7 Lessons from Growing My Stocks and Shares ISA to £75k
Last Updated: January 2026
Introduction
My stocks and shares ISA just crossed £75,000, a milestone that felt impossible when I started seven years ago with barely any investing knowledge.
But this isn't a "get rich quick" story. It's a collection of hard-earned lessons from someone who made plenty of mistakes, chased hyped stocks, panicked during crashes, and eventually figured out what actually works.
By the end of this post, you'll understand the key mistakes to avoid and the strategies to focus on if you want to build serious wealth through a stocks and shares ISA. These are lessons I wish someone had told me on day one.
Let's get into it.
Table of Contents
Lesson 1: Keep It Simple, Stupid
Lesson 2: Everyone's an Expert During a Bull Run
Lesson 3: The Wrong Platform Costs You Thousands
Lesson 4: Invest in What You're Comfortable With
Lesson 5: Contributions Matter More Than Returns (At First)
Lesson 6: You Make Your Money During the Crashes
Lesson 7: Consistency Always Beats Timing
What My Portfolio Actually Looks Like
Frequently Asked Questions
Lesson 1: Keep It Simple, Stupid
I first heard this phrase from Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money, during his appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast. It stuck with me because it perfectly captures what I learned the hard way.
My Overcomplicated Journey
When I started investing, I tried everything:
Individual stocks
Bonds
REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)
Commodities
Even meme stocks
I genuinely thought I was outsmarting the market with each new strategy. Spoiler alert: I wasn't.
What I Do Now
After seven years of experimenting, I'm back at square one and doing what I should have done from the beginning. My entire £75,000 portfolio is now invested in Vanguard's FTSE All World ETF, a globally diversified index fund.
That's it. One fund. One investment.
And you know what? Investing has become boring. But that's exactly how it should be. The excitement and complexity I thought I needed were actually working against me.
The takeaway: Simplicity isn't a weakness in investing, it's a strength. The more complicated your strategy, the harder it becomes to stick with it during tough times.
Lesson 2: Everyone's an Expert During a Bull Run
This lesson cost me more money than I'd like to admit.
The 2020 Bull Market Trap
In late 2020, I spent hours watching US finance YouTubers discuss their daily stock picks. Everything they recommended seemed to work. Every analysis appeared brilliant.
But here's what I didn't realise at the time: pretty much every stock was going up. It didn't matter what you picked, you'd probably be making money. During a bull run, it's easy to confuse luck with skill.
When Reality Hit
The problem was that I started copying investments from these "experts" without considering my own risk tolerance. I bought stocks with no solid fundamentals, companies that looked great on paper but couldn't survive when conditions changed.
Then 2022 arrived.
Most of the stocks I'd invested in crashed. Some of the companies I'd copied from others went bankrupt. I had sleepless nights, constantly anxious about my losses and what the market would do next day.
All of this could have been avoided.
The Real Lesson
Nobody knows what's coming next. Not the YouTubers with millions of subscribers. Not the analysts on financial news channels. Not your friend who "called" the last market movement.
Never base your investment decisions solely on what someone else is telling you online.
Do your own research, understand your risk tolerance, and invest accordingly.
Lesson 3: The Wrong Platform Costs You Thousands
Choosing the right investment platform and account type matters more than most beginners realise.
My Expensive Mistake
When I started, I made the classic beginner error: I went with my bank's investing platform because it was familiar and well-known. Surely the biggest names would be the best option, right?
Wrong!
Most bank investing platforms are terrible. They charge ridiculous management fees, have limited investment options, and offer clunky interfaces that make regular investing more difficult than it needs to be.
What to Look For in a Platform
After learning this lesson the expensive way, here's what you should prioritize:
1. Little to No Platform Fees
Annual platform fees of 0.25-0.5% might sound small, but they compound negatively over decades. On a £100,000 portfolio, that's £250-500 per year you're giving away for nothing.
2. Easy to Use
If the platform is confusing, you won't use it consistently. Investing should be simple, not complicated.
3. Wide Range of Investment Options
You want access to thousands of stocks, ETFs, and funds, not just what the platform wants to sell you.
4. Stocks and Shares ISA Access (Critical for UK Investors)
This brings me to the account type, which is absolutely crucial.
General Investment Account vs Stocks and Shares ISA
When you sign up with any UK investment platform, you'll typically see two options:
General Investment Account - Your gains are taxed
Stocks and Shares ISA - Your gains are completely tax-free
One of these accounts could wipe out nearly half of your gains in tax when you sell. The other? You won't pay a single penny in tax.
The choice should be obvious: always use a stocks and shares ISA.
How It Works:
Invest up to £20,000 per tax year
Zero capital gains tax on profits
Zero tax on dividends
No matter how large your account grows, it stays tax-free
With UK tax rates continuing to rise, this tax protection becomes increasingly valuable over time.
My recommended platforms**
Lesson 4: Invest in What You're Comfortable With
There's an ongoing debate in the investing world: Should you pick individual stocks or just buy a global ETF and forget about it?
There's No Single "Right" Answer
You already know what I do. I invest in one global fund and forget about it. But that doesn't mean it's the best option for everyone.
I'm deliberately taking an average approach. I won't get the best returns possible, but I'm completely comfortable with that trade-off.
The Data on Active Management
A 2022 report found that almost 80% of active fund managers fall behind major indexes. These are professionals who trade stocks daily trying to outperform the S&P 500 and 80% fail to do so.
If professional fund managers can't consistently beat the market, what are the chances that you or I will be in that top 20%?
Maybe you will be. But the odds aren't in your favor.
Finding Your Comfort Zone
The best investment strategy is the one you can stick with for decades without losing sleep.
For some people, that's 100% index funds. For others, it's a mix of index funds and individual stocks they're passionate about. There's no rule saying you can't have both.
The key is honest self-assessment: Can you handle the volatility of individual stocks? Will you panic and sell during a downturn? Are you willing to spend time researching companies?
Your answers to these questions matter more than theoretical maximum returns.
Lesson 5: Contributions Matter More Than Returns (At First)
When you're starting out, obsessing over investment returns is the wrong focus. Your monthly contributions have far more impact.
The £1,000 Example
Imagine you invest £1,000 and it grows 10% in year one (roughly the S&P 500's historical average). After one year, you have £1,100. That's a £100 gain.
Now imagine you invest £100,000 at the same 10% return. After one year, you have £110,000. That's a £10,000 gain.
Same percentage return. Massively different outcome.
The Real Insight
In the early years, your investment returns are almost irrelevant compared to how much you're contributing. A 10% return on £5,000 is only £500. But adding another £3,000 to your portfolio gives you £3,000 immediately.
As my portfolio has grown toward £75,000, I've noticed each market movement has a much bigger impact on my wealth. A 5% market rise now adds £3,750 to my portfolio—more than I used to contribute in several months.
That's the power of focusing on contributions early and letting compound growth take over later.
The Strategy
Early years: Maximize contributions, don't obsess over returns
Middle years: Keep contributing consistently as compound growth accelerates
Later years: Let your portfolio size do the heavy lifting
Lesson 6: You Make Your Money During the Crashes
This is perhaps the hardest lesson to internalize because it goes against every human instinct.
The Historical Truth
Based on decades of data, the stock market has always recovered. Always.
Wars
Pandemics
Financial crises
Recessions
Every single time, the global market has recovered and gone on to reach new all-time highs.
Why This Matters
When markets crash and your portfolio drops 20-30%, that's not when you're losing money, that's when you're making money, assuming you keep investing.
During crashes, you're buying quality assets at discount prices. When the inevitable recovery comes, those investments you bought during the downturn will provide your best returns.
The Emotional Reality
Understanding this intellectually is easy. Actually doing it when your portfolio is down £15,000 and the news is predicting doom? That's incredibly difficult.
This is where simplicity helps. When you're invested in a globally diversified fund, you're not betting on individual companies, you're betting on the global economy. And the global economy has always recovered.
Lesson 7: Consistency Always Beats Timing
You've probably heard the saying: "Time in the market beats timing the market."
There's compelling data to back this up.
The Best Days Study
Research on S&P 500 investing shows:
50% of the stock market's best trading days occur during bear markets
Missing just the 10 best days over a 30-year period cuts your returns by more than half
Think about that. Miss 10 days out of roughly 7,500 trading days, and you lose half your potential gains.
Why Market Timing Fails
The problem is those best days are impossible to predict. They often come right after the worst days, when everyone is panicking and selling.
If you're sitting on the sidelines waiting for the "perfect" moment to invest, you'll miss the recovery. By the time it's obvious the market has recovered, most of the gains have already happened.
The Simple Strategy
Stay invested. Keep contributing. Don't try to be clever.
The market rewards patience and consistency, not predictions and clever timing.
What My Portfolio Actually Looks Like
After seven years and plenty of experimentation, my entire £75,000 sits in one investment: Vanguard's FTSE All World ETF.
Why This Fund?
Invests in approximately 3,900 companies globally
Automatic diversification across countries and sectors
Low fees (typically around 0.22% annually)
Simple to understand and maintain
Returns have averaged around 8-10% annually over the long term
It's not exciting. It won't make for interesting dinner conversation. But it works, and more importantly, I can stick with it through market ups and downs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Seven years of consistent investing, though my contributions increased significantly as my income grew over that period.
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I started small with just £100 and increased my contributions as I earned more. The key was staying consistent regardless of the amount.
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No. Time in the market is more important than timing the market. Start now with whatever you can afford, and keep going regardless of market conditions.
Final Thoughts
Investing isn't easy. There will be moments of doubt when you question everything you're doing. I've had plenty of those moments myself.
But if you can keep things simple, stay consistent, and focus on what you control (your contributions and behavior) rather than what you can't (market movements), you'll get there.
After seven years, I can honestly say the most important factors in reaching £75,000 weren't my investment picks or market timing—they were consistency, patience, and learning from mistakes.
You can do this too. Start simple, start now, and stick with it.
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Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and reflects personal experience. It should not be considered financial advice. Investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. Consider your circumstances and risk tolerance, and seek professional advice if needed.
Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. Consider your circumstances and risk tolerance, and seek professional advice if needed.
** Your capital is at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down. Limited Availability. T&Cs apply. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and ISA regulations which may change.
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