Stocks and shares isa

alan3513

Hi, i've had a cash isa with the Halifax for a few years now and each year i manage to invest the maximum allowed each year. As i now have more money i can save i am thinking of startng a Stocks and shares Isa, again with the Halifax. i believe i could manage to save the total yearly amount, i.e.£7,200 between the two but as i'm not really investment wise i'm a little nervous that i could make a loss with the new isa. Anyone any advise on the matter or should i stick to having only the cash isa, thanks.

dunstonh

i am thinking of startng a Stocks and shares Isa, again with the Halifax.

Probably one of the worst fund providers out there.

i'm a little nervous that i could make a loss with the new isa.

Investments can go down as well as up. That is their nature. However, the investments all have different risk levels so you can spread the money around and utilise investments which average out to match your risk profile. However, you cannot do that effectively with the banks.

If you picked a high risk spread you could expect 60-70% losses potentially (although gains of that level as well. If you picked a cautious spread you could bring it down to around 10% loss potential. There are also some guaranteed options but you need to be wary that the cost of guarantee is not too high to make the guarantee worthless.

alan3513

Thanks, Didn't realise the Halifax was so bad, any suggestions on a low risk alternative, Thanks again

latecomer

For your general ISAs check out this:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa

Note that its probably not worth opening new accounts to get a marginally better rate. I've switched all mine to the Alliance and Leicester this year and get 6.00% I think, previous they were with the RBS at about 4.5% so it makes quite a difference.

Cant help with the stocks and shares ISA as I dont have on yet but I'll be following the thread as I am consider it.