A couple of ISA questions

bolo

Hi all,

I have a couple of questions. I have only brought Mini Cash ISAs but i thought the next tax year i'll take the plunge into Maxi ISAs. What do i need to know about them?

Also Can i transfer a cash isa to another provider if i have already used up my tax allowance for that year.

Thanks

dunstonh

I have a couple of questions. I have only brought Mini Cash ISAs but i thought the next tax year i'll take the plunge into Maxi ISAs. What do i need to know about them?

Would you be looking at single shares, Unit Trust/OEICS or Investment trusts to place inside that ISA?

bolo

probably unit trust. I don't really have time to look after a share portfolio....

dunstonh

You have around 6000 open funds to transact in covering a range of investment areas. Each has different risks, from very low risk to quite high risk. If you are going to do £7000, then you should look for a minimum of 7 funds spread across the sectors with a percentage spread to suit your risk profile.

Sector allocation is more important than actual fund selection.

bolo

bloody hell!!! Thing is, do the low risks match mini cash isa rates? Again i realise that past performance etc doesn't not guarantee the future etc but it would be useful to know. Also and i being dense here. If i invested 7000, would it be 3000 in a cash isa and 4000 in stocks and shares? I assume not?

Also can anyone answer the first question. If i have already signed up for an cash ISA in this tax year can i transfer the ISA to another bank. I assume i cannot because this would involve opening 2 cash ISAs in a tax year

thanks dunstonh

dunstonh

Thing is, do the low risks match mini cash isa rates?

No. Cash ISA has guarantee of capital.
Low risk funds, such as gilts, corporate bonds, fixed interest funds and commerical property funds (bricks and mortar versions only) have no guarantee on capital. However, they have limited volatility so any zig zags in performance are likely to be quite low.

Also and i being dense here. If i invested 7000, would it be 3000 in a cash isa and 4000 in stocks and shares? I assume not?

If you are doing a MAXI ISA, then you are looking at upto £7000 in the stocks and shares bit with nothing in cash. If you are going to do MINI ISA, then you are looking at upto £3000 in the cash element an upto £4000 in the stocks and shares element.

Also can anyone answer the first question. If i have already signed up for an cash ISA in this tax year can i transfer the ISA to another bank. I assume i cannot because this would involve opening 2 cash ISAs in a tax year

You can transfer it. You just cannot withdraw it and pay it back in again. A transfer is done behind the scenes.

grumbler

bolo wrote:

If i invested 7000, would it be 3000 in a cash isa and 4000 in stocks and shares? I assume not?

See ISA FAQs link in the blue box above.

If i have already signed up for an cash ISA in this tax year can i transfer the ISA to another bank. I assume i cannot because this would involve opening 2 cash ISAs in a tax year

You can do this. Open another ISA and request to transfer the old one. What you cannot is depositing more money before the end of a tax year.

cheerfulcat

bolo, keep in mind that some 80% of managed funds are closet index trackers; if you don't want to put in the ( fairly minimal, admittedly ) effort of seeking out those which are truly independently managed, you can get similar returns to the average fund from tracker funds, either unit trusts or ETFs, which are slightly cheaper. More about ETFs here and here.