Looking to next month and a new Cash ISA it is a bit of a minefield. Unless you want to tie your money up for a few years (4) it isn't apparently possible to get a rate which beats inflation. I have a 5 figure sum accumulated over the years ISA and the rate has dropped to something really low but I can't move it to another provider with a good rate as, in general, those paying a good rate don't allow transfers in. I appreciate people can't legally offer advice but comment would be helpful.
Perhaps time to go risky and look at a Stocks and Shares ISA!
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Not the time to buy shares. Due for a large correction soon in my view.
When that has completed perhaps ? (Sept?)
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I don't think I have the money to risk or to interest big funds. There was an interesting article in the ST yesterday discussing an investment technique which works like a relay race, roughly speaking. Go in to the market and buy the current top of the tables fund/bond/share or whatever. Hold it for 6 months and then sell and shift to the current high performer and so on, sticking to the 6 months and not selling early or holding longer. Reading this back over 50 years the technique has outperformed FTSE and other indices, even after allowing for dealing costs.
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We are in as similar situation - but not as much money to worry about yet although more available at the end of the year.
We stuck money in some ISAs (one each ends the decent rate later this year) and we got a good rate on an instant saver too (that ends in a few months). So we would appreciate views on this too :-)
As you have found any cash ISA with an okay rate does not allow transfers in.
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Have you checked out NS and I's Direct Isa (it's closing down its now inferior Cash Isa next month)?
www.nsandi.com/savings-direct-isa
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Come May of this year I will have a six figure sum to invest in addition to existing savings .
Existing savings are currently spread over safe cash and stocks and shares ISA's , national savings and premium bonds and stocks and shares mainly based in the Far East markets which have performed quite well.
I have been contemplating this very problem and I have concluded that apart from utilising this years ISA allowance I cannot recommend anything that will keep up with inflation so just hold on and hope that rates improve.
I do not take advice from so called financial advisers as all that seems to happen with them is that they take a load of money for not a lot......
I read the Telegraph money pages and make my own judgements. I am very risk averse and believe anything that seems too good to be true probably is too good to be true......
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Bank of Cyprus are still advertising ISAs :)
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Actually they might well be a good investment. They will probably have to raise their rates a bit and their UK subsidiary is subject to the same UK government guarantee scheme as any other UK bank.
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We'll probably take a couple of new cash ISAs in April and max them out. By the end of the year, spread across a few ISAs each and other accounts we'll bet getting close to six figures as well. And putting it all somewhere that beats inflation is probably going to be tricky/impossible. We did have Premium Bonds until last year but the return on that even when maxed out was poor for us - probably just unlucky.
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I find that buying regularly used products in bulk when on offer or medium to high value items which have been sharply cut in price, is as good a way of beating inflation as any...:-)
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>>I read the Telegraph money pages and make my own judgements.
Its judgements don't seem bad, either. I have made dummy investments in 21 Questor suggestions over the past few months. Four have depreciated, seventeen have put on value. Average appreciation is about 7% and they are all good yielders.
I have never bothered with cash ISAs. My ISA is nearly all in bonds and bond funds, with a 5.91% average yield before payout charges. The bonds do not of course appreciate in payouts but they are a sheet anchor, more suitable for an old codger.
Prices are, indeed, quite high at the moment, having climbed since last June, but are now getting shaky.
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Having submitted my earlier posting, I had a look at an older dummy porfolio of tips from here and there plus my own hunches. There are 32 holdings, five having lost ground, 27 having gained and an average appreciation of 52%! I must selll them and make a good dummy profit.
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NS&I don't accept transfers in, unfortunately.
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>> NS&I don't accept transfers in, unfortunately.>>
That's correct - I perhaps should have made it more clear that the interest rate seems higher than most.
I took a Direct Isa out with NSandI last week (the first I've ever had, although I used to have TESSAs) and plan another after April 5 providing the interest rate is worth it.
TESSAs really were good for savers. You invested £9,000 over five years at fixed sums annually and generally got back around £12,000 (and a bit!). Helped me to buy a used VW Bora in great nick in 2003 for a bargain price at the time, as I had the cash waiting...:-)
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I put money into a TESSA and got back similar returns. I wish I could get the same returns now ;-)
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The good old days! 5 years ago I had a cash ISA with the Newcastle BS, half of which tracked the Halifax house price index. That paid a 50% return over 2.5 years. I don't think tracking a house price index would do that at the moment!
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Cash ISA Woes - madf
