ISAs for trading.

[twogandts]

[Newbie; first post; apologies if this info is contained elsewhere - can't find in stickys.]

ISA limits are raising to £15,000 per year in July 2014. Bank interest rates are pants. Stocks and Shares investing are now more interesting. Trading would seem to be the logical next step. Still reading reviews on platforms and brokers.

Has anyone compiled a recent comparison of ISAs and associated brokerages suitable for mixed quantity and mixed time-frame trading?

Can anyone explain how ISAs work in the trading context?
For example: I put in £15,000 in cash. I invest in stock. The stock rises to a value of £20,000. I sell the stock at a profit of £5,000. The £5,000 is protected against tax. Does the £5,000 profit continue to be part of the ISA?

Many thanks.

2GnTs

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

From my experience using a stock and shares ISA I would advise you to shop around and also consider how much you are going to invest. In most cases you pay a fee on top of the cost of shares, something in the region of £10-£15. I find that unless you are going to invest a substantial amount then the fee is going to eat into your profits and make it non-worthwhile.

As far as investing money, speak to each place and see what they say. I know that some will only allow a certain amount of cash to be held in the ISA (50%) and the rest must be in stocks, therefore if you took profits on some stocks then you may need to withdraw those cash funds if in excess of the 50% threshold.

Regarding the tax, from what I understood, any profits made on the funds permitted (around £11k last year) are tax exempt but you will need to double check this.