CTF discussion area

kazmuz

I have had two CTF's for my two children from two different companies to see which would be the best as I was completely confused as to who to choose.

Family investments have just sent me the results for the last year.
The stakeholder CTF I have with them had a value of £723.52 at the start of the year and now has a value of £ 723.23. So it made a losss of 29p over the year.:mad:

The Childrens Mutual CTF which is also a stakeholder account had a value of £613.54 at the start of the year + £40 paid in to it at the start of the year = £643.54.
The value at the end of the year was £717.09. This is an increase of £73.55 or approx 11% by my rough calculations.

Needless to say family investments is getting ditched tonight!!:p

dunstonh

kazmuz wrote: »

I have had two CTF's for my two children from two different companies to see which would be the best as I was completely confused as to who to choose.

Family investments have just sent me the results for the last year.
The stakeholder CTF I have with them had a value of £723.52 at the start of the year and now has a value of £ 723.23. So it made a losss of 29p over the year.:mad:

The Childrens Mutual CTF which is also a stakeholder account had a value of £613.54 at the start of the year + £40 paid in to it at the start of the year = £643.54.
The value at the end of the year was £717.09. This is an increase of £73.55 or approx 11% by my rough calculations.

Needless to say family investments is getting ditched tonight!!:p

Why are you ditching it?

Are the investment funds you have used identical between them?

A 29p loss over the year is about right. 2007 was a pretty poor year for investments in most areas. Fixed interest, UK stockmarket (and many other countries) and property all performed on or below. It was really only the high risk end that gave positive returns.

Remember you are not investing in Childrens Mutual or Family Investments. You are investing in the funds which in turn invest in companies or other investments. Childrens Mutual also have funds that made a loss in 2007. What if you had picked that one?

cmacneil

Hi -

Our first child is due in mid-May and I am interested in signing him / her up for a CTF.

I have been reading this thread and think I have the fundamentals. For example, I see it's possible to transfer a CTF from one provider to another. But if you start with cash / deposit, do you have to keep it there, or can you switch products to investment (or back)?

Also, I see the funds are available only when the child turns 18 (and certain other exceptions). If we, say, move out of the country and our whole family - including kids with CTFs - become non-residents of the UK, what happens to the CTF? Can we still keep it here without penalties?

Thanks,
Chris

zoebel

Just a quick question if I put £250 into Brittania, currently offering a nice bonus, when that bonus comes to an end, can I transfer the money to another company offering a better rate at that time? Obviously we won't be withdrawing it, just transferring the investment like you can with an ISA.

Thanks

baby_boomer

Yes you can.

jo_b_2

InnesL wrote: »

New entry on Quidco £50 when you take out a Child Trust Fund with Engage Mutual.

There is no mention of any minimum investment (although this maybe an oversight, but gotta be worth a shot)

I have invested my voucher and set up a DD for £5 (so the first 10 months should be covered by the cashback).

NB The fund is a stakeholder, so no nasty excessive fees!

Hope this helps somebody.

Not on there any more as far as I can see.

nathanhill69

Currently I have a Children's Mutual Non Stake Holder Baby Bond Choice Trust fund for which I pay the maximum of £1200 per year by monthly direct Debit. I've had this for two years and all the contributions have gone into the Invesco Perpetual Income Fund. I'm now wondering wether it would be prudent to periodically switch my payments to different funds (every two years) so my child's investment are spread across differently managed funds. Does this seem a good idea or am I best to leave alone and continue letting my payments go into the one fund? Currently I'm considering switching payments into the Insight Investment Foundation Growth Fund.

Also asking as I'm in the process of opening the same type of account for child number two, initially putting money into the Invesco Perpetual Income Fund.

Any opinions offered will be regarded as such and not interpreted by myself as conclusive financial advice.

Many thanks

spcdust

carebear71

Dear Martin,

My daughter was born in October and after deliberation, we decided to go for the Nationwide Stakeholder fund as this was lower risk but seemed to offer better returns than a cash account. I picked the Nationwide as they have no shareholders. I have just found out that they have been taken over by Legal and General who have shareholders and now I wonder if I should move the account somewhere else even though it's just in the process of being opened. Any advice would be gratefully received. Always listen to your advice when you are on TV or the radio! Thanks.

$17mma

This has been briefly mentioned abovr but i just need to confirm that when I open DD CTF can I switch as and when I like if i find a better savings rate with another provider?

Many thanks :beer:

Confused_by_children

I think I would like to invest in a stakeholder account. I am finding it difficult to select a fund manager and can find no FSA approved comparison sites.

It seems that correct selection of a fund manager is imperative. Can anyone suggest how to go about doing so? Also should I look into which person is responsible for well-performing funds? If that individual moves company then it is logical to think that the fund's performance may deteriorate.

Any tips gratefully received!