Virgin Money is a digital bank that offers a range of products and services including current accounts, savings accounts, insurance, credit cards, mortgages, and pensions. Virgin Money also offers investment options, including a Stocks and Shares ISA. In this independent review, we'll take a look at Virgin Money's Stocks and Shares ISA including its key features, past performance, and charges. We'll also take a look at alternatives including Moneyfarm* and Bestinvest*.
What is the Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA?
The Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA works well for beginner investors or passive investors who want to put their money in one of three ready-made funds based on their risk profile. You can choose to open your account with a lump sum of £100 or commit to £25 monthly payment to fund your ISA.
Customers who opened their ISAs before 1st January 2023, may have access to additional accounts that were previously available including the Virgin UK Index Tracking Fund which tracks the FTSE All-Share Index or the Virgin Money Global Share Fund which invests in companies around the world. New customers will need to select from Virgin's three ready-made funds instead.
There's currently an offer for new and existing customers. If you invest at least £2,000 in a Stocks and Shares ISA through Virgin, you could earn 1,000 to 50,000 Virgin Points that you can then spend on travel or other experiences with Virgin Red. To take advantage of the offer you'll need to invest by the 30th April 2024 and keep it there until at least 31st October 2024.
For the best ISA deals on the market right now, check out our article 'Best ISA cashback offers and fee-free deals'.
What are the Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA key features?
- Minimum £25 monthly investment
- Three ready-made funds to choose from
- A transparent investment mix comprising a range of assets including gilts and stocks
- Trusted and well-known digital bank brand
- Straightforward free structure of 0.75% for all three funds
- Opportunity to earn up to 50,000 Virgin Points to use on experiences with Virgin Red
What can you invest in with the Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA?
The Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA comes with three ready-made portfolios to choose from. These include the Cautious Growth, Balanced Growth and the Adventurous Growth portfolios. These are made up of a mix of lower-risk and higher-risk investments.
Virgin Money identifies lower-risk investments as:
- Cash
- Short maturity bonds
- Government bonds (UK and global)
- Corporate bonds (UK and global)
Higher-risk investments include:
- Shares from emerging markets
- UK shares
- Real estate investment trusts
- Shares from overseas developed nations
- Bonds from emerging markets
- High yield markets
To see how much your money is likely to grow, you can use Virgin Money's Stocks and Shares ISA calculator, however, we take a brief look at the portfolio mix you can expect with each fund below.
Virgin Money Cautious Growth
The Cautious Growth approach is a low-risk option where around 60% of the portfolio is made up of lower-risk funds, with approximately 40% being placed in higher-risk funds. The exact makeup of your investment mix will vary as Virgin Money's experts continuously adjust the portfolio mix to maximize growth potential.
Virgin Money Balanced Growth
The Balanced Growth approach is a medium-risk option where around 30% is invested in lower-risk assets like cash and gilts and the remaining 70% is invested in higher-risk investments like shares and real estate investment trusts.
Virgin Money Adventurous Growth
The Adventurous Growth approach is a high-risk portfolio where around 90% of funds are invested in higher-risk investments with just 10% typically placed in lower-risk assets. While the fund aims for higher returns, it also comes with higher risk.
Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA performance
The table below sums up Virgin Money's Stocks and Shares ISA's past performance across the different ready-made funds. These have been benchmarked against a performance comparator to help you gauge how they've performed. Green means that it outperformed the benchmark, whereas red means that it underperformed. Bear in mind that past performance shouldn't be used as an indicator for future performance as this can vary and you may end up getting back less than you put in.
Virgin Money Cautious Growth Fund Performance
| Fund name | 2019 Performance | 2020 Performance | 2021 Performance | 2022 Performance | 2023 Performance |
| Cautious Growth approach | +11.70% | -0.90% | +4.90% | -9.70% | +7.50% |
| Benchmark | +12.10% | -0.70% | +6.50% | -10.70% | +9.10% |
Virgin Money Balanced Growth Fund Performance
| Fund name | 2019 Performance | 2020 Performance | 2021 Performance | 2022 Performance | 2023 Performance |
| Balanced Growth approach | +14.70% | +5.80% | +9.50% | -8.40% | +9.50% |
| Benchmark | +15.90% | +10.30% | +11.10% | -9.30% | +12.00% |
Virgin Money Adventurous Fund Performance
| Fund name | 2019 Performance | 2020 Performance | 2021 Performance | 2022 Performance | 2023 Performance |
| Adventurous Growth approach | +18.50% | +9.00% | +14.80% | -8.40% | +11.00% |
| Benchmark | +19.10% | +11.80% | +15.50% | -8.50% | +13.90% |
What are the Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA charges?
There are two charges you'll need to pay if you open a Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA. These include an account charge as well as an Annual Management Charge (AMC). The account charge is designed to cover the cost of running your account and is set at 0.30% per year. The AMC is designed to cover the cost of managing your investment and varies depending on the product you've selected. The cost for the three ready-made funds is 0.45% per year. So, in total, your fees would be 0.75% per year if you invested in a Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA.
The table below shows how much you will pay for a Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA, depending on how much you're investing.
| Value of Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA | Virgin Money Total Fee (%) | Virgin Money Annual Charges |
| £2,000 | 0.75% | £15.00 |
| £5,000 | 0.75% | £37.50 |
| £10,000 | 0.75% | £75.00 |
| £25,000 | 0.75% | £187.50 |
| £50,000 | 0.75% | £375.00 |
| £100,000 | 0.75% | £750.00 |
There are no additional charges on top of the 0.75% fee.
How to open a Stocks and Shares ISA with Virgin Money
To open an account with Virgin Money, you'll need to be a UK resident and at least 18 years old. As this is an online account, the whole application can be completed digitally. Virgin Money will aim to verify your identity electronically using the information you've provided through your online application. However, you may need to provide additional proof of identity or address details to process the application.
Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA - Alternatives
If you're looking for platforms that offer great Stocks and Shares ISAs, then you might want to take a look at options like Moneyfarm or Bestinvest. Both come with low fees and can work well depending on your needs.
Moneyfarm
Like Virgin Money, Moneyfarm* also offers a fully managed ISA, as well as a cheaper fixed allocation option which has a more hands off approach. To compare like-for-like products, we'll focus on the fully managed ready-made portfolio option. Moneyfarm offers 7 risk-rated portfolios and like Virgin Money, fees start at 0.75% However, with Moneyfarm, the fee you pay reduces as you invest more and unlike many other investment platforms, it reduces on the whole portfolio as you pass through the various investment tiers. So, invest under £10,000 and you'll pay 0.75% in management fees, however, if you invest over £500,000 you'll pay just 0.35%. With Moneyfarm, you'll also pay investment fund fees of around 0.20%. Overall, Moneyfarm offers more choice in terms of investment portfolios as well as lower fees than Virgin Money, particularly if you're investing larger amounts.
Bestinvest
Bestinvest* is a good choice for investors who want to invest in a simple ready-made ISA. It offers 5 ready-made risk-rated portfolios with total fees ranging from 0.29% to 0.36%. Additionally, Bestinvest pays a market-leading 4.35% interest on uninvested cash. In addition, Bestinvest offers a whole host of investment research and online tools as well as access to other products such as a Junior ISA and pension.
Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA - Pros and Cons
Here are some of the pros and cons to think about before deciding whether Virgin Money's Stocks and Shares ISA is right for you.
Pros
- Get up to 50,000 Virgin points when you add at least £2,000 to your Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA before April 30, 2024
- Straightforward investment ISA options that may work well for passive investors
- Low minimum investments from £25 per month
Cons
- Only three ready-made portfolios to choose from
- No option to customise ISA allocation
- Virgin Money as a whole has low Trustpilot ratings which may be a concern to some
Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA - Customer reviews
Virgin Money has a 1.5 out of 5.0 rating on independent review site Trustpilot based on nearly 7,000 reviews. Approximately 89% of reviewers gave Virgin Money a one-star rating, while just 5% gave it a five-star rating. It is worth noting that the reviews do not specifically relate to the Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA and are based on Virgin Money as a whole.
Virgin Money Stocks and Shares ISA: Is it right for you?
Virgin Money's Stocks and Shares ISA is a good option for novice investors or passive investors looking for a simple ready-made investing option. Fees can be on the higher end compared to some of its competitors, but some people enjoy the simplicity of knowing their investments are fully managed. You can start investing from as little as £25 with Virgin Money and the entire application can be completed online. If you are particularly interested in performance, then check out our article 'Which is the best performing Stocks and Shares ISA?'. If you're not sure whether Virgin Money's Stocks and Shares ISA is right for you, you might also want to take a look at some of the other cheapest Stocks and Shares ISAs in 2024.
