What is a Junior ISA?
Junior ISAs are a flexible way to save for a child. Just like an ISA, they can hold equities*, bonds**, cash and even property shares. However, remember that the savings in a Junior ISA are locked in until the child turns 18.
Junior ISAs are available to UK resident children who do not have a Child Trust Fund (CTF) account. However, Parents and Guardians now also have the choice to transfer a child’s existing CTF into a Junior ISA.
Should you already have a CTF account or want to invest more than the Junior ISA limit, there are alternative routes to access the long-term growth potential through The M&G OEIC or The M&G Savings Plan.
A Junior ISA must be opened by someone with parental responsibility or legal guardianship for the child. This person will be the ‘Registered Contact’ for the account.
* Shares of ownership in a company.
** A loan, usually taken out by a government or company, which normally pays a fixed rate of interest over a given time period, at the end of which the loan is repaid.
How do Junior ISAs work?
- The Registered Contact will have responsibility for the investment
- You can invest up to £9,000 in a Junior ISA until the end of the 2022/2023 tax year
- You can invest by regular monthly payments or a lump sum at any time
- Anyone can gift or contribute money (including the child)
- You can switch from a cash Junior ISA to a stocks and shares Junior ISA and back again (please note that M&G only offers a stocks and shares Junior ISA)
- When the child turns 16 they can choose to take control of their Junior ISA account
- In addition, 16 – 18 year olds are permitted to open a Junior ISA and a cash ISA in the same tax year meaning they can choose to invest up to £29,000 tax-efficiently (please note that The M&G ISA is a stocks and shares ISA)
- The money can only be accessed by the child when they turn 18
Who is eligible?
- Children living in the UK who do not have a CTF account
- The account must be opened by a parent or legal guardian
- Children living in the UK who have an existing CTF account and wish to transfer to a Junior ISA
The M&G Junior ISA
A Junior ISA is a long-term investment that your child could hold for up to 18 years, so it makes sense to choose an expert in the field. At M&G, we have over 90 years of investment experience and the size and the scale of resource to give your child a head start with their money.
We believe that Junior ISAs could have a key role in every parent or guardian’s long-term financial plan for their children.
Please note that M&G only offers a stocks and shares Junior ISA.
Why choose The M&G Junior ISA?
- Invest from as little as £10 per month
- Pay no entry charge and no exit charges (an ongoing charge will apply)
- Choose from our extensive range of expertly managed funds
The value of the fund's assets will go down as well as up. This will cause the value of your investment to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you originally invested.
Is a Junior ISA subject to tax?
- Any returns generated are free from personal income and capital gains tax
- The annual Junior ISA allowance of the Registered Contact or any Third-Party Contributors is not affected
- You don’t have to declare a Junior ISA on your personal tax return
The value and income from the fund's assets will go down as well as up. This will cause the value of your investment to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you originally invested.
Tax rules for both Junior ISAs and ISAs may change in the future and their tax advantages depend on your individual circumstances.
How do Junior ISAs and ISAs compare?
| Junior ISA |
ISA |
|---|---|
| From 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2023 investment limit: £9,000 |
From 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2023 investment limit: £20,000 |
| You can hold one cash and one stocks and shares Junior ISA at a time, with the maximum £9,000 split between them to suit you. | From 6 April 2022 to 5 April 2023 you can invest up to £20,000 in stocks and shares, cash, an Innovative Finance ISA, a Lifetime ISA† or a combination. |
| Once invested in either a stocks and shares Junior ISA or a cash Junior ISA, with an investment provider, each annual allowance must be invested with this same provider unless the Junior ISA as a whole is transferred elsewhere. You can’t invest each annual allowance with different providers unless a formal transfer of the investment has taken place. |
Each year, you can choose to invest your annual ISA allowances with different providers. You can also transfer previous years’ ISAs between providers at any point, without affecting your allowance for the current tax year. However, some providers may charge for this service. Whilst your investment is being transferred it will be out of the market for a short period of time and will not lose or gain in value. |
| You can switch from cash to stocks and shares and back again for greater flexibility. | You can transfer from a cash ISA into a stocks and shares ISA and vice versa as often as you like. |
| Anyone can contribute into the Junior ISA as long as the total of all contributions does not exceed the annual limit. However, contributions can’t be returned and will belong to the child (the account holder). | You must make subscriptions with your own money. |
| At 16, a child can open their own Junior ISA. | N/A |
| Contributions are not accessible until the child turns 18, when the account automatically becomes an ISA. | Contributions can be accessed at any time. |
Tax rules for both Junior ISAs and ISAs may change in the future and their tax advantages depend on your individual circumstances.
The value of the fund's assets will go down as well as up. This will cause the value of your investment to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you originally invested.
† Since April 2017, 18-40 year olds have been able to open a Lifetime ISA and pay in up to £4,000 each tax year. They will be able to continue making contributions up to the age of 50. The government will add a 25% bonus to all contributions to a Lifetime ISA within the limits. However, it is important to note that the Lifetime ISA will count towards your annual ISA allowance.
Share classes and charges
We like to keep our charges simple. For private (non-advised) investors only Sterling Class A Shares are available when you invest.
Available share types
Most funds offer the choice of two share types - income or accumulation.
Income shares entitle the holder to be paid the income attributed to those shares on the payment date. This is usually paid twice a year but can be paid annually, quarterly or monthly depending on the fund.
Accumulation shares don’t pay income. Instead, they automatically reinvest any income accruing to the fund and this is reflected in the share price. If a fund only offers Income shares, any net income can be reinvested to buy more shares.
If you currently hold income shares, the only option is to reinvest your income to purchase further shares of the same fund, and you can continue to do so. However please note that where income from underlying investments is saved up within the fund throughout the accounting period and reinvested to buy more shares on the reinvestment date, the income is not exposed to any market movements (up or down), unlike accumulation shares which reinvest income automatically once received.
Charges
We don’t apply entry or exit charges to investments in M&G funds Sterling Class shares. However, there is an ongoing charge which will vary per fund. The ongoing charge is made up of the Annual Charge which may be discounted depending on the size of the fund, and extraordinary expenses. For property funds, the ongoing charge does not take into account the property operating expenses, also known as PER. For information on all our charges, please refer to our Fund Charges page.
Learn more about share classes on our Share Classes page, or by downloading our Important Information for Investors document where you can find information about the specific share classes available in your choice of fund(s).
Investment limits (per fund)
| Investment minimums (per fund) | |
|---|---|
| Minimum lump sum |
£500 |
| Minimum monthly amount |
£10 |
| Minimum additional lump sum |
£100 |
| Minimum additional monthly amount |
£10 |
Target Market Information
This document explains who we believe the product is, and is not, suitable for. This is based on M&G’s opinion and doesn’t take into account your individual circumstances.
Funds available
You can invest in any of our funds in the Fund Centre.
The value and income from the fund's assets will go down as well as up. This will cause the value of your investment to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you originally invested. Please be aware, your investment may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.
Invest now
For information on making an investment with M&G, please visit our Invest with M&G page.
We don’t give financial advice, so you should speak to a financial adviser if you need help deciding if an investment is right for you.
Transfer your Junior ISA or CTF to M&G
You can transfer your existing Junior ISAs or CTF with other providers to M&G.
Please note, M&G will not charge you to process your transfer when we receive an instruction, however your current provider may apply a charge when you transfer your investment. Whilst your investment is being transferred it will be out of the market for a short period of time and will not lose or gain in value.
For more information on transferring to M&G, please visit our ISA Transfer page.
