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Your Junior Investment Account gives you access to straightforward service, a wide range of investments to deal in (see Dealing options) and practical support.
And we offer you various options, such as what you pay for dealing, what you do with your dividends, how you receive contract notes and regular valuation statements from us, and whether or not you want to receive a company's Annual Report & Accounts.
You'll find more details below.
Not all of these options may be appropriate for everyone, so you'll want to decide which suit you and which don't. We're on hand to answer any questions you may have but if you're not sure which options are right for you we'd recommend you seek independent advice.
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The Trader option
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When it comes to dealing costs, what you pay to buy or sell investments depends on the value of that transaction. We don't ask you to deal frequently or set minimum investment amounts: how often you deal is entirely up to you. But if you are expecting to be quite actively trading you might want to choose the Trader option, where you pay a fixed amount for each transaction instead.
You can buy or sell shares up to the value of £25,000 for a flat dealing commission of £7.50. Deals over this size are charged at an additional £7.50
per £25,000 of value. The Trader option costs just £20 + VAT each quarter in advance, no matter how many accounts you've got.
If you've only have Junior Investment Accounts it's likely that dealing will be cheaper using the standard variable tariff in the early years. But if you've other accounts, the Trader option may be worthwhile as it applies to all these accounts too.
Which is best for you is likely to depend on how often you will be buying or selling investments, and what the value of each transaction will be. Use our Dealing charges calculator to help you decide which suits you best.
We appreciate it can be difficult to know in advance what your dealing pattern might be, so if you later find it's different from what you had anticipated, no problem. Simply ask us to switch you over to the more appropriate option.
Equally, we understand you might want an account for yourself alongside your child's account, taking advantage of the ISA or Self-Invested Personal Pension schemes for example.
So when you choose the Trader option it applies to all accounts in your name - whichever account you deal in, the same fixed commission rate applies. When you're working out which option suits you best, do take into account transactions you might want to carry out across all your accounts. Equally, changes in the price, and therefore the value, of your shares might affect your choice.
You'll find full charges details under the 'Costs' tab.
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regular investing
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For many people, the easy way to build up their investments is to pay in on a regular, monthly basis. Your Junior Investment Account comes complete with this option and means you can either choose to buy the same share or fund every month or ask us to hold your cash in your account until you choose where and when to invest it. If you've any questions about how this option works, we're here to answer them. Then, if you're unsure whether it's appropriate for you or not, we'd recommend you seek independent advice.
Simply complete the Regular Investment authority, which includes a direct debit instruction to your bank, and we'll do the rest.
You can also choose to split your monthly payment across a number of different shares or funds. So, for instance, you can make one monthly payment and ask us to put 50% in investment A, and 25% each in investments B and C.
When you want to change the shares you invest in, all you need do is give us the new details, allowing at least 3 working days before your next monthly investment is due: just call our Customer Service team direct.
If you want to change the total amount you invest each month, complete a new Regular Investment authority and send it to us. We'll amend our direct debit and act of your new instructions from your next monthly payment.
Each monthly purchase can be viewed via your online account and is also detailed in your half-yearly account statement.
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managing your dividends
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If you're investing to build up the capital value, you may want to choose to have dividends and other income automatically re-invested every quarter. Because we carry this out for all our customers at the same time, you benefit from reduced commission, as described in 'costs'.
Alternatively, you can leave dividend income in your account to invest when and where you want. If you're not sure which option is right for you we'd recommend you seek independent advice.
When you choose to reinvest your dividends, and any other income such as interest on any cash balance in your account, you can:
Invest into any individual share, so long as you already hold some of those shares in the account. You can change your re-investment instructions at any time but please allow at least 3 days before the next re-investment is due to take place so we can act on your new instructions. Invest into the share of the highest value in the account. Please note that, in order to invest in interest-paying investments such as Gilts, Bonds Unit Trusts and OEICs, or to receive credit interest on your cash balance, you must be resident in the UK.
You should not have income automatically paid into your bank account each quarter because of the Trust nature of the account. You will want to consider any taxation or legal implications of withdrawing money from the Trust.
You can tell us on your account application how you want income to be handled, then make any changes in the future simply by calling our Customer Service team.
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contract notes by email
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To keep right up to date with purchases or sales you've completed, ask us to send your contract notes by email.
Shortly after your order has been completed we'll email you full details, including confirmation of which investments you have bought or sold, the price, dealing commission and other costs (such as stamp duty) paid and the order reference.
You can set up this option from 'my profile' once you've signed in using your unique Customer Reference and PIN / Password. And if you change your mind at some point in the future simply alter your selection.
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statements by email
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Each half-year we'll send you a statement showing all transactions completed during the previous six months, and a summary of your investments and their value.
Many customers choose to receive this by email, whether for convenience or perhaps to help reduce the amount of paper passing through their hands. And of course, providing your statement electronically reduces our costs, savings we can use to keep our charges as competitive as possible and to invest in improving our service to you.
So if you prefer to have your statements electronically select the email option in 'my profile' after signing in.
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company reports
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Some investors like to receive a printed copy of a company's Report & Accounts so, as part of our service, you can ask us to arrange for you to receive these from company's whose shares you hold.
For an even more convenient and faster way to review a company's Report you may be able to receive your copy electronically. Our Annual Report & Accounts service means you can get the latest available reports direct to your pc. Register for this free service and not only can you see the Reports from companies you invest in, but you can also look at those for other companies too.
Not all companies subscribe to the Annual Report service and, for those that do, not all make their Reports available electronically. But our search function makes it easy for you to see if the information you want is available. To make it easier, you'll see a  against shares you hold in your accounts, or in your ShareWatch, to show a Report is available through this service.
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