The Stocks and Shares ISA deadline is almost upon us. And time is quickly running out for investors to make the most of their £20,000 annual allowance. Don’t forget, once 5 April comes and goes, any unused allowance is lost forever.
But just how much money and wealth are investors potentially missing out on? Well, with just £5,000, it could be anywhere up to £7,000 in the next 12 months and perhaps up to £250,000 in just 10 years.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
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Building wealth in an ISA
Using something as simple as an index-investing strategy, a Stocks and Shares ISA can be used to generate substantial nest eggs. For example, the long-term average total return (capital gains + dividends) of the FTSE 250 is just shy of 11%. And if it were to deliver a similar gain over the next 12 months, a £5,000 ISA investment would grow to £5,550.
Earning over £125k entirely tax-free without having to lift a finger is obviously an exciting prospect. However, this is based on the assumption the FTSE 250 can deliver its long-term average return over the next 12 months and three decades. And lately, the UK’s growth index has struggled to deliver such gains. Yet, the story’s quite different for some of its constituents.
Until recently, Games Workshop (LSE:GAW) used to be part of the FTSE 250 family. But it was recently promoted to the FTSE 100 after almost a decade of smashing expectations. In fact, over the last 10 years, the stock’s generated an annualised total return of 40%. And with the Warhammer creator growing its share price by another 50% since March 2024, it hasn’t slowed its pace.
For an ISA, assuming the stock continues to rise at its average pace moving forward, a £5,000 investment today could be worth £7,000 by this time next year. And in the span of just 10 years, a £5,000 Stocks and Shares ISA today could grow to be worth over a quarter of a million pounds!
Taking a healthy pinch of salt
As exciting as the prospect of building a £250,000 nest egg sounds, the likelihood of Games Workshop continuing to deliver such jaw-dropping returns seems pretty low. After all, it would require the company to grow from its current £4.9bn market-cap to over £142bn – that’s quite a big ask from a plastic miniatures hobby company.
However, the stock market’s vast, and there are plenty of other businesses listed in London and abroad that have the potential to deliver similar returns in the long run. It’s just a matter of finding them – a task, admittedly, that’s easier said than done.
As for Games Workshop, while gargantuan gains may be a thing of the past, the company still has a lot of growth potential for investors to capitalise on. At least that’s what I think. Performance in 2025 has continued to be robust, with its new army launch boxes consistently selling out and profits beating internal expectations.
There are brewing concerns about the impact of US tariffs eating into profit margins, given that the firm exports worldwide from the UK. And the threat of at-home 3D printing can’t be ignored. But overall, I remain optimistic for this enterprise. That’s why it’s already in my portfolio.
