Investment Trust for Children

anandp

I'm about to open an IT for my son and I've whittled it down to one of the two companies below:

• http://www.fctr.co.uk/foreign-and-colonial-investment-trust/
• http://www.bgchildsavings.com/pages/which-investment-trusts-can-i-invest-in.aspx

Its not clear if the F&C charges that applied to their CTF's also apply to these Inv Trusts bought as Bare Trusts? Anyone know?

It would be interesting to hear if anyone has used alternatives to the above two firms? I chose them as their website has children-specific pages so felt more appropriate.

Reaper

anandp wrote: »

Its not clear if the F&C charges that applied to their CTF's also apply to these Inv Trusts bought as Bare Trusts? Anyone know?

See page 5 of their "Key Features" document which you will find on the "Documents & Links" tab of this page:
http://www.fctr.co.uk/child-saving/savingsplans/childrensinvestmentplan.html
Briefly there is a £25+VAT annual charge on top of all the usual fees.

Of the two companies you mention I use F&C for the CTF (despite the new charge as the growth justifies it) and Baille Gifford for a Bare Trust. I have been very happy with both choices so far.

xylophone

have you seen the SIT page?
http://www.sit.co.uk/products/investing_for_children/features/questions_and_answers/

Ark_Welder

Aberdeen also have a scheme: http://www.invtrusts.co.uk/aam.nsf/InvestmentTrusts/investchildren

anandp

Reaper wrote: »

See page 5 of their "Key Features" document which you will find on the "Documents & Links" tab of this page:
http://www.fctr.co.uk/child-saving/savingsplans/childrensinvestmentplan.html
Briefly there is a £25+VAT annual charge on top of all the usual fees.

Of the two companies you mention I use F&C for the CTF (despite the new charge as the growth justifies it) and Baille Gifford for a Bare Trust. I have been very happy with both choices so far.

For Baille Gifford, any idea what the charges are? Trying to find them but its tricky. I want to see if any admin fees exist.

anandp

xylophone wrote: »

have you seen the SIT page?
http://www.sit.co.uk/products/investing_for_children/features/questions_and_answers/

I have - didn't like the lack of detail about what is invested in and lack of choice.

Do you use them?

xylophone

Do you use them?

I haven't used investment trusts - when I was a trustee for a minor, I used OEICS, some BS type bonds and NS&I.
I like the clarity of the explanation given by SIT though.

http://www.trustnet.com/Factsheets/Factsheet.aspx?fundCode=ITSCIN&univ=T Information about largest holdings etc.

Reaper

anandp wrote: »

For Baille Gifford, any idea what the charges are? Trying to find them but its tricky. I want to see if any admin fees exist.

Not much in the way of charges other than those for the Investment Trust itself. From their FAQ page:

What are the charges?
There is no initial or annual charge for investing in the Children's Savings Plan but other charges include the dealing price spread and stamp duty costs of 0.5% on purchases.

Charges may be applied for withdrawals and switching. We will usually charge for each withdrawal, which is currently £22.

Further details can be found in the Withdrawals factsheet in our Literature Library or in the Terms & Conditions section within the Application Pack.

Assuming you are buying for the long term and don't plan to do much switching you shouldn't find yourself paying much in the way of charges. The investment trusts themselves have ongoing charges of varying amounts, but if that worries you the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust option (nothing to do with mortgages) has ongoing charges of just 0.51% pa, which is pretty good as funds go.