ISA Decision

tos11n

My wife and I had money invested in two stock & shares ISA's (one each) for the last 3 years. After slowly getting the value back to where we started after the credit crisis we had lost faith in the stock market and fearing a double dip recession, took the money out at the end of 2010.
We now want to put this into a cash ISA, do we have to wait until the start of the new tax year,(2011/12) or can we do it now. We do not have any other ISA's at the moment and were aware we could not change a stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA. Help !!!

p00hsticks

How much money - if any - have you put into the stocks and shares ISA this tax year ? (i.e. from April 6th 2010).

Your total ISA allowance for the current tax year is £10,200, of which up to half (£5,100) can be put into a cash ISA.

tos11n

Nothing added this year or since it was taken out 3 years ago.

Lokolo

You can put £5,100 into each of your Cash ISAs until April 5th. From April 6th you can put another £5,340 as that is the 2011/12 allowance.

On a side note, you're meant to ride out recessive periods and wait for gains, this is the reason why people suggest S&S are longterm investments. 3 years is not long enough because of things like this, and you may (although may not ) regret not waiting another 2-3 years.

dunstonh

fter slowly getting the value back to where we started after the credit crisis we had lost faith in the stock market and fearing a double dip recession, took the money out at the end of 2010.

Its a bit late now but didnt you realise that you dont have to be in the stockmarket with an ISA? Or that stockmarket is not one thing but a range of areas covering different risks and different investment areas.

Loughton_Monkey

I think the question about the cash ISA has been answered.

But I endorse the observation that you may have - as so many do - committed the classic "Frying Pan to Fire" mistake.

Stocks & Shares ISA's should be considered very long term investments. My wife and I have both had them for years. They have been excellent investments despite at least two 'crashes' and both being retired, we still have the cash safely locked up.

Had we invested solely in Cash ISA's, most of the growth would have fallen behind inflation. That's bad enough, but to have had a significant amount tucked safely inside the tax wrapper, and take it out 3 years later and then put it in Cash - straight after a crash - is a rather 'double whammy' strategy don't you think?