
4.8/5
- Annual fee0.15% (minimum £1 per month)
- Portfolios available6 risk-based portfolios and a responsible investments portfolio
- Minimum deposit£100 or £25 per month
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Other investment options You can also invest in individual shares and themed investments
- Interest on uninvested cash 4.06%
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 211468
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Other options
Chip General Investment Account
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee0.25%
- Portfolios available3 risk-based portfolios and two index funds
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 911255
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down.
Customer rating
4.5/5
- Annual fee0.45%
- Portfolios available4 risk-based portfolios
- Minimum deposit£100 or £25 per month
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Fees Fees are reduced the more you invest. You're charged 0.45% on up to £250,000, 0.25% on the next £750,000, and 0.1% on the next £1,000,000. For amounts over £2m there is no charge
- Interest on uninvested cash 2.53%
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 115248
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Monzo General Investment Account
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee0.45%
- Portfolios available3 risk-based portfolios
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Fund fees You'll also have to pay fund fees of 0.14%
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 730427
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down.
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee0.50%
- Portfolios available2 tracker funds
- Minimum deposit£10
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Fund fees You'll have to pay additional fund fees of up to 0.15%
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Ready-made portfolios available 2 tracker funds to choose between: an L&G cash fund and a Fidelity Global Shares fund
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 473606
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
- Annual fee0.50%
- Portfolios availableTwo portfolios
- Minimum deposit£3000
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 984829
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down.
Customer rating
4.8/5
- Annual fee0.60%
- Portfolios available10 portfolios based on risk and ethical options
- Minimum deposit£1000
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Important details Over 18s, UK residents and UK taxpayers only
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 662530
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down
Customer rating
4.9/5
- Annual fee0.65%
- Portfolios availableA range of ethical managed portfolios, a low-risk portfolio and 4 thematic growth themes
- Minimum deposit£500
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 629539
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down.
JP Morgan Personal Investing General Investment Account
Customer rating
4.8/5
- Annual fee0.75%
- Portfolios available30 portfolios, including fully managed, fixed allocation and ethical
- Minimum deposit£1
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 552016
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down.
Scottish Friendly General Investment Account
Customer rating
3.3/5
- Annual fee1.50%
- Portfolios available1 ethical portfolio and 10 risk based portfolios
- Minimum deposit£20 per month or £100 lump sum
- FSCS Protected? Yes
- Interest on uninvested cash No
- Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 110002
- Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down.
What’s the difference between Managed GIAs and DIY GIAs?
A managed General Investment Account is one where you choose what goes into your portfolio yourself. This can be shares, a range of different funds or even commodities or metals. Your portfolio is up to you to manage yourself. Meanwhile, a managed portfolio is one that’s been built already – you’d usually get a choice from several portfolios that you choose based on your risk appetite.
Should I choose a GIA or ISA?
An ISA would ideally be your first choice when you invest, as you get an annual £20,000 tax-free allowance; however, this is shared with any Cash ISAs and Lifetime ISAs you’ve got. With a GIA, you’d only invest tax-free when your earnings are within the Capital Gains Tax allowance of £3,000. There’s also a dividend allowance of £500, so you can earn £500 in dividends before you
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use a GIA, but you’re best making sure you’ve fully used your ISA allowance across savings and investments and invest in an ISA after this. This will reduce the amount of tax you’ll have to pay on your profits.
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