Top Junior ISAs guide: discussion 1 November 2011 at 6:09PM edited 1 November 2011 at 9:25PM in ISAs & tax-free savings 182 replies 109.1K views

Former_MSE_Dan

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Top Junior ISAs

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jamesd

It is not true that those born between 1 Sep 2002 and 2 Jan 2011 are ineligible for JISAs. They are only ineligible if they have a CTF. The article seems to incorrectly assume that all born between those years qualified for a CTF and had one opened.

The article also makes it more complicated than it needs to be - there's a simple rule: "children who don't have a CTF".

Those ineligible for a CTF were most likely not UK residents at the time.

Former_MSE_Dan

Thanks jamesd - I have clarified this in the guide

Ported

The top JISA I have found is 3.4% (fixed 1 year) at the Bank of Cyprus - PROVIDED you are an existing customer - it's a 'Loyalty' rate. Normal rate is 2.90%.

supermonkey

Can't see these being well used for the reasons noted in the article. Also, child trust funds were worth opening even if you didn't plan on paying anything in due to the £250 vouchers provided (I think there's even another £250 voucher when the the child reaches a certain age if they still honour this)

imillett1982

Do you need to open 2 accounts? i.e. a normal junior ISA and a junior shares ISA or do they come as one package from the same bank/BS?

Former_MSE_Dan

They will be separate products, but I'm sure banks will try and sell you both, if you choose to split the yearly allowance between cash and shares

AirlieBird

jamesd wrote: »

It is not true that those born between 1 Sep 2002 and 2 Jan 2011 are ineligible for JISAs. They are only ineligible if they have a CTF. The article seems to incorrectly assume that all born between those years qualified for a CTF and had one opened.

Is it possible NOT to have a CTF if you born between those dates? All children born between those dates were eligible for a CTF voucher. If the parent didn't invest the voucher, HRMC did on their behalf.

oramgepekoe

According to their website, Nationwide's Smart Junior ISA 3% can only be set up for under 16's. I've phoned Nationwide to check that this is so. They can't give me a good reason why it's not available to 16 and 17 year olds.

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/savings/childrens/smartjuniorisa/introduction.htm?intcmp=Intcmp_0891

MrGumby

There are various incentives on offer, e.g. Jump (Witan) is offering a £25 John Lewis voucher for a £250 lump sum or £50 monthly/quarterly DD in a cash or investment ISA.

With an investment ISA, however, you have to take fees into account. Jump charges an annual management fee of £30 + vat p.a. which would tend to wipe out any gains on smaller investments.

By contrast, Hargreaves Lansdown offers no gifts but charges no fees either (on funds and cash, that is - 0.5% p.a. on other investments). Actually, it isn't quite that simple, but that's the gist of it.

The HL offer seems preferable, unless I'm missing something.

This is clearly a big subject that needs careful thought before buying, at least before buying a Junior investment ISA.

MrGumby

oramgepekoe wrote: »

According to their website, Nationwide's Smart Junior ISA 3% can only be set up for under 16's. I've phoned Nationwide to check that this is so. They can't give me a good reason why it's not available to 16 and 17 year olds.

Nationwide seems far from alone in this policy.