Child Savings - suitable account

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Shaun84
Shaun84 Posts: 8 Forumite
in Savings & investments
Hi

I'm looking for some advice.

I'm looking to open an account to save money for my son. I want to pay into it on a monthly basis.

I want the account to be locked I.e not able to withdraw money unless I give so much notice. Can anyone please point me in the right direction of an account I can open for him?

Thanks
«13

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  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,412 Forumite
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    You are a parent gifting money to your child.

    See

    https://www.gov.uk/savings-for-children

    but this does not apply to money deposited in a JISA - any interest arising is tax free whoever provided the capital.

    https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts/overview

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/child-savings-tax-free

    You will see that certain accounts in the above are limited access - funds in a JISA cannot be accessed ( unless in exceptional circumstances) until the child turns 18 and then only by the child.

    Remember that the cash is an absolute gift to your child - once given, it is no longer your money so cannot ( or certainly should not) be regarded as general "family money".
  • luke222010
    luke222010 Posts: 84 Forumite
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    Hi all,

    Sorry to hijack the post but my interests are the same as the OP.
    I have a 3 month old boy and we are looking to also invest in preferably a stocks and shares JISA (I understand there are risks, but over 18 years hopefully it would ride out any bumps in the market).

    I am looking around after being told by a work colleague that Hargreaves Lansdown are the market leaders when it comes to stocks and shares isas. Not sure if this is true for JISA's or even ISA's for that matter, but I'm looking around regardless.

    Can anyone advise on the cheapest platform to invest from?
    We're happy to invest in a medium to high risk JISA, possibly even an actively managed fund, for the right fees.

    We want to invest an initial £500, and £25 a month from there on for 18 years.

    Looking at 0.45% fees with HL, and reinvestment of income (which i'd be looking to do) at 1% per each £10 reinvested.

    OneFamily charge 1.5% management fees - which seems to be common amongst some platforms such as Scottish Friendly for example - with an added 0.25% additional fees although it doesnt state what these are.

    What other platforms are popular, and if possible, can anyone offer advice on a particular fund to invest in?

    Many thanks in advance.
    L.
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,412 Forumite
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    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-1587994/Junior-Isa-Child-Trust-Fund-How-save-invest-children.html
    is relatively recent and may be worth a browse.

    http://monevator.com/how-to-invest-for-children/ is older but worth a look.

    http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

    HL is second to none for efficiency and service levels and an excellent web site but is not the cheapest = there have been favourable mentions on the board of Charles Stanley for JISA.
  • luke222010
    luke222010 Posts: 84 Forumite
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    Thanks for the links.

    I should probably say, ease of online access to statements/see how the fund is doing, is important. In that respect, HL looks the best option so far.
  • ChopperST
    ChopperST Posts: 1,257 Forumite
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    HL very expensive to hold funds. CSD would suit your needs better if you exclusively want to invest in funds and not shares at 0.25%

    https://www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk/Our_Services/JISA/
  • zolablue25
    zolablue25 Posts: 1,652 Forumite
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    Bare in mind that with Charles Stanley the minimum monthly payment is £50. FOr one-off payments its £100 and for inital fund purchase, its £500. HL's levels are lower (I use CSD myself but find the lower limits a bit of a PITA for daughter's JISA).

    Luke, if you are looking at reinvesting dividends, why not just buy accumulator funds, that way its reinvested automatically and without charge.
  • ChopperST
    ChopperST Posts: 1,257 Forumite
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    I think the OP is looking at £25pm contributions. They could just set up a £50 monthly payment plan then cancel it before the next months payment is due making 6 x £50 payments rather than 12 x £25.

    We also have a 123 mini account for our son to hold some cash for him when he gets cash at Birthdays and Christmas then transfer it over to his ISA.
  • zolablue25
    zolablue25 Posts: 1,652 Forumite
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    ChopperST wrote: »
    I think the OP is looking at £25pm contributions. They could just set up a £50 monthly payment plan then cancel it before the next months payment is due making 6 x £50 payments rather than 12 x £25.

    We also have a 123 mini account for our son to hold some cash for him when he gets cash at Birthdays and Christmas then transfer it over to his ISA.
    Indeed they could. Depends whether they want a "fire and forget" set up or whether they are prepared to deal with the account each time they want to make a payment.
  • luke222010
    luke222010 Posts: 84 Forumite
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    ChopperST wrote: »
    HL very expensive to hold funds. CSD would suit your needs better if you exclusively want to invest in funds and not shares at 0.25%

    https://www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk/Our_Services/JISA/
    zolablue25 wrote: »
    Bare in mind that with Charles Stanley the minimum monthly payment is £50. FOr one-off payments its £100 and for inital fund purchase, its £500. HL's levels are lower (I use CSD myself but find the lower limits a bit of a PITA for daughter's JISA).

    Luke, if you are looking at reinvesting dividends, why not just buy accumulator funds, that way its reinvested automatically and without charge.

    Thanks for the replies.

    That's exactly what I'm looking at doing, investing in a accumulator fund.

    Can I deal with CSD online? I.e. Can I log in and view statements, and see how the fund is doing on a month to month basis? I had a quick look at their website and I can't see anything on there suggesting I can.
  • luke222010
    luke222010 Posts: 84 Forumite
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    ChopperST wrote: »
    HL very expensive to hold funds. CSD would suit your needs better if you exclusively want to invest in funds and not shares at 0.25%

    https://www.charles-stanley-direct.co.uk/Our_Services/JISA/

    How much are we talking when you say very expensive? Are you able to give a comparative example against someone like CSD?

    Cheers,
    L.
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