Quick and easy to set up, the Junior ISA is a tax-free savings or investment option for your child. While only one parent or legal guardian can open and manage a Junior ISA for the child, that doesn’t mean that the other parent (or somebody else) can’t contribute up to their £9,000 allowance each year.
If you’re gearing up to open their Junior ISA, here’s a run through of the last-minute considerations and how exactly you open or transfer into one, step-by-step.
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Things to consider before opening a Junior ISA
Finding the best-suited Junior ISA for your family’s needs will make a big difference in the long run. Here’s a rundown of final considerations:
Compare providers:
- Ongoing fees: investment fees will likely be involved for a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA. This is on top of service fees, which will vary between providers for either type of Junior ISA. To compare, Wealthify’s fee information is here.
- Ability to transfer to another provider if needed (note whether they charge an exit fee).
- Their past investment performance.
- Awards and company reviews.
- What will happen when the child turns 18 and the ISA ‘matures’.
Personal goals
- Are you looking to save, invest, or do both for your child?
They can have a maximum of one Junior Cash ISA and one Junior Stocks and Shares ISA open at any time. This also means an opportunity to build their wealth in different avenues — Wealthify’s Junior ISA is the investment variety. - The money held in Junior ISAs is locked in until the child turns 18.
This may not be suitable for everyone’s circumstances. But on the flip side, it offers a chance for long-term growth, which may be better suited to the child in the long run.
Other considerations
- The child must be a resident of the UK and under the age of 18. You may be asked for their National Insurance number in the process (but don’t panic, as this only applies if they’ve had one issued).
- Keep in mind that only one parent or legal guardian can open and manage the account.
- Nobody can withdraw from the account until the child turns 18. And even then,100% of the money belongs to them.
- The amount you can deposit in a Junior ISA is currently set at £9,000, meaning the account can be contributed to up to this allowance every tax year. (The allowance amount may change in the future.)
- Keep in mind that if they have a Junior Cash ISA and Junior Stocks and Shares ISA, then the allowance covers both (not an individual £9,000 per account).
How to open a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA
Doing some research into providers and eligibility are both sensible steps to weigh up your options before opening a Junior ISA.
If you’re already brushed up and have decided to go ahead, here’s how to get started with Wealthify’s Junior Stocks and Shares ISA. Other providers will have their own steps, but here’s how ours works in detail:
Step 1: Choose your investment style
Over on our Junior ISA page, head to ‘Start a Junior ISA’. From there, let us know a few essential details about the child, including their name, date of birth, and how much and how often you plan to contribute money to their Junior ISA.
With Wealthify, you can begin with a small starting amount and, with regular contributions, build the account up to a substantial sum.
For example, if you have £10 spare just after the child is born and could afford to put in £75 a month for the next 18 years (or £37.50 each if both parents are contributing), the child could have the projected value of £23,083 [1] (with you having contributed £16,210).
It will also allow you to start playing with the investment sliders. There’s a range of investment styles to choose from: Cautious, Tentative, Confident, Ambitious, or Adventurous.
Plus, the option to select our Original or Ethical Investment Plan — the latter for those feeling conscious about their child’s environmental future, as well as financial.
Step 2: Suitability quiz
After reading through the account summary and confirming you’d like to get set up, the next step is to complete our quick suitability quiz.
As the person who’ll be managing the account, this is a short questionnaire designed to ensure we’re providing the right financial product for you and your child’s needs.
Step 3: Building your customised JISA account
If you pass the suitability quiz, our expert Investment Team will start building your child’s personalised Investment Plan. Once you’ve made your initial deposit, they’ll begin building the portfolio, which will be tailored exactly to the preferences you selected — particularly with the focus on the Original or Ethical theme you chose.
Step 4: Monitoring your performance
You can leave it with our Investment Team to not only handle setting up your child’s account, but also the ongoing management of their investments and adjusting them accordingly.
As with any investing products, there will likely be highs and lows of performance. So, the team will be ready to take advantage of positive opportunities, shielding your child’s investments during downturns.
The heavy lifting may be on us, but you can check in on the account’s progress at any time using our handy app or online dashboard.
Who can pay into a Junior ISA?
With a Wealthify Junior ISA — anyone you invite to! We’ve created an option for family and friends to become Contributors to the account.
The parent or legal guardian managing the account can easily send out invitations to grandparents, aunts, uncles, close family friends — whoever wants to add to the child’s money pot.
They’ll have the option to:
- Deposit an amount regularly or as a one-off.
- Leave a message for your child.
- See how much of the £9,000 allowance is remaining for the tax year.
The only thing to be mindful of is if your child has a Junior Cash ISA held with another provider, the child’s ISA allowance is spread between both accounts (it’s not £9,000 per account). It’ll be your responsibility to not go over this allowance, so let your Contributors know if this is the case for your child’s accounts.
Transferring a Junior ISA
If you already have a Junior ISA set up for your child but you’d like to move it to Wealthify, you’re in safe hands with our simple transfer process.
We can accept transfers of an existing:
- Junior Stocks and Shares ISA
- Junior Cash ISA
- Child Trust Fund (CTF)
The process should take up to 15 business days for a Junior Cash ISA, and 30 calendar days for a Child Trust Fund or other Junior Stocks and Shares ISA.
Do check with your existing provider to see if there’ll be an exit fee for transferring out; for your peace of mind, Wealfthify won’t charge you for any transfers in or out. Also be mindful that as Child Trust Funds are no longer available to open, you’d effectively be closing that account down as it’s moved over to the new Junior ISA.
If you have any specific questions or need help with the transfer process, our friendly Customer Care Team are on hand. Reach out to them at our Help Centre.
With a Junior ISA, capital is at risk and your child could get back less than invested.
Your tax treatment will depend on your individual circumstances, and it may be subject to change in the future.
Wealthify does not provide financial advice. Please seek financial advice if you are unsure about investing.
References:
- This is the projected value for a Confident Plan (Medium Risk Plan) with an Original theme. This is only a forecast and is not a reliable indicator of future performance. If markets perform worse, your return could be £17,687. If markets perform better, your return could be £30,467. Values correct as of 08/04/2025.
- https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts/add-money-to-an-account
