Heartford Bond ?

lesley2terry

I have been advised by a financial advisor to put a sum of £20,000 in a Heartford Bond or (Hertford Bond) I am led to believe that this is an American company does anybody have any knowledge of them & am I being given sound advise with the financial climate as it is. I am not a person who is prepared to risk my capital.


thanks for your time

dunstonh

Hartford are well known and respected. Plus, its protected under the insurance FSCS protection as you would be investing with a UK subsidiary that is FSA authorised.

The bond is just a tax wrapper. It doesn't make or lose money. It contains investments of your choice which could make or lose money. There is a guarantee option on the Hartford bond as well.

If you go with the guaranteed option the values will fluctuate daily and can go down as well as up. However, there are lock-in points after periods of growth where the guaranteed value cannot fall below (although the running value can).

am I being given sound advise with the financial climate as it is. I am not a person who is prepared to risk my capital.

It could be a very good time to invest or it could be a tad early or even a tad late (the best time we November last year as the markets have gained 15% since then). No-one can ever tell until years down the road.

I am not a person who is prepared to risk my capital.

It depends on what type of guarantee you want. If its a guarantee on income or capital at all times or just on death or withdrawal then there are different ways of doing it. e.g. some plans will have a running value which could go down in the interim years but the guarantee kicks in at year 5. So, if the value is lower at year 5, the guarantee will bring the value back up again.

What does concern me is that at £20k the investment isn't typically big enough for an investment bond. The best terms kick in after £50k-£100k. Less than that and you find that using the ISA allowance (£7200) and the rest into unit trusts would be more efficient. Hartford is not particularly cheap either. The guarantees offered come at a cost (as do all guarantees).

purch

Hartford are well known and respected

The Hartford (don't forget the 'The', they get very touchy) is one of the big 5 Insurers in the U.S. market (along with Geico, State Farm, Progressive and someone else I've forgotton)

They also used to have some clever and funny TV ads too !!!