do it myself or trust an advisor?

corman_2

ok then i'm all new to this money thing
we have inherited some cash and have £30,000 :j to put away.

i know to use up our isa allowances then i'd thought of using the high interest e-savers accounts like egg and B&B, dont really want to lock the money away for any length of time, i like the idea of being able to move it around as better offers become available

is this sensible or not?

we have a meeting today with a chap from Lloyds but is he just going to recommend his accounts and am i going to do better using the likes of moneysupermarket to pick the highest earners

sorry for seeming dumb but never had this sort of cash before

Stavros_3

Don't go with your 'chap' from Leeds, as he will just want to flog you their crap products. If you don't want to fix your savings, don't want to invest then you are limited to internet savings accounts, their rates are dire too so its a case of making the best of a poor time.
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/savings/

corman_2

cheers, we're just wanting to get a reasonable interest rate and to keep the whole capital with easy access

Just_landed

Also check out Derbyshire Building Society & Cheshire Building Society 1 year Fixed Term Bonds @ 3.75%.

missile

Don't be in a rush to do anything. Always think it over and sleep on it.

Robert_Sterling_3

Try to beat 3.75% but it is not easy to do so.

dunstonh

The chap from Lloyd's as an appointed representative of Scottish Widows. He is a sales rep who will be looking to sell Scottish Widows products.

Even if you go to a proper financial adviser, I don't see what use it will be to you. IFAs are either financial planners or investment advisers. Neither of which seem to be what you are after.

xyz123

In today's world, thanks to internet there is no need to rely on some one form a high street bank to make the most of your money.

They only try to sell you their product and if they notice you have a decent amount to save they will go to great lengths to get you to put pen to paper on somethin.

i get this almost every week. I am 26 years old and have about 60k in savings (which i presume is higher than the average) and hence, not one week goes by when one of my three banks dont ring me to offer a session with their so called financial expert in branches.....

Do your research using websites like monefacts.co.uk, moneysupermarket.com and of course moneysavingexpert.com and take your time to decide.

On a more direct advise on ur savings, if i was you i would put some money in fixed rate savings for 12 months or so (i cant see interest rates rising for at least 12 months) and remaining in instant access savings account. Unless of course you are thinking of making a big cash purchase in which case you need a decent instant access savings account.

Some People dont like savings account with bonuses, but there has never been a better time to get a savings account with a decent bonus rate as you would at least get the bonus rate even if the bank of england base rate geos down to 0%....

Hope thats not too long / complicated and it helps...

Primrose

Like the others I'd really advise not buying any products from your bank. They will be restricted to their own range and there are probably far better choices out there in the wider market. I know you say you don't want to lock your money away for any length of time but I suspect very low/almost zero interest rates will be around for at least 12 months so locking into the best fixed rate you can find now might give you a chance to ponder your options going forward. You don't say whether whether you've got a mortgage. If so, reducing it might be another option to consider, even though you say you want easy access, especially if you're in a job which might be vulnerably to redundancy Whatever you do, make sure you keep a separate easy access account for some emergency money.

Dorset_Dad

I think becuase of your lack of experience of having large sums of money combined with the current economic situation you would be best placed in cash accounts for now.
However if you want to use the funds to provide an income the you have to consider the impact of inflation on your capital. RPI (retail prices index) is running at around 3% now but your rate of inflation may be quite diferent according to where you spend your money. It will almost certainly be much higher for you in retirement. On this basis you should consider putting some of the money away for the medium to long term, taking a level of risk you are comfortable with, which offers the potential for capital growth and income now or in the future.
There are loads of options open to you I would recommend seeing financial adviser who is not tied to a bank who will talk you through the options without any obligation or cost.

Hope this helps!

saver78

I was in a similar position to you a few years ago - quite young and inherited a lump sum. I've gone through financial advisors but, thank christ, kept my money where I could get at it. So so relieved now with what's going on. To be honest, I love managing it myself. Things are rubbish at the minute for savers but I like having control.

You sound like you want to keep your paws on your cash. And who can blame you in the current climate. If you go to a financial advisor, they will advise you on their range (in Lloyds' case it will be Lloyds and more than likely Scottish Widows as that's where some of their investment products are.) They do capital secure investments but 10 to 1 this will involve locking money away to get a better return.

If you want your money accssible and this outweighs how much you want from a return, I would be boring and shove it in savings accounts. Get an ISA first off to claim your tax free entitlement and personally I'd split the remainder between a couple of accounts. That way you've spread it if a bank went bust.

I reckon you could do worse than having a Yorkshire Building Soc Internet Saver as one account - 2.6% net, no penalties, cash card to access your dosh through link machines. Job done. :T