When to invest

no44ah

Have £8000 to invest. Was thinking of £4000 in 1 ISA now and £4000 after April 2011. If I invest the £4000 now does it make any difference that 2010/2011 year is nearly over? Also was thinking of 1 ISA as fixed rate and the other as a cash ISA that I can make withdrawals from. Need advice please.

dunstonh

You have said invest a few times in the early part of your post but then go on to suggest savings accounts. Can you clarify which it is that you are looking at?

no44ah

Sorry, no I mean putting my money in an ISA

dunstonh

no44ah wrote: »

Sorry, no I mean putting my money in an ISA

a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA?

saver_1_2

no44ah wrote: »

Have £8000 to invest. Was thinking of £4000 in 1 ISA now and £4000 after April 2011. If I invest the £4000 now does it make any difference that 2010/2011 year is nearly over? Also was thinking of 1 ISA as fixed rate and the other as a cash ISA that I can make withdrawals from. Need advice please.

I believe you can put 4k in one cash isa now before the end of the tax year and then open another after April 5th with your other 4k. It makes no diffrence that the year is nearly over
A fixed rate isa say for two years is where you invest your 4k and you cannot make anymore deposits within the fixed rate term.
Instant access isa you can make so many withdrawals per year and make deposits up to the isa limit.
Hope this helps
Although someone will tell me if I'm wrong

lisyloo

If I invest the £4000 now does it make any difference that 2010/2011 year is nearly over?

No, as long as it's before the April deadline which I think is 5th April.

You are interchangeably using the terms saving and investing (as is saver 1) which is confusing a few people.
Putting money into a cash ISA is saving (whether it's variable or fixed).
Putting money into a stocks and shares ISA is investing.
They are two very different things.
The main difference is that your cash is safe is a cash ISA.
In a stocks and shares ISA your money can go down as well as up.

saver_1_2

I have tried to read between the lines of the o.p and it looks like he/she just needs a cash isa be it fixed or instant accsess.
The o.p uses the word invest meaning he/she has 4k to open an account.
I'm sure the o.p will see the reply's and put us in the picture

no44ah

Thanks everyone. I used the word invest wrongly. I really just want to put some money in an ISA which will accrue some interest with no risk of losing any ofthe deposit. A cash ISA fixed term or otherwise is what I was after. It was just that I didn't know that because we were near to April whether it made any difference putting the money in an ISA now. I would like to put £4000 in a straightforward cash ISA and the other £4000 in a fixed term - In the current climate what length of fixed term would anyone recommend?

Loughton_Monkey

If you have £8,000, I can't see why you are not looking to put the full £5,100 in this tax year. The balance of £2,900 will have to wait until April 6th, abut then you'll have much more 'room' should you wish to put the maximum in next year.

saver_1_2

no44ah wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I used the word invest wrongly. I really just want to put some money in an ISA which will accrue some interest with no risk of losing any ofthe deposit. A cash ISA fixed term or otherwise is what I was after. It was just that I didn't know that because we were near to April whether it made any difference putting the money in an ISA now. I would like to put £4000 in a straightforward cash ISA and the other £4000 in a fixed term - In the current climate what length of fixed term would anyone recommend?

No problems No44ah i knew exactly what you meant