£25,000 To Invest

PETERPOOS

I became a Widower in July 2005 and wish to invest £25,000. Let me tell you a few things about myself. I am 54 years old with two children who are both in their second year at UNI.My oldest is living at home and my girl is living away.I am unemployed at the time of writing with no intention of looking for a job yet. I do not have a mortage to pay only the usual monthly bills.I am looking to invest the above sum in a Savings Account which will pay a good rate of interest but at the same time let me make a withdrawal at short notice,although I do not intend to touch the money for a good few years yet.It is basically a saving for the long term future of the family,especially when the children decide to marry. I am not interested in investing the money on the Stock Market or in Premium Bonds.I would like to hear your ideas especially anybody who has been in the same position as myself. Thanking you in advance

dunstonh

We are not allowed to give advice on regulated financial services products so your question cannot be answered.

Investing in low risk products still many hundreds of products across a range of tax wrappers. Some of which may or may not be appropriate to you depending on your circumstances.

You do contradict yourself a little so it is worth clarifying whether you want to invest or save? Savings accounts suggestions would not fall foul of the regulations, although no-one can tell you if a savings account is more or less appropriate for you than an investment.

Play!

Im not confused about that (I think).

I think what the lady is saying is that she would like to put the money into a secure savings account which pays decent interest with the ability to withdraw it with little notice. Why cant you answer that?

Maybe something like this would suit you.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1115805361,4479,

dunstonh

Play! wrote:

Im not confused about that (I think).

I think what the lady is saying is that she would like to put the money into a secure savings account which pays decent interest with the ability to withdraw it with little notice.

Investing is not placing money in a savings account. The post requests investment information but suggests savings and then later only rules out premium bonds and stockmarket investments. It doesnt rule out other low risk investments.

Why cant you answer that?

Because recommendations or suggestions for regulated financial services products would be in breach of board rules and FSA rules.

I refer you to the board rules: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=1009329&postcount=13

If it is just a savings account and not investing, then interest rates can be posted as savings accounts are not regulated the same way.

Before giving any "suggestions to investigate", surely it would be better to clarify if the OP wants to consider other low risk investments with greater growth potential than a savings account or just stick to a plan savings account.

PETERPOOS

I think I have confused people with the way I set out my enquiry. The person called PLAY has got it right.I'm looking to place the money into a Savings Account which will pay decent interest with the ability to withdraw with very little notice. I hope this now clarifies what I am looking for.

DocProc

Have a look at the two Internet Savings Accounts below and see what you think.

They both pay interest monthly, there are no 'minimum amounts' required and, since they have to be linked to a current account (one which does Internet banking), it would be extremely easy to transfer the monthly interest out each month for spending purposes. The rates on each are very competitive too.

http://icicibank.co.uk/

http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/

Both of these have online application forms so you could start with your choice immediately.

cheerfulcat

dunstonh wrote:

Because recommendations or suggestions for regulated financial services products would be in breach of board rules and FSA rules.

I refer you to the board rules: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=1009329&postcount=13

It may be board rules not to discuss products and shares but the FSA is quite clear on the matter; internet discussion boards are exempt from the need for regulation and posters may freely discuss investments. So it is wrong to say that it's against FSA rules and IMHO MSE is being a little over-sensitive here. Having said that, we must of course respect the wishes of the forum host.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Library/Communication/Speeches/2000/SP71.shtml

" The activity of giving advice on investment is regulated, but there is an exclusion for advice given in newspapers if the principal purpose of the publication taken as a whole is not to give advice. This principal purpose test is also extended to websites, television, radio and teletext. "

PETERPOOS , have you looked at any of the comparison sites?

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/

http://www.moneynet.co.uk/banking-saving/index.shtml

You could split the money, putting part into an instant access account and the rest into a fixed term account ( to be certain of the rate ), perhaps one paying monthly interest so that you have an income.

HTH

Cheerfulcat

innovate

DocProc wrote:

If you want to manage your Usernames and Passwords in an orderly and easy way, not only for Internet banking but for all kinds of Internet web sites, then try Password Keychain

Am I having a blonde moment - what's Username/password management to do with this thread?

PETERPOOS - cheerfulcat has already given you some links to comparison sites where you will get headline interest rates of most popular savings accounts. Just for completeness and in case you haven't yet spotted it: you could also refer to the Savings & Investments section of this site. And a bit of digging in this forum will probably also prove useful - e.g. where people report their experience with ICICI [which isn't necessarily as 'immediate' and 'extremely easy' as some would want you believe] as well as with other savings accounts.

Given you appear to have a bit of time on your hands to manage your affairs, ING doesn't strike me as the top choice I would make in your shoes. If I were you, I'd also investigate Cahoot and A&L, because they have good rates not only on savings accounts but also on current accounts. But you need to look all all the smallprint (sorry if this is teaching gran to suck eggs)

A 'regular saver' account may also be a good option for some of your money. See the Savings & Investments section for more detail.

dunstonh

It may be board rules not to discuss products and shares but the FSA is quite clear on the matter; internet discussion boards are exempt from the need for regulation and posters may freely discuss investments. So it is wrong to say that it's against FSA rules and IMHO MSE is being a little over-sensitive here. Having said that, we must of course respect the wishes of the forum host.

You are misinterpreting what it says. Generic discussion is allowed and indeed desirable and should be encouraged. However, when you start suggesting/recommending products which are regulated, then you are crossing the line into advice. I'm afraid that i cannot find any reference to internet discussion boards or that posters can freely discuss investments.

The activity of giving advice on investment is regulated, but there is an exclusion for advice given in newspapers if the principal purpose of the publication taken as a whole is not to give advice.

That clearly states that it is allowed where the intention is not to give advice. Anyone asking for help is seeking advice. Generically, great, discuss the options available. But moving into product providers and specific funds means your comments could be taken as advice.

There is a fine line between suggesting a product and recommending it and some people may read a suggestion as a recommendation. Some of the responses we see to suggestions give the impression that they are being seen as recommendations.

Many years ago I was involved in setting up the compliance requirements for an insurer following a complaint made to the FSA directly regarding posts made on a newsgroup. After consultation, the stance was giving advice, regardless of the media, is considered as giving advice and all the compliance requirements that go with the advice process would need to have been met. However, generic discussions did not have any issues at all.

DocProc

innovate

Thank you for your comment about 'username and password management not being on topic'. I have accordingly edited it all out.

isasmurf

Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: While it’s easy to wander off-topic that often prevents newbies finding the information they want quickly and easily. Please keep this thread on topic. If you’d like to discuss non-MoneySaving related topics please continue your discussion in The MoneySavers Arms or Discussion Time. If you have any questions about this policy please email abuse@moneysavingexpert.com.

MSE has a rule on discussing investments. This thread is not the place to discuss the rights and wrongs of that rule.