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Barclays Smart Investor

Buy shares online

Open an account to buy shares and invest your money across the UK and 10 international markets, all on one easy-to-use platform.

Investments can fall as well as rise in value and you may get back less than you invest. We don’t offer personal financial advice so if you’re not sure about investing, seek independent advice. Tax rules can change and their effects vary depending on your individual circumstances. You may have to pay tax when you come to withdraw money from your pension.

Apply for your account

Put your money to work with our award-winning1 investment service

Investment ISA

Also known as a Stocks and Shares ISA. This is the most popular account people choose when they start to invest.

You can pay in up to £20,000 per tax year

You don’t pay tax on any returns you make from your investments.

Investment Account

A flexible account if you’ve already used your ISA allowance for the current tax year or you’re already paying into an ISA with another provider.

No limits on the amount you can invest

The return you make on your investments will be taxable.

SIPP Account

Our SIPP is designed to help you prepare for retirement.

If you’re comfortable putting money away until you’re at least 55 (rising to 57 in 2028) and making your own investment decisions

You may be eligible for tax relief on the money you pay in.

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Why buy shares with us?

Barclays Price ImproverTM we go the extra mile to get you the best price for UK shares, Exchange Traded Funds, Investment Trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts from our selected Retail Service Providers (RSPs). With the Barclays Price Improver™, 91.19%2 of trades placed between January 2024 and December 2024 got a better price than that quoted on the London Stock Exchange, with customers benefiting by an average of £14.87 per deal

Thousands of investment opportunities allowing you to invest in companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and 10 international markets across North America and Europe

Automatic dividend reinvestment where you can reinvest your dividends to buy more shares and add to your holdings over time – without having to do a thing

Resources you can rely on so you can find inspiration in our investment insights, and take advantage of our ideas and strategies, experts’ views and latest articles

Limit your risk with order types to protect your holdings or lock-in gains from market movements

Regular investing service allowing you to regularly invest a set amount to smooth out your average buy-in price across the year. Just bear in mind the effect our fees may have on small amounts invested

Manage your investments in the Barclays app3, you can view your investments in the Barclays app. If you also have a Barclays Current Account you can pay money into your account (excluding SIPP accounts), browse your investment options and buy and sell them on the go in just a few easy taps. Find out more about investing with the Barclays app

Ready to open an account?

Our fees

No charge to open the account and a simple annual customer account fee of 0.25% on investments up to £200,000 and 0.05% on investments above £200,000.

Activity Cost
Buying and selling shares online* £6 per trade**
Buying and selling funds online No charge**
Regular investments (including shares) No charge
Dividend reinvestment No charge
Holding cash No charge
Transferring investments No charge
Cash withdrawal and account closure No charge

For a Barclays SIPP, a quarterly administration fee of £31.25 + VAT applies, payable to AJ Bell, along with other account fees [PDF, 194KB] 

*Including ETFs, investment trusts, bonds and gilts 

**£25 per trade by telephone. Taxes may apply when buying shares. A foreign exchange and an international brokerage fee will be charged when trading international shares.

Things to remember

  • Smart Investor is an investment service for UK residents. Our service is not available to US persons, even where resident in the UK
  • In order to open an Investment ISA you can’t have used your total annual ISA allowance in any combination of ISAs you hold.

Important information

  1. Best Stockbroker 2023 at the Online Money Awards
  2. Applies to deals placed on the London Stock Exchange within a Barclays Investment Account and Investment ISA across the following asset classes – stocks and shares, Exchange Traded Funds, investment trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts. Please note that as of January 2019 deals placed to facilitate Bed & ISA, Dividend Reinvestment and Regular Investment are no longer included in the Price Improver calculations
  3. You need to be 18 or over to access this product or service using the app. T&Cs apply. More on Barclays app.