Transfer to us

We do the heavy lifting when you move your portfolio to us

Remember that investments go up and down in value, and you could lose money as well as make it. How you’re taxed will depend on your circumstances, and the rules can change.

Why transfer to us?

It can be a headache to have investments scattered across different providers. Bringing them under one roof makes life much simpler – but many are put off switching by the thought of all the paperwork involved. Thankfully, switching is easier than you'd think. When you move an account to AJ Bell, we'll do the hard work for you, keeping you up to speed every step of the way.

  • Low dealing charges. You can buy and sell for as little as £1.50

  • Expert investment ideas, if you’d like some inspiration. And a vast choice of investments, if you’re happy to go it alone

  • A multi-award-winning service

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Which account do you want to transfer into?

Self-invested personal pension

What to check before transferring

You can easily transfer most types of UK pensions to us – even pensions you've already started taking an income from. But before you decide to transfer yours, it’s important you do the following:

  • Get in touch with your current pension provider. Ask them to confirm your pension’s current value and check whether transferring means you’ll lose any guaranteed benefits or face penalties such as market value adjustments or reductions.

  • Contact the government’s Pension Wise service for free and impartial guidance to help you understand what you can do with your pension pot.

  • Consider talking to a suitably qualified financial adviser about whether transferring to a SIPP is right for you. Please note: to transfer a final salary (also known as 'defined benefit') pension worth £30,000 or more, a financial adviser must recommend that the transfer is in your interests. To confirm you’ve received the recommendation, you and your adviser need to complete our financial advice declaration form.

  • If you’re in ill health, it's a good idea to seek financial advice. There may be an Inheritance Tax liability if you don’t survive the pension transfer by two years.

How to transfer

  1. You'll need to open a SIPP with us if you don't have one already. This takes less than 15 minutes, and you can do it online.
  2. During the application, you'll be asked to enter the details of the account(s) you want to transfer. We may also need you to post us some documentation.
  3. Already have a SIPP with us? You can start the transfer process by logging in and from the 'My account' menu, choosing 'Transfers', then 'SIPP'.

That's it. We'll handle the rest of the admin from there and let you know when the transfer is complete.

Apply now

Stocks and shares ISA

Transfer into our affordable, award-winning Stocks and shares ISA.

What you can transfer to our ISA

  • Stocks and shares ISAs

  • Cash ISAs

  • Matured Child Trust Funds

For all three of the above, your transfer won't use up any of your remaining ISA allowance for the current tax year. For Stocks and shares ISAs and matured Child Trust Funds, you can transfer accounts that contain both cash and investments. Learn more about transferring a Child Trust Fund.

How to transfer

  1. You'll need to open an ISA with us if you don't have one already. This takes less than 15 minutes, and you can do it online.
  2. During the application, you'll be asked to enter the details of the account(s) you want to transfer. We may also need you to post us some documentation.
  3. Already have an ISA with us? You can start the transfer process by logging in and from the 'My account' menu, choosing 'Transfers', then ‘ISA’.

That's it. We'll handle the rest of the admin from there and let you know when the transfer is complete.

If you're transferring a matured Child Trust Fund, you'll also need to complete a Child Trust Fund to Stocks and shares ISA transfer form.

Open an ISA

Lifetime ISA

Transfer into our low-cost Lifetime ISA and save for your first home or later life with a 25% government boost.

What you can transfer to our Lifetime ISA

  • Lifetime ISAs (including for over 40s)

  • Stocks and shares ISAs

  • Cash ISAs

  • Help to buy ISAs

  • Matured Child Trust Funds

Transfers from Cash ISAs, Stocks and shares ISAs, Help to buy ISAs and matured Child Trust Funds will count towards your annual £4,000 Lifetime ISA subscription limit.

How to transfer

  1. You'll need to open a Lifetime ISA with us if you don't have one already. This takes less than 15 minutes, and you can do it online.
  2. During the application, you'll be asked to enter the details of the account(s) you want to transfer. We may also need you to post us some documentation.
  3. Already have a Lifetime ISA with us? You can start the transfer process by logging in and from the 'My account' menu, choosing 'Transfers', then ‘Lifetime ISA’.

That's it. We'll handle the rest of the admin from there and let you know when the transfer is complete.

If you're transferring a matured Child Trust Fund, you'll also need to complete a Child Trust Fund to Lifetime ISA transfer form.

Learn more about transferring a matured Child Trust Fund to us

More about transferring a Help to Buy ISA into a Lifetime ISA

Find out more about transferring a Lifetime ISA, Stocks and shares ISA or Cash ISA into a Lifetime ISA

Important information: A Lifetime ISA isn’t for everyone. If you withdraw money before age 60, unless it’s to buy your first home, you’ll pay a government withdrawal charge of 25%. This could mean you get back less than you put in. And if you decide to save in a Lifetime ISA instead of enrolling in or contributing to your workplace pension scheme, you’ll miss out on the benefit of your employer’s pension contributions. Your current and future entitlement to means tested benefits could also be affected. Read more on Lifetime ISA risks and the key features document.

Apply now

Dealing account

Transfer into our low-cost Dealing account, which lets you invest – and withdraw – as much as you like. You can transfer cash, investments or a mix of both.

How to transfer

  1. You'll need to open a Dealing account with us if you don't have one already. This takes less than 15 minutes, and you can do it online. (If you want to transfer a joint dealing account, you'll need to open a Dealing account in joint names with us.)
  2. During the application, you'll be asked to enter the details of the account(s) you want to transfer. We may also need you to post us some documentation.
  3. Already have a Dealing account with us? You can start the transfer process by logging in and from the 'My account' menu, choosing 'Transfers', then ‘Dealing account’.

That's it. We'll handle the rest of the admin from there and let you know when the transfer is complete.

Open a Dealing account

Junior ISA

Transfer into our low-cost Junior ISA and save tax-free for your child’s future.

What you can transfer to our Junior ISA

  • Cash Junior ISAs

  • Stocks and shares Junior ISAs

  • Child trust funds – find out how you can transfer a CTF to a Junior ISA here

You can transfer Stocks and shares Junior ISAs that contain cash as well as investments. Any existing Junior ISA you transfer won't use up your child's remaining Junior ISA allowance for the current tax year.

How to transfer

  1. If your child doesn’t have a Junior ISA with us, first you’ll need to open one for them. This takes less than 15 minutes, and you can do it online.
  2. During the application, you’ll be asked to enter the details of the Junior ISA you want to move to us, and we may need you to post us some documentation.
  3. Already have a Junior ISA with us? You can start the transfer process by logging in and from the 'My account' menu, choosing 'Transfers', then ‘Junior ISA’.

That's it. We'll handle the rest of the admin from there and let you know when the transfer is complete.

Open a Junior ISA
Transferring other junior accounts
  • Junior SIPP – you can transfer a Junior SIPP by completing this form
  • Dealing account (bare trust) – you can transfer a Dealing account for children using the same form as for an adult Dealing account

What does it cost to transfer?

It’s free to open an account with us. To estimate what you’ll pay when you move to us, you can use the simple charging calculator on our charges and rates page. On this page you’ll also find a breakdown of our charges by account type.

Charges and rates

£500 transfer offer

It’s also a very good idea to check whether your current provider will charge you for transferring out. These costs can add up – that’s why we’ll pay you up to £500 to cover your exit fees when you move an account worth £20,000 or more to us. Our transfer offer page has the full details.

How long does transferring take?

Once you’ve given us the details of the account you want to transfer, we’ll take it from there and let you know if there are any hiccups. How long the transfer will take depends on:

  • Which account you’re transferring. Pensions can take a bit longer to transfer than ISAs or Dealing accounts

  • How quickly your current provider gets back to us

  • When we receive the transfer paperwork, and whether it’s been correctly completed

  • Whether you need to pay any outstanding fees or costs to your current provider

To give you a better idea of how long your transfer will take,
here’s how long each type of investment typically takes to transfer:

Type of investment Time taken to transfer
Cash only 2-4 weeks
Shares 4-6 weeks
Funds 6-8 weeks
International shares 10-12 weeks

If you’re transferring an account with both cash and investments, your investments will transfer over first, then your cash afterwards.

If you're transferring an ISA or Dealing account that has US or Canadian holdings, you'll also need to complete an extra form. For US holdings, it's a W-8BEN form. For Canadian holdings, it's a NR301 form. To avoid delays, please send the form to us along with your transfer form.

Once your transfer is in progress, you can check on its progress by logging in to your account, and clicking "Transfers". And if at any point you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with our transfers team at [email protected] .

Open an account and start your transfer today

More on SIPPs More on Stocks and Shares ISAs More on Lifetime ISAs More on Dealing accounts

We'll help you get investing

For over 25 years, AJ Bell has made investing simple and affordable. We’re Which? recommended, seven years running, with an award-winning range of accounts.

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Can we help?

If you’d like more information about AJ Bell’s accounts and services, get in touch with our friendly customer services team - we’re here to help.

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