Top Junior ISAs guide: discussion

stoddy2k01

Hello.
Would you mind telling me what they offered you which made you opt for choosing them. I would have thought that Nationwide would have been a pretty good deal.

stoddy2k01

Does anybody have any suggestions on the options to choose. Stakeholder or a Cash Jisa. my daughters CTF is with children's mutual currently. I'm under the impression that a stakeholder would possibly gain more interest than a cash Jisa if we are limited to the amount we can contribute to the Jisa.
Appreciate any advice. Thank you.

farhad1965

Hi stoddy2k01


I already had a Junior ISA account at Hargreaves for my daughter, who is older (nearly 18 now), and in just 8 months based on my own selection of funds for the JISA with Hargreaves Lansdown, I had got a circa 10% increase in value of my investment; i.e £3,985 invested is now £4,382


Funds I selected and growth over the 8 month period:


AXA Framlington Biotech +26.99%
CF Woodford Equity Income +13.17%
Invesco Perpetal High Income +11.05%
Marlborough UK Micro Cap -3.27%
River & Mercantile UK Equity Smaller Cos +6.7%

With Nationwide the CTF was in a Cash ISA getting circa 1.25% growth a year, so for me it made good sense to move it to HL where I also my daughter's JISA.


Ofcourse I am confident in selecting funds and stocks (after much study & research I should add), which wont be the case for most people that have not done any research.


Another firm to look at is AJ Bell. Low charges and I have seen some good reviews.

stoddy2k01 wrote: »

Hello.
Would you mind telling me what they offered you which made you opt for choosing them. I would have thought that Nationwide would have been a pretty good deal.

stoddy2k01

Cheers Farhad1965
It is all confusing but as you say you want the best for your children. My daughter is 7 in May and we have the CTF but want the best investment available i have wondered if she would get more with a stakeholder Jisa rather than a Cash Jisa i'm thinking stakeholder as we are not really in a great position to top the Jisa up and if we was it would only be around £10 per month. I just want her to have that little better start in life than i got.

Thanks for the Tips and advice i'm most grateful.

farhad1965

Wow ... the CTF got moved from Nationwide to my son's newHL JISA in 1 week. I am impressed.

Flobberchops

Hello all, random question for those in the know.

A Halifax Junior ISA is 3%, or 4% if the nominated adult also holds a Halifax ISA.

Now, a Halifax ISA has an introductory rate of 0.8% (not bad) which after a year falls to 0.25% (*&?!).

My question is, is there any legitimate way to game the system? Could I, for example, close the adult ISA a day before the new tax year and then return as a "new" customer on April 6th? Or, once on their books, will you never qualify for the introductory rate again?

Cheers!

colsten

You could transfer in, say, £50 or £100, from another cash ISA if you have one.

If you don't have one, open one with the same sort of amount.

Then just let it sit there for as long as you want the JISA. There is no minimum amount you have to pay into / keep in that adult ISA.

Flobberchops

Good thinking Colsten - I'd have to sacrifice a year's ISA to open the puppet account but as soon as April 2017 swings around I can get back to picking my own choice of ISA as long as I keep the Halifax one sitting open. And as a result my sprog would benefit from 18 years saving at 4% rather than 3% which, if my maths is correct, could be an easy couple of thousand quid's advantage.

My only reservation is reading through Halifax's Ts&Cs and the bit that says that accounts "not used" for 12 months can be closed at their discretion. Now, suppose I open an ISA with £100 and have it sitting there for perpetuity. Is it "not being used" since I'm neither making deposits or withdrawals (and in all likelihood busily subscribing to a competitor's ISA) or is it "in use" since it's increasing in value every year?

colsten

I would chance it. And consider my options as and if they ever complain/ask you to close your ISA.

However.

I don't think I would save in cash for 18 years as cash performs historically a lot worse than equities. Have you considered an S&S JISA? http://monevator.com/how-to-invest-for-children/

Flobberchops

That's a fine idea, and my main barrier at the moment is not knowing the first thing about equity investing. One of the bits I *do* know is that if you make the wrong choices your gains can get gobbled up by platform fees, hence my inclination towards idiot-proof stuff like savings accounts. I'm interested in stocks/bonds investment for myself too so that's something I'll definitely look into.