Why Graham and Alison started investing with Smart Investor
INVESTMENTS
Our customers tell us Smart Investor makes investing easy. With simple tools, trusted support and a wide range of low-cost investment choices – you can join thousands of satisfied customers.
Real investment stories from real people
Meet Alison, aged 56 from Lancashire
Alison recently opened an Investment ISA with Smart Investor. Alison started investing to improve her financial security and plan for retirement.
“Opening my ISA was very easy and straightforward. I applied on the Barclays website, and it felt like my hand was held all the way through”
Why Alison started Investing
“I’ve never really been in a position to save before, but I got a new job last year and have focused on building up my savings with my future in mind. I managed to save £7,000 and earlier this year decided I wanted to open a stocks and shares ISA (Investment ISA) to help me put some money away and see my cash grow. I’ve banked with Barclays for years and was looking at what ISAs were available and decided to try a stocks and shares ISA”
Alison’s investment journey
“I started off by buying a few stocks I liked the look of – they were companies I knew and while they might not be the best performers, I didn’t think they’ll be going away any time soon so they felt like a safe option"
How Smart Investor has helped Alison
“I’d never invested before but found opening my Smart Investor ISA very straight forward. I opened the account via the Barclays website – it didn’t take long and it felt like my hand was held all the way through. Although I’m totally new to investing, I find the website really good and user-friendly.
I’ve got a Direct Debit set up, so money goes into my ISA every month and I’m only investing money I won’t need for my day-to-day. I’ve not put a large amount in any one stock - I’ve invested small stakes in each to ensure my money is spread around as I don’t want to take too much risk. I’m just trying to build up my savings and grow my money for the future”
Meet Graham, aged 60 from Oxfordshire
Graham has recently downsized his property. With the money released through the house sale, he and his wife are now focusing on retirement planning and how best to invest it.
“I’ve been a Barclays customer for years and am happier investing with the bank I know and trust.”
Why Graham started investing
“My wife and I first spoke to an independent financial advisor (IFA) 10 years ago and we saw our property as our pension. The plan was always to sell the family home and downsize before I was 60 and that’s what we’ve done. We were told it was best to focus on using our ISA allowances to benefit from the tax-free returns. We have a cash ISA which is in my wife’s name and the advisor recommended that I open a stocks and shares ISA (Investment ISA). This way, we can grow our money across savings and investments”
Graham’s investment journey
“I opened my Smart Investor ISA online and it was really easy to do. I’m currently investing £500 a month by Direct Debit but once we’ve finished refurbishing our new home, I’ll increase the amount I put away and make sure I use my full ISA allowance. I value simplicity and don’t have much time to do research on where’s best to invest, so I really like the Ready-made Investment funds and the information about them on the Barclays website is great. I started off investing in the Balanced RMI fund, but have also invested in the Growth and Adventurous funds. It was easy to make these choices and I want to see how the performance compares”
How Smart Investor has helped Graham
“I’m really getting into investing and love spending time on the Smart Investor website. It’s really easy to understand and to manage my investments – my cash goes in each month by Direct Debit and then I can decide where I want to invest it. I’ll stick with the three funds for now but there’s lots of flexibility and I might add some others in the future"
Investing’s suddenly become my hobby and when I retire, I’ll definitely spend more time doing research and deciding how to best manage my investments through Barclays. There is a breadth of options available on Smart Investor and Barclays made it easy to start investing, even for a novice like me”
The value of investments can fall as well as rise so you may get back less than you invest. Tax rules can change and their effects vary depending on your individual circumstances. Please check the costs involved before transferring.
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Compared to other banks(1)
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We were voted Best for Customer Service 2024 and Consumer Rated Value for Money 2024 from Boring Money, 5 Star Platform Winner for International Shares by the Investors Chronicle and Best SIPP Provider 2024 at The Online Money awards.(2)
Learn more about our accounts
Explore our investment accounts: the Investment ISA, Investment Account and SIPP – each tailored to meet your needs. Choose one, two, or all three to enhance your investment journey.
Investment ISA
The most popular account people chose when they start to invest. You can pay in up to £20,000 per tax year. Any returns you make are tax-free, and you can withdraw cash when you like.
Investment Account
A flexible account if you’ve already used your ISA allowance for the current tax year or are contributing to an ISA with another provider. There are no limits on how much you can invest but returns on your investments will be taxable. You can withdraw cash at any time.
SIPP Account
Our award-winning Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is designed to help you prepare for retirement. Build your retirement pot and make your own investment decisions. You may also be eligible for tax relief on the money you pay in.
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Important information
Based on Boring Money’s Platform Investor Tracker for H1 2024.(Return to reference)
We are one of multiple platforms to win Boring Money's value for money award which was based on a survey of investment platform customers from December 2022 to December 2023. Please note this does not guarantee profits or necessarily mean we are the cheapest platform available.(Return to reference)
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