Transfer an ISA

Pull your ISAs together and hold on tight to the tax benefits

You’ll find important information on this page that you should read before moving an ISA. Here's why it might be right for you:

  • Bring your ISA balances and admin together in one place
  • Transparent charges for your ISA and we don't charge any fees to move it to us
  • A stocks and shares ISA has potential to grow your money more than a cash ISA. Capital at risk. Tax rules are subject to change

Why transfer your ISA?

ISAs can be easier to manage when you merge them into one. With your whole ISA balance in one place, you have a one-glance view of how everything’s performing. It can also mean one password to remember, one set of paperwork (whether digital or printed out) and one set of investment charges to think about.

Happily, it’s simple to pull any scattered ISAs together. You’ll keep their main plus point – paying no UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax on any returns you make – and transferring won’t swallow up your ISA allowance for the year.

You just need to transfer them in the right way. To move an ISA to us, that means filling in an online form with the details of the ISA you want to move. We’ll sort out the rest. You can even transfer a cash ISA into your Aviva Stocks and Shares ISA.

Just remember, the value of your ISA investments can go down as well as up. You may get back less money than you put in. There’s also no promise that you’ll be better off by moving an ISA.

Your exact tax benefits will depend on your circumstances and may change in the future.

Why you might transfer an ISA to us

  • Invest your way

    Having your ISA with us could stretch out your investment choices. Pick from our ready-made funds, piece together your own portfolio, or even trade in shares, depending on how confident you are.

  • It’s easy to set up

    Start the wheels moving by filling in the form - it takes around five minutes. Then we'll contact your current ISA provider and take care of the move.

  • Flexible withdrawals

    Take money from your Aviva Stocks & Shares ISA with no fees or penalties. Pay money back in the same tax year without affecting your annual allowance.

How an ISA transfer works

There are two ways an ISA can move from one provider to another – a cash transfer and a unit transfer.

Cash transfers

With a cash transfer, all your investments in a stocks and shares ISA you want to move will be turned back into cash. When it lands in your Aviva Stocks & Shares ISA, the money will go into your cash account, ready to be invested in funds or other exchange traded investments (like shares).

You can choose your investments when you apply, or you can have a think and do it later.

If you transfer a cash ISA it will, unsurprisingly, be a cash transfer.

Unit transfers

A unit transfer is when the investments in your old stocks and shares ISA are swapped for investments in your new one, without turning them back into cash in between. It can be simpler, as you don’t have to pick new funds. But these have to be like-for-like. So we have to match the exact fund units and transfer them over.

This kind of transfer can take a couple of weeks longer, however, your money will remain 'in the market' so will continue to capture any gains or losses in the market.

The benefits of transferring an ISA and what to consider

Benefits

  • Keep your tax benefits
    When you transfer an ISA balance from previous tax years using our application form, you'll keep the tax benefits, and the amount you move won't count towards this year's ISA allowance.
  • You can move funds directly across
    As long as we can match up the funds (or units) you already have, there’s no need to cash in and reinvest your ISA when you move it over. It may just take slightly longer that way.
  • You’ll find it’s flexible
    With the ISA we offer, you can withdraw your money and pay it back in the same tax year, without affecting your annual allowance. There’s no charge to withdraw your money and you can pause monthly payments and re-start when you want.
  • Manage it all in the app
    Having an ISA with us swings open the door to the MyAviva app. It lets you track your ISA’s progress, and browse through the funds or other ways to invest you can choose from.
  • Change your investments when you want
    Deciding to shake up how you invest your ISA is fuss-free. You don’t need to give notice to change your funds, there are no extra fees and you can do it through the MyAviva app. In exceptional circumstances there could be delays in switching funds.

Things to consider

  1. Your annual allowance
    The amount you can pay into ISAs from all providers this tax year is £20,000, and that’s the combined total across any types of ISA you have. Contributions from this tax year that you have transferred into a new ISA will count towards your annual allowance.
  2. ISA rules
    There are four types of ISA (cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, innovative ISAs and lifetime ISAs). If you've already made contributions during this tax year to the ISA you're transferring, you'll have to transfer those current year contributions in full.
  3. Follow the correct path
    If you transfer one ISA to another, your money will stay free from Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax. If you close your current ISA yourself and then move it, those tax benefits will disappear. Make sure you transfer it through an ISA provider, like us.
  4. Transferring a cash ISA
    You can transfer a cash ISA into our Stocks & Shares ISA. Just bear in mind that a stocks and shares ISA is riskier than a cash ISA, as the value of your investment could go down as well as up and you could get back less than invested
  5. Other charges
    Your existing provider may charge a penalty when you leave them – so make sure you check this before you transfer. It's always worth weighing up the management and fund charges you're paying for the ISA you want to move, and the one you're planning to transfer it into. There's also no guarantee you'll be better off by transferring.
  6. How long a transfer takes
    If your ISA transfer is in cash, it can take from three to six weeks until it's reinvested. As your money won't be invested while it's being transferred it won't go up or down in value. Unit transfers can take around two weeks longer than cash transfers. You'll also stay invested during the move, so the value will be affected by market changes. 

Why choose us?

We believe we’re the best - but you don’t have to take our word for it.

  • An award-winning choice
    We continue to receive recognition for our investment platform.
  • Our past, your future
    We’ve been protecting people like you for over 325 years.
  • Invest in your future, and the future of the planet
    With our investments that take environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into consideration.
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How to transfer an ISA to us

It takes five minutes to fill in the application form online, and maybe a few more to gather together everything you need to get started. Here are the different steps you’ll take from start to finish:

  1. Make sure it’s right for you
    Before you decide whether to transfer or not, read our important documents.
  2. Get everything you need in place
    This means your National Insurance number, details of any ISAs you're moving over and the plan number for your Aviva Stocks & Shares ISA if you have one. You'll need an active MyAviva account - you get access to one through your ISA with us, but you'll need to register if you haven't already.
  3. Fill in one online form
    Just add in a few personal details and the information you’ve already gathered about the ISAs. The whole thing takes around five minutes – just enough time to drink a cup of tea.
  4. Choose your investments
    How your ISA's invested is up to you – there's more on that below. If your transfer's in cash, you can skip over that step for now and take your time to think it over.
  5. Leave the rest to us
    We’ll get in touch with your existing ISA provider and smooth over all the details for you. It normally takes three to six weeks for a cash transfer to go through and a little longer for moving funds across (a unit transfer).

Try our ISA calculator

How much could you benefit from an Aviva Stocks & Shares ISA? Let our ISA calculator do the sums for you.

Our stocks and shares ISA investments and charges

How to choose investments

There are four ways to decide how you invest in our ISA if you’re not moving funds over as a unit transfer.

  1. The most straightforward approach is to pick one of our ready-made funds.
  2. If you’re a more experienced investor, you might prefer browsing a narrowed-down fund shortlist from our experts.
  3. The more confident investors can build their portfolio using our full range of funds.
  4. Finally, experienced investors can buy and sell shares and other exchange traded investments.

What are the investment charges?

There’s no charge to transfer your investments to us, but your existing provider may charge you for leaving them, so you’ll need to make sure it all adds up before making the move. Once you have a Stocks & Shares ISA with us, these are the charges you can expect to pay:

Funds

You'll pay an Aviva Charge of up to 0.40% for the value of your funds or cash, depending on how much you invest.

There's also a Fund Manager Charge that will depend on the funds that you've chosen. This charge is included in the price of the fund. 

We won't charge you for buying or selling funds.

Shares and other exchange traded investments

You'll pay an Aviva Share Charge, which is 0.40% of their value, capped at £45 a year. 

There'll be a Fund Manager Charge for exchange traded funds and investment trusts that will be included in the price of the investment. 

When you buy shares and other exchange traded investments, there'll be a Trading Charge for every trade you make.

There may be other charges you’ll need to be aware of – you can read about these on our charges page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my money safe to transfer?

When will I pay my first charge?

Can I change my mind?

What ISA can I transfer?

How long does an ISA transfer take?

Alternatives to an ISA

The value of an investment account and pension can go down as well as up and you could get back less than invested. With Aviva Save inflation will reduce the spending power of your money.

Contact us

Still need some help? Give us a call

0800 285 1088

Monday to Friday: 8:00am – 5:30pm

Saturday and Sunday: Closed

For our joint protection, telephone calls may be recorded and/or monitored and will be saved for a minimum of 5 years. Calls to 0800 numbers from UK landlines and mobiles are free. Our opening hours may be different depending on which team you need to speak to.

If you'd like to get in touch with the committee about any general With-Profits issues you can email wpc@aviva.com

The committee do not deal with individual policies, please contact us if you have a question about your policy.