Would you go "long" term? 4yrs for e.g.

Nine_Lives

Looking at Halifax's 4.25% for 4yrs.

My immediate thought is what if in 2 years time, rates are much higher?

You the experts, would you go long term?

Also, probably not suited to this forum specifically, but how do i go about buying shares & would you advise for or against it?

yorkiebar

I would not lock in for that period without a get-out clause, say losing 180 days interest.

Lokolo_2

I would actually go for the long term fixed deals and currently do at the moment, so far they have seen a reasonable return. Of course I understand that rates may rise, but it's a risk I'm willing to take because the economy still doesn't look amazing!

I know alot of people would disagree with me, but I would rather have the guaranteed "decent" rate for the period, than to start off with a lower rate and gamble on the fact that rates may rise. :j

masonic

yorkiebar wrote: »

I would not lock in for that period without a get-out clause, say losing 180 days interest.

I seem to recall there being some clause in the ISA rules preventing cash ISAs being offered with no access during a fixed term. It's possible that no longer applies, but I don't recall seeing any fixed rate ISA where you can't get access to the money subject to a penalty. I went long term (5 years), but I've got penalty free access after 30 days notice.

bigfreddiel

K_P83 wrote: »

Looking at Halifax's 4.25% for 4yrs.

My immediate thought is what if in 2 years time, rates are much higher?

You the experts, would you go long term?

Also, probably not suited to this forum specifically, but how do i go about buying shares & would you advise for or against it?

Most definitly YES - go for it - this question has been going on for years - my FRISA has £75k at 4.4% (till 2013) and £12k at 4.25% (till 2014) - glad I fixed and will be doing so again after April 5t for 2011-12 period. So in a coupl of years time I will have a 4yr FRISA maturing every year, so thats okay innit!

BTW why do people only invest/save in an ISA at the end of the period? I always stash my cash at the beginning of a period when the best offers are around.

fj

missile

K_P83 wrote: »

Also, probably not suited to this forum specifically, but how do i go about buying shares & would you advise for or against it?

There is no guarantee that investment returns will return a profit. IMHO investments are best suited to those who understand the market and risk. If you need to ask such a basic question then I would strongly advise against.

If you search you will find this and similar questions on savings and investment forum.

Nine_Lives

Thanks guys.

I've not left it until the last minute. I dumped in my 5.1k in April 2010. It's only now am i looking to put it into a FRISA as opposed to an IAISA. It's my understanding that i can select any amount of my ISA pool (so long as the FRISA allows transfers in) for the FR.

We're in a bit of no mans land at the moment (me & the gf) as we're trying to save, and will be moving out of my folks place, but don't know when.


Did Nationwide recently do a 4 year ISA for a little over 4%? I was speaking with a chap at the weekend who advised me to go for this, although they weren't advertising it (but he discovered it & went for it). When i look into it i can't find it.
He may be a bit slow on updates though, as he has no internet connection - he's a 87 year old fella & computers are evil

pem2

K_P83 wrote: »

Thanks guys.
Did Nationwide recently do a 4 year ISA for a little over 4%? I was speaking with a chap at the weekend who advised me to go for this, although they weren't advertising it (but he discovered it & went for it). When i look into it i can't find it.
He may be a bit slow on updates though, as he has no internet connection - he's a 87 year old fella & computers are evil

They did one over Christmas for new money only and pulled it very quickly. From memory I think it was about 4.25% for 3yrs fixed.
I fix for long periods and at this moment transferring into the Halifax 4.24 for 4 yrs.

Nine_Lives

That rings bells actually (as a match to what he said).

He'll probably think it's still running. I don't know how he compares so well & keeps reasonably up to date without a PC. That'd be a bit of leg work, but still.

I'll have to see how much i can invest for 4 years.

ultrawomble

At the moment, anything under 5% with a break rate of 180 days loss of interest doesn't look very favourable at the moment in my estimation. With the best 1 year fixes hovering around 3%, linky, anything less than a 2.5% return (5% less 6 months interest) over the same period if interest rates do start to rise and you decide to break is quite stiff.

27col

I'd take what I am sure of now, rather than worry about what might be available in 4 years time.