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Guides

Getting started

ISAs, SIPPs, platforms and your first purchase. The practical side of investing in the UK, one step at a time.

Start with How to buy your first ETF, which walks through the whole process in order.

Read in order and you cover the whole process: how much you need, whether you need a broker, which account to use (a stocks and shares ISA, a SIPP, a Lifetime or Junior ISA, or a general account and its tax), the platforms compared, then the purchase itself. Everything here uses the 2026/27 rules and says when it was last checked. It does not tell you which platform or fund to choose: it gives you the questions to ask, and the tools let you put your own numbers in.

Guides

  • Getting started

UK investment platforms compared for 2026

Nine platforms people in the UK use to buy ETFs, side by side: what each one charges, which accounts it offers, and the costs that don't make the headline. Plus the two I use, and why.
  • Last reviewed 20 October 2026
  • Getting started

Junior ISA calculator: what investing for a child could grow to

Pick a birth month, a sum at birth and a monthly amount. See what it would be worth now in an S&P 500, FTSE 100 or world ETF, using real prices since 2011, and what it could become by 18, 30 or 65.
  • Last reviewed 20 October 2026
  • Getting started

Cash ISA vs stocks and shares ISA: what the 2027 change means for you

From 6 April 2027, under-65s can put only £12,000 a year into cash ISAs. What's changing, who it affects, and how to think about the other £8,000.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026
  • Getting started

Stocks and shares ISAs explained: the rules for 2026/27

A tax-free account for investing. How much you can put in this tax year, who can open one, how to move it without losing the tax benefit, and what changes in April 2027.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026
  • Getting started

How to buy your first ETF: step by step

From opening an account to the confirmation that lands afterwards. What each step involves, which order to use, and the cost you won't see on the bill.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026
  • Getting started

Do I need a broker to buy an ETF? Platforms, brokers and robo-advisers compared

You need someone to buy it for you, but it doesn't have to be a stockbroker in a suit. Who does the job, how they charge, and how to check they're the real thing.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026
  • Getting started

How much do I need to start investing? Often less than you’d think

You don't need thousands. What the minimums really are, how small amounts get invested, and why the way you're charged matters more than the starting sum.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026
  • Getting started

ETFs in a SIPP: tax relief, limits and the rules for 2026/27

A SIPP is a pension where you pick the investments, ETFs included. How the tax relief works, what you can pay in, when you can take money out and how it's taxed.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026
  • Getting started

ETFs in a Lifetime ISA or Junior ISA: the rules, the bonus and the catch

Two special ISAs, both able to hold ETFs. The Lifetime ISA adds a 25% bonus but charges you to leave early. The Junior ISA locks money away until the child turns 18.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026
  • Getting started

Investing outside an ISA: the tax basics

A general investment account has no limit on what you put in, but no tax shelter either. Capital gains, dividends, interest, and the offshore fund rules that catch ETF investors.
  • Last reviewed 14 October 2026

Coming next

New guides arrive every week. These are next in line.

  • Investing for children: Junior ISAs and pensions
  • Transferring an old pension into a SIPP
  • Keeping records for tax