Before opening investments it is important to understand the different types of investment accounts you can open with Plum and the tax implications*. It is recommended you read through this carefully before signing up for investments.
Individual Savings Account (ISA)
Plum offers a Stock & Shares ISA. This is a tax-efficient investment account, meaning you do not pay income or capital gains tax on money earned in the ISA. It allows you to invest in a wide range of shares, funds, investment trusts and bonds.
There is an allowance, however. You can only invest up to £20,000 per tax year into your ISAs. This means if you have more than one ISA you can only invest up to £20,000 between all of them.
It is very important to note that while you can have multiple different types of ISAs (e.g. a Stock and Shares and Help to Buy ISA) you cannot invest in more than one of the same type of ISA. So if you already have contributed money into another Stock and Shares ISA this tax year you would not be able to open a Plum S&S ISA. You would have to transfer your old S&S ISA into Plum.
General Investment Account (GIA)
Unlike an ISA or pension, there are no tax benefits for investing in a GIA and you pay income tax and capital gains tax in accordance with your personal tax situation.
If you’ve already set up a Stock and Shares ISA open with another provider, setting up a GIA may be a good option for you.
With Plum, you are able to select from a range of funds that are organised by risk level (e.g. Balanced) or industry (e.g. Tech).
*If you are unsure how this regulation affects your personal situation then you should consult a qualified financial adviser.
What if I want to switch my Investment account type?
We are afraid it is not possible. This is because our partner, Quai, is only able to handle one type of account per user and once they've made one type of account that's the one in their system. Also, our system isn't built to switch.
We are afraid you cannot close your account and reopen it to make a new investment account. This is because it is against our terms and conditions, as a regulated financial company we have an obligation to confirm that we have strong customer authentication procedures in place, as well as that only one user, has the use of each account and that it is strictly one account per customer.
This is why it is important you make sure you choose your Investment account type carefully.