Worry about shares...

jamesd

Tombot2012 wrote: »

still he is reluctant to sell and put his money into a savings account etc.

He's correct to be reluctant to put long term money into a savings account. That would be foolish.

Tombot2012 wrote: »

is using the money tied up in these shares as his 'lifeboat' or nest egg.

Lifeboat and nest egg are two different roles, with different risk tolerances. Shares and other investments are appropriate for a nest egg but less so as the whole of a lifeboat.

Tombot2012 wrote: »

I'm am trying to persuade him that he would be better off, or at least safer, selling and having an ISA or similar.

Having an ISA and holding the shares within that stocks and shares ISA could be useful, since it would reduce any potential for capital gains tax, unlikely though that looks at present. Whether it's worth paying the smallish annual charge that would probably be involved would depend on the value of the shares, which we don't know.

Tombot2012 wrote: »

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

1. Stop trying to get him to sell and use a cash ISA. It seems inappropriate for his long term objectives.
2. Suggest gradually moving the shares into a S&S ISA if he's not already using his full allowance.
3. Note that it is very poor diversification to have a large portion of his investments in one company, producing quite high risk levels if that company was to have trouble. Some diversification into holdings in other companies or unit trusts would be useful to reduce the risk level.