Mother and daughter in the countryside

Unit Trust Junior ISA

Give your children a head-start on their savings, with a Junior ISA from Wesleyan Unit Trust Managers. Capital at risk.
Mother and daughter in the countryside

Invest for your child's future from as little as £50 per month, or £1,000 lump sum.

  • Save up to £9,000 per child in the 2024/25 tax year
  • Pay no tax on any investment gains
  • Choose from six risk-rated funds to suit your attitude to risk
  • All funds are managed for you by an award-winning Investments Team

On this page

A potential boost to your child's savings

The Unit Trust Junior ISA (JISA) is a stocks and shares ISA. Your contributions (up to £9,000 per tax year) are invested in the stock market via a choice of managed Unit Trust funds, offering the potential for your money to grow as your children do.

Your child will be able to access the pot as soon as they turn 18. When they do, there'll be no tax for you or them to pay on any potential gains.

This is based on current understanding of legislation and tax treatment, which can change in the future.

Bear in mind all investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you put in.

Key features

Pooled investment increases your buying power

When you invest in unit trust funds through the Unit Trust Junior ISA, you’re effectively pooling your money with other investors. That gives you the collective buying power to invest in assets that might be hard to access on your own.

To find out how and where our funds are invested, take a look at this guide to investing in unit trusts.

All the family can contribute

One of the joys of the Unit Trust Junior ISA is that grandparents, uncles, aunts and others can all pay in too. That makes it a great way for family and friends to contribute to the child’s future.

Just remember that total contributions for the 2024/25 tax year can’t exceed £9,000, no matter how many people are paying in.

Pass the investment on to your child

Once your child turns 18, ownership of the investment passes to them. The account automatically becomes an adult stocks and shares ISA, ready to be used as they see fit.

That makes a Junior ISA a great way to introduce your child to the world of saving and investing.

When you invest in unit trust funds through the Unit Trust Junior ISA, you’re effectively pooling your money with other investors. That gives you the collective buying power to invest in assets that might be hard to access on your own.

To find out how and where our funds are invested, take a look at this guide to investing in unit trusts.

One of the joys of the Unit Trust Junior ISA is that grandparents, uncles, aunts and others can all pay in too. That makes it a great way for family and friends to contribute to the child’s future.

Just remember that total contributions for the 2024/25 tax year can’t exceed £9,000, no matter how many people are paying in.

Once your child turns 18, ownership of the investment passes to them. The account automatically becomes an adult stocks and shares ISA, ready to be used as they see fit.

That makes a Junior ISA a great way to introduce your child to the world of saving and investing.

Why invest with Wesleyan Unit Trust Managers?

Award-winning investors

Wesleyan's investment team won Investments Team of the Year at the Insurance Asset Risk Awards in 2023. This same team manages WUTM funds.

Trusted with billions

WUTM is part of the Wesleyan Group. In 2023, there were £7.6bn worth of assets either actively managed or administered by (or on behalf of) the Wesleyan Group.

Track your JISA online

Thanks to the WUTM Investors portal, you can track the progress of your Junior ISA online. Check your balance anytime, anywhere.

Father with young children moving boxes in home

Your guide to Junior ISAs

Considering a Junior ISA for your child? For all you need to know, in one handy place, read our comprehensive guide to JISAs. Including:

  • What a Junior ISA is and how it works
  • How much you can pay in
  • How a unit trust fund works

A choice of funds

With a Unit Trust Junior ISA, you can invest in a choice of funds to suit your risk appetite. Our funds are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents the lowest risk (and lower potential returns) and 5 represents the highest risk (but potentially the greatest returns).

You can simply choose the fund you’re most comfortable with, or you can spread your money across multiple funds. If you change your mind at any point, you can always switch.

Risk Averse Fund

The Risk Averse fund aims to achieve a return by investing in a portfolio largely made up of UK government bonds. These are generally considered to be a relatively safe investment compared to shares.

Low Risk/Reward Growth Fund

This fund invests in a balanced portfolio of mainly UK shares, government and corporate bonds. The portion of the fund allocated to shares within the portfolio will not exceed 40% (typically between 30 and 35%).

Moderate Risk/Reward Growth Fund

This fund aims to provide capital growth through the active management of a mixed portfolio of shares, corporate bonds and government bonds. Shares will generally account for more than 50% of the portfolio.

Moderate-High Risk/Reward Income Fund

This fund typically contains a mix of investments, including 60 to 85% major-market shares, plus government bonds and higher quality corporate bonds to help counterbalance the investment in shares.

UK Growth Fund

This fund invests in companies listed on the UK stock market - providing access to a mixture of nationally focused businesses with global revenue streams. The fund takes a long-term view and expects to hold the core of its portfolio for years rather than months.

International Growth Fund

The International Growth Fund invests in global companies. It can invest directly in most major countries across the world, giving it access to a wide variety of sectors and markets, including emerging markets.

What you need to know before investing

When you open your Junior ISA direct, you will not receive any investment advice or personal recommendation from us.

Please make sure you read the important information (below), along with the KIIDs (above) for any fund(s) you're considering investing in.

Charges

Where you receive advice from Wesleyan Financial Services, an Initial Advice Charge of 3% is deducted from each payment to pay for providing that advice. WUTM will collect this charge on behalf of Wesleyan Financial Services.

Management and dealing costs are payable and shown as Ongoing Charge Figures (OCFs). OCFs for each fund can be found in the KIIDs above. If opted into, the Ongoing Advice Service (OAS) provided by Wesleyan Financial Services adds 0.5% to the OCF charge.


Key documents

Before you apply to open a Unit Trust Junior ISA for your children, please read the following documents:

If you are already investing with us and have opted into the Ongoing Advice Service (OAS), the appropriate 'B' unit class KIIDs are available through the WUTM Investor Portal.

Ready to invest in your children’s future?

To open a Junior ISA, simply complete and send us the application form below. Or if you'd like advice, book an appointment with a Specialist Financial Adviser from Wesleyan Financial Services.

Family party with tug of war

Got a question about the Junior ISA?

Give us a call on 0808 189 1874. We're open Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm. Alternatively, you can find frequently asked questions below.
Father with young children moving boxes in home

Want to top up an existing Junior ISA?

To top up an existing WUTM Junior ISA, please log in to the WUTM Investor Portal or give us a call.
Grandfather carrying grandson

Want to transfer in from an existing Junior ISA?

To make a transfer, you can download, complete and send us the transfer form below. Alternatively, if you need advice beforehand, you can book an appointment with a Specialist Financial Adviser from Wesleyan Financial Services (initial advice charge applies).

Frequently asked questions

Yes, it’s a stocks and shares junior ISA, invested in our Unit Trust funds. Unit Trust funds are split into a large number of equal units, and those units are effectively what you’re buying when you pay into the ISA.

The value of the units can then rise or fall depending on the performance of the fund’s underlying assets.

To open a Junior ISA on behalf of your child, you’ll need to be the child’s parent or legal guardian, and you’ll need to be a UK resident for tax purposes. The child must be under 18.

The JISA is managed by the person who applies for the account - known as the ‘registered contact’. The child can take over the management of the account from age 16, though they still won’t be able to access the funds until their 18th birthday.

Each tax year (6th April to 5th April), there’s a certain amount of money you’re allowed to save into Junior ISAs. For tax year 2024/25, that allowance is £9,000.

Just be aware that tax rules for ISAs can and do change, so the allowance may vary from year to year. If you don’t use your full allowance during the tax year, you won’t be able to carry any over.

No, not at all. Every adult has a £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance for tax year 2024/2025, and this is entirely separate from the £9,000 Junior ISA allowance. In other words, you can save £9,000 into your child’s Junior ISA, and still put the full £20,000 into your own ISAs in the same tax year.
You can open your account with a one-off payment of just £1,000, a monthly subscription from £50 per month, or a combination of the two. Thereafter, you can top up your account at any time, up to the maximum junior ISA allowance.

Apart from very exceptional circumstances, no money can be taken out of a Junior ISA until the child turns 18. So, if you open the account when your children are young, it’s a long-term investment with plenty of opportunity for growth.

Note that while you can’t withdraw from the ISA, you can transfer it to another provider at any time. Similarly, you can transfer to a WUTM Unit Trust Junior ISA from another provider.

Once your child turns 18, the account will automatically convert to an adult version of our Unit Trust ISA, held in their own name.

They’ll be able to take the money out without any exit fees. Or they can continue to save and invest with an increased adult ISA allowance of £20,000 per tax year (bear in mind ISA allowances can and do change).

Yes, you can hold a cash junior ISA for your child as well as a stocks and shares junior ISA, and you can pay into one of each type in the same tax year. The overall limit remains £9,000 though.

Important information before you begin

Before you download your application form, please make sure you've read the following information and documents.

Charges

Where you receive advice from Wesleyan Financial Services, an Initial Advice Charge of 3% is deducted from each payment to pay for providing that advice. WUTM will collect this charge on behalf of Wesleyan Financial Services.

Management and dealing costs are payable and shown as Ongoing Charge Figures (OCFs). If opted into, the Ongoing Advice Service (OAS) provided by Wesleyan Financial Services adds 0.5% to the OCF charge.

ISA and tax summary

The WUTM Unit Trust Junior ISA is a stocks and shares junior ISA. You can invest in one stocks and shares junior ISA and one cash junior ISA on behalf of your children in the same tax year. You can save up to £9,000 in Junior ISAs in the 2024/25 tax year.

You’ll pay no personal income tax or capital gains tax on your investment returns from the WUTM Unit Trust Junior ISA.

This is based on current understanding of legislation and tax treatment, which can change in the future.

Key documents

Please read the following documents:

If you are already investing with us and have opted into the Ongoing Advice Service (OAS), the appropriate 'B' unit class KIIDs are available through the WUTM Investor Portal.

 

When you open your Junior ISA direct, you will not receive any investment advice or personal recommendation from us. By clicking below to start your application, you're confirming that you have read and understood these documents, and agree to our terms.

Download form & apply