The SIT ISA's low costs help investors' money go further. 

The SIT ISA is one of the lowest-charging investment trust company stocks and shares ISAs available. The annual ISA management fee of 0.6% of the value of the ISA investment is capped at £30 + VAT.

In other words, the annual charge for a SIT ISA investment valued at £15,000 would only be £36, no matter how much The SIT ISA investment were to grow or how many years' ISA allowances were to be invested in SIT.  

For example, the annual SIT ISA charge on a portfolio with a value of £100,000 would be only £36 (£30 + VAT). 

In comparison, the same investment in an ISA charging, lets' say, a fairly modest 0.5% pa, would incur an annual charge of £500.

The detrimental effects of high charges are even more noticeable in times of volatile market conditions.  Investors with large ISA investments can make sizeable savings in charges by choosing their ISA provider carefully, paying particular attention as to whether the charges are percentage based, fixed rate, or capped.

Sherry-Ann Sweeting, Marketing Manager, SIT Savings Ltd, says, "Our research has shown that, along with fund performance, charges rank at the top of investors' criteria when choosing an investment product. 

We all know that past performance is not a guide to the future and that market movements are volatile and something investors have no control over. 

However, charges, which can have an impact on returns, are something investors do have some control over - in their selection of investment product / provider. Hence the importance to investors of considering charges, in particular the impact of a percentage charge compared with that of a fixed rate or capped charge.

SIT's stocks and shares ISA combines access to a global portfolio of international equities with a highly-competitive ISA charging structure."

Past performance may not be repeated and is no indicator of future performance.  The value of shares and the income from them can go down as well as up as a result of market and currency fluctuations and cannot be guaranteed.  This means investors may not get back the amount originally invested.  SIT has a long-term policy of borrowing money to invest in equities in the expectation that this will improve returns for SIT shareholders.  However, if markets fall these borrowings will magnify any losses on these investments.  Freedom from tax in an ISA applies directly to the investor.  The tax treatment of the investment depends on the individual's financial circumstances.  Tax rules and personal tax circumstances can change over time.

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