July was marked by the launch of the new ISA, which allows savers and investors to put up to £15,000 tax-free each year into their ISA accounts and to move their money freely between cash and shares – as well as several other new options.

The new rules have proved popular amongst investors, creating a surge in Stocks and Shares ISA account openings at TD Direct Investing (3.5 times more openings in July than in June, and an all-time record number of stocks and shares ISA accounts in July) as well as in investor activity (July saw the highest number of trades since the start of the financial year).

Moreover, one in 10 ISA investors already contributed more than last year’s allowance of £11,520 into their account, only one month after the launch.

Continued interest in investing highlights that confidence in the economic recovery increased in July, despite growing geopolitical tensions. In addition, due to the low interest rate environment, many are seeing that the return on their investment is potentially better in a Stocks and Shares ISA than cash savings.

As more and more investors learn about the new ISA*, Stock and Shares based accounts look like they will keep increasing in value and number, continuing the upward trend that we have experienced over the past few years.

*In June 2014, research by TD Direct Investing showed that 77% of Great Britain still had little to no understanding of the new rules.

Spotlights

• Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline made an introduction into our UK Top Ten Buys and topped ISA investors UK Top Ten Buys in July, as its shares dropped to attractive prices after the company reported a 25 per cent fall in its second quarter core operating and saw two negative revisions in the previous weeks.

• Tesco also appeared in our UK Top Ten Buys and reached the second spot in our ISA investors UK Top Ten Buys last month. Analysts suggested that Tesco’s reconfiguration of its UK operations could prove successful even though the supermarket group is still under high pressure.

• Oil companies suffered from uncertainty generated by geopolitical tensions both in Iraq and in Eastern Europe. For instance, BP, which holds a near 20% stake in Russian oil company Rosneft, fell from our Top Ten lists last month, following discussion about the potential impact of the US sanctions against Russia.

Top 10 UK TD client buys and sells for July 2014

 Top 10 international TD client buys and sells for July 2014

Richard Brown is head of product at TD Direct Investing.