Mini Cash Isa Dilemma!

roma

I invested £3000 in a Lloyds TSB mini cash ISA about 3 years ago and have not contributed to it since. I now have another £3000 to invest and am not sure whether to stick it all in to the Lloyds TSB ISA (rate of 4.40%), or whether to open another new ISA (possibly with Halifax 5%), or whether to transfer the whole lot to another new ISA? (Dont know if Lloyds would have a penalty clause?) Would it be worth my while to transfer?

I am also not sure of what the timing of any of this should be considering the new financial year starts in April. Any advice on this query would be very welcome as i am a complete financial novice!!

Thanks.

exel1966

roma wrote:

I invested £3000 in a Lloyds TSB mini cash ISA about 3 years ago and have not contributed to it since. I now have another £3000 to invest and am not sure whether to stick it all in to the Lloyds TSB ISA (rate of 4.40%), or whether to open another new ISA (possibly with Halifax 5%), or whether to transfer the whole lot to another new ISA? (Dont know if Lloyds would have a penalty clause?) Would it be worth my while to transfer?

I am also not sure of what the timing of any of this should be considering the new financial year starts in April. Any advice on this query would be very welcome as i am a complete financial novice!!

Thanks.

If I were you i'd deposit the £3k into the Lloyds ISA tomorrow so it will start earning you interest asap and will be counted as your full 2005-2006 allowance meaning you can then deposit another £3K after April 6th. That will give you time to shop around and decide on a new ISA for 2006-2007. You'll also be able to transfer the 6K from Lloyds to the new ISA if / when you open new ISA.

PS. A&L are currently offering 5.2%, but that includes a 0.7% bonus only payable til 30/04/2007

Mummy_Jo

I'm not sure about the transfer of your existing ISA as I am about to open my first one. I've phoned Halifax this morning and set up my account with them. You have three options a branch account, phone account and the other one ( can not remember the name even though this is the one I've taken out). The one I have taken out pays the best interest rate. The staff are very helpful on the phone. They set up the account immediately and give you your account details including your roll number. You can then go to the Halifax branch and pay your money in today. Interest will be earned from today!

The only thing I am unsure about is whether to lock the money in for 12 months or 4 years. You seem to be able to transfer the money out if you wish to another provider but they guarantee the rate of 5% for the four years. I guess its a bit of a gamble. I would appreciate your thoughts on this one.