Stocks & Shares ISA Question

mrp21

Hi,
I have a stocks & shares ISA thats gone past the 5 years that i needed to invest it for. But it hasn't generated a great deal of revenue for me - i was wondering if there was anyone out there a bit more clued up than me on whether I should withdraw the money now and invest into a mini ISA or keep the stocks and shares one going? Any help would be much appreciated

dunstonh

We had a stockmarket crash in that 5 year period and thats the sort of risk you take when you invest in equities. Had you invested 3 years a go in an average porfolio spread, you would have more than doubled your money.

So, if you take your money out now and put it into a cash isa (assume you mean cash isa when you say mini and not mini equity isa) you could end up with a lot less than if you left it. Alternatively you could end up with more if there was another crash.

Other options are reviewing your investment funds porfolio and making sure they are appropriate to your risk profile.

EdInvestor

What is the money invested in?

The ISA is just the tax wrapper.

mrp21

The ISA is based on UK Growth - investing in UK companies. Although looking at how many companies are going bust or pulling out of the UK is there any growth left here? I'm worried about loosing all that I've invested or getting a smaller return. Another option I've thought about is investing some of the cash into a cash ISA - does anyone know which is likely to get me the best return? The alliance & leicester one looks good - but dont want to get caught short! Any help is greatly received and my thanks to those that have posted so far!

dunstonh

Although looking at how many companies are going bust or pulling out of the UK is there any growth left here?

About 30% growth last year.

I'm worried about loosing all that I've invested or getting a smaller return.

Lets assume you are in a below average fund and got only 20% growth last year. A cash ISA would have been lucky to get you 5%. Over 5 years, when you include the stockmarket crash, an above average UK fund would have give over 2% p.a. Thats not a lot but we had a crash in the middle.

You cannot compare a cash ISA and an equity ISA. They are different things covering different timescales. When you invest in equities you expect a degree of volatility. That is why they are held for the long term and not the short term. If you think UK Growth is not appropriate for you, then you can switch your fund to a range of alternatives which suit your risk profile.

You appear to have made a couple of errors. 1 - Investing in the first place without understanding how it works. 2 - Choosing just one fund and not a spread. If you put all your eggs into one basket, then it will be more volatile and more prone to localised issues (in the UK the Labour Govt has hit stockmarket performance).

Dont make the same errors again be moving it without understanding your options and how they work.

EdInvestor

Hi mrp

Perhaps you could tell us which fund the money is in and then we could take a view.

mrp21

Its with royal london

dunstonh

I would transfer to another stocks and shares ISA with a fund supermarket and pick a spread of funds which are more suited to your personal attitude to investment risk. Its quite probable you should be in a lower risk than where you are at the moment. Although this would reduce the potential for higher growth over the long term.

mrp21

Any ideas where best I could look at investing my money. At the end of the day I want to be able to get at my money but whilst i dont need it - invest it somewhere to make a tidy sum

mylittlefriendbaxter

depends on what u mean by decent but there are plenty of companies on the FTSE with a yeild of over 5%,

No specific investment advice - Forum Team 2