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
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
Things to consider
- 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. - 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. - 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. - 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 - 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. - 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.
Aviva Stocks & Shares ISA key features (PDF 388 KB)
Aviva Stocks & Shares terms and conditions (PDF 211 KB)
Target Market Statement (PDF 111KB)
Order Execution Policy (PDF 97.3 KB)
Conflicts of Interest Policy (PDF 183 KB)
Fair Processing Notice (PDF 89 KB)
Exchange Traded Investments - important information for investors (PDF 56 KB)
Why choose us?
We believe we’re the best - but you don’t have to take our word for it.
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:
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.
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
Aviva Investment Account
This could be an option if you've used your ISA allowance. Open an Investment Account and manage everything online.
Aviva Pension
Start saving for your retirement, or bring all your pensions into one place with our flexible Self-invested Personal Pension (SIPP) - where you can take 25% of your investment tax-free at 55 (57 from April 2028).
Aviva Save
Our savings marketplace offers you a selected range of cash savings accounts. Each has competitive interest rates, so it’s just a case of finding the one that best suits you.
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.