Got close to £10K. Never invested before, options please?

Primrose

haven't waded through all the replies but firstly, have you paid off any outstanding debts? If you have and are a taxpayer your first port of call should be to use up your annual ISA allowance. Rather late now to use up this year's Cash ISA allowance of £3600, but if you want some instant access, you could put some money in there and possibly opt for an equities (unit trust pooled fund) for the remainder of your allowance if you're prepared for a volatile ride and have a long term in view. Otherwise, a Fixed Rate One Year Bond could hold the rest of your money until another year's ISA allowance can be used up by which time the market may have stabilised a little. For an equities ISA, if you're a beginner go to the Hargreaves Lansdown website (H-L.co.uk) and look at their Fund Research section. They offer a Wealth 150 list of recommended funds across the whole equity sector (Income, Growth, Global, Corporate Bonds etc). If you don't want to use an IFA, then depending on your circumstances, a good all-round equity income fund would be Invesco Perpetual High Income, choosing the option to have all your dividends rolled over and reinvested. This fund seems to be the favourite of many Financial Advisors but don't put all your eggs in one basket.

jackhulk

Hi all.

Ok I now have a cash isa . Thanks for the advice.

I would ideally like to put the rest into a stock and shares ISA, but wondering the best way to go about this?

Ideally I would like most of the capital to invest safely and the rest in a high risk option. I can have this set up with easy via my bank, however, I'm wondering IF this is the best option?

Are there any benefits/disadvantages for a newbie such as me between say going with my bank or going alone via one of the online options such as Hargreaves Lansdown?

I've got an appointment with Natwest financial advice tomorrow morning so need to decide between then and now the best route for me to taken.

BTW, thanks for all your input and help guys, much appreciated.

Lokolo

If you're going to go and see Natwest don't sign anything or promise anything there and then. Tell us what they offer you first. Just say you want to look things over before you agree to anything.

jackhulk

I'd like that, however time is of the essence now, plus not even sure if there is enough time to go alone and set up via online option now anyways, seeing as were so close to year end and I really want to make use of this financial year.

I must admit I am drawn to the bank option at present as I’m completely new to this and not much time to learn and go alone. Also at least this way I maximum the use of this years tax free saving.

Aegis

jackhulk wrote: »

I'd like that, however time is of the essence now, plus not even sure if there is enough time to go alone and set up via online option now anyways, seeing as were so close to year end and I really want to make use of this financial year.

I must admit I am drawn to the bank option at present as I’m completely new to this and not much time to learn and go alone. Also at least this way I maximum the use of this years tax free saving.

You can open up an online equity ISA and deposit the money in to be held as cash until your instructions are received. You won't earn much interest (if any) and it will be taxed as normal, but the money will be inside the equity ISA wrapper and will allow you to make your decisions in the next tax year for this year's contribution.

It's what I've just done with the remainder of my ISA allowance for the year.

jackhulk

That sounds good. How do I go about doing that please?

With regards to seeing the Natwest advisor tomorrow, what exactly is it that I should be concerned about....eg, commission charges etc? Or in other words, what gives one bank preferrence over any other bank or online service?

jem16

jackhulk wrote: »

Or in other words, what gives one bank preferrence over any other bank or online service?

Banks are usually considered poor in relation to charges and performance - usually advised to stay away from a bank for investments.

Funds supermarkets as in hargreaves Lansdown usually considered best option for DIY funds investing.

jackhulk

'DIY' - thats the part I'm worried about as the fund supermarkets I've looked at so far are not the most newbie friendly sites and just worried that I would loss money by not really know what I'm doing. I will learn, in time of course, however April 5th is coming around fast.

Aegis

jackhulk wrote: »

'DIY' - thats the part I'm worried about as the fund supermarkets I've looked at so far are not the most newbie friendly sites and just worried that I would loss money by not really know what I'm doing. I will learn, in time of course, however April 5th is coming around fast.

I'd always recommend looking at Hargreaves Lansdown for fund investing, as their interface is very easy to learn to use. However, I'm not sure you'll be able to open an account with them in time!

Worth a try though, give them a call tomorrow and see if it's doable.

jackhulk

Aegis wrote: »

I'd always recommend looking at Hargreaves Lansdown for fund investing, as their interface is very easy to learn to use. However, I'm not sure you'll be able to open an account with them in time!

Worth a try though, give them a call tomorrow and see if it's doable.

Yep, thats the most newbie friendly site I've come across so far, I'm give them a call. Hopefully they can provide a 'Cash Park' option like Fidelity.co.uk offers.

With regards to equity ISA, as long as I get it open in time, can I then deposit cash (up to 08/09 limit) after 5th April?