Investment help

honest_geezer

I wonder if anyone can help please.
The g/f came into some money and wants to invest 40-45k with a no risk option.
Would she be better investing in a high interest account and an isa or just a high interest account or are there other options? She opened a Tesco Internet Saver account but found loads of really bad reviews abou them and is quite concerned about it now.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

jem16

The Tesco account has had bad reviews recently concerning the amount of time taken to open the account. Also their introduction of a card reader made payments difficult for a while. My account has been opened since June and I have encountered no problems at all. Its ability to have Faster Payments both in and out have been invaluable.

As to ISA or high interest account, ISA has always been first due to its tax-free advantages. Recently there hasn't been much in it but over the long term it has advantages. However you will only be able to put in a maximum of £3600 each tax year.

One last point - you talk about investing but then mention savings. Which is it?

honest_geezer

Well either one, just to get maximum out of money. She wants to be able to get some kind of access to some money in case of emergency but the rest can be locked away.
We are noobs in case you hadn't guessed lol. Thanks for any help

Dualcyclone

Depends how much risk she wants; get her to speak to a financial adviser to get the best returns for her money, and she should mention she'll need instant access as well.

In that situation, I'd put the maximum amount into a cash ISA, some into a high rate regular saver, and the rest into a high rate e-saver - you need to be on the ball this way to ensure you achieve the maximum rate for the year; which will mean transferring your ISA allowance each year (don't forget, £3600 for this year, and £3600 from next April, and so on), then set up a standing order for the maximum amount for the regular saver from the e-savings, then the rest can sit in the e-savings.

All will be instant access, but from 3 sources; which will make it awkward if you want to withdraw the whole amount at once, and with the possibility of forfeiting some interest on some regular saving accounts.

a7man

Why not split it further and have some instant access cash, some in a high interest account (although v poor rates atm), and some in equities for the long term. She could go for a low risk fund so there shouldnt be too much volatility, and the markets have dropped the majority of the way in most peoples opinions. Even if its just 5k, it will allow for some growth.