Should I transfer the money out?

markyyyyyy

Hi,

I have £7100 in a triple access account with Yorkshire bank
I have £2100 in the M and G managed growth fund, Sterling X

I have just checked my allowance for M & G and it says:
Current M&G stocks and shares subscription for this tax year: £300.00
Maximum remaining stocks and shares subscription for this tax year: £10,380.00

Should i send a lump sum of £220 over to the M and G account before the end of March? I have a direct debit of £40 going in to the account at the end of Feb and end of March. This will make it £300.

In general, do you advise that I put as much money as I can in to my M and G fund, and keep my triple access saver with Leeds building society, as a 'reserve' fund.

My financial plans are as follows:
-Saving for a mortgage (hope to buy in 3-5 years time)
- Wedding / Engagement (within 5 years time)

Many thanks for your help

Mark

psychic_teabag

I hadn't seen this triple-access account before. It doesn't seem a very good deal : 2.25% with huge restrictions on access. You should be able to get 3% instant-access (no restrictions) without much trouble, and you can currently get 4% with fewer restrictions than you currently have. (You first mention Yorkshire bank, then Leeds BS. Have you more more money with the Leeds ?)

If you are a taxpayer, you should also be considering putting your cash reserve in an ISA, to get around 3% tax-free.

Your M&G fund is an investment, and therefore will go down as well as up. 3-5 years is considered too short for investments : the market is as likely to be down as up when you need to withdraw the money.

markyyyyyy

psychic_teabag wrote: »

I hadn't seen this triple-access account before. It doesn't seem a very good deal : 2.25% with huge restrictions on access. You should be able to get 3% instant-access (no restrictions) without much trouble, and you can currently get 4% with fewer restrictions than you currently have. (You first mention Yorkshire bank, then Leeds BS. Have you more more money with the Leeds ?)

If you are a taxpayer, you should also be considering putting your cash reserve in an ISA, to get around 3% tax-free.

Your M&G fund is an investment, and therefore will go down as well as up. 3-5 years is considered too short for investments : the market is as likely to be down as up when you need to withdraw the money.

Thanks for your reply.

Sorry, I meant Leeds Building society.

Ah okay, so do you advise that I open up a new ISA for my savings and just keep Leeds building society for 'rainy day' savings?

I will not touch it much, so the three withdrawls a year is fine. Ultimately, I just want to maximise my savings.

With regards to M&G, I was planning on holiding them for 15 years minimum, so I was a bit curious putting a load of my money in there for the time being.

Any advice on a good ISA to get?

Thanks for your help

Mark

psychic_teabag

markyyyyyy wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

Sorry, I meant Leeds Building society.

Ah okay, so do you advise that I open up a new ISA for my savings and just keep Leeds building society for 'rainy day' savings?

I will not touch it much, so the three withdrawls a year is fine. Ultimately, I just want to maximise my savings.

With regards to M&G, I was planning on holiding them for 15 years minimum, so I was a bit curious putting a load of my money in there for the time being.

Any advice on a good ISA to get?

Thanks for your help

Mark

Well, I don't know exactly which Leeds account you have, so I can't really comment.

If it's anything like this Yorkshire triple access account I'd ditch it :
http://www.ybs.co.uk/savings/easy_access/triple-access-saver.html
While three withdrawals a year might be okay for you, the restriction is that they are on fixed days of the year. The point is that you can get more interest with fewer restrictions : surely you at least want three withdrawals a year on days you choose ?

Whatever the account, if it's getting less than, say, 2.5% interest, you should move it. 3% is generally available online, but includes bonuses so you have to move it year to year to keep on top of the best rates. 2.85% is available as a "clean" rate from Northern Rock / Virgin Money.

Ideally, you'd put all your savings into ISAs. If you have to choose, better to put longer-term savings (e.g. emergency fund) in the ISA and shorter-term savings elsewhere. (I don't know your definition of rainy-day savings.)

Sorry, I'd assumed from your stated plans that you need money in 3-5 years. Only you can decide how much money you can afford to lock away into your longer-term investments.