NS&I 5 year index linked saving certs 2011 issue - half way point!

polymaff

6022tivo wrote: »

As I read it, if I reinvest, although it is a 5yr investment, in real terms it is only a year at a time investment.

What I mean is the penalty is 90 days interest at 0.01% which is pennies. You only lose the RPI gain if you withdraw during a year?

Am I right in this understanding?

Correct - but to clarify, the only RPI gain lost is that of the year you are part-way through.

oftm

Ballard wrote: »

I did some trading on a dummy system (with live data) about 10 years ago. I think that I started with £1,000 and for a few days I had fun with it. Some of my trades made a small profit and others lost and I had just over £900 left when I was getting bored of it so I did one last cable trade and forgot about it completely.

A week or two later I had an email from the company telling me that my test period was about to come to an end so I logged on only to find that I was around £230k in profit. I have no skill in trading and have no desire to try it for real but it did give the traders at work something to laugh at.

Had I done that for real money there's no way on earth I'd have let it get past a couple of hundred before bailing out.

It's scary how quickly you can make or lose money. I used igindex and was sitting watching it for a while before jumping in. The price moves up and down like a rollercoaster but can suddenly change very rapidly and wipe you out which is what happened to me. I had a stop limit otherwise god knows how much i'd have lost but it just shows by the amount you made on the trial what can happen but like you say if it's for real there's no way you'd just forget about it.

joe134

6022tivo wrote: »

I need a way of making my money work smarter... Zopa ISA is the next thing on my list, but there is mega money to be made with the currency fluctuations we are going to see over the next 6-12 months.[/QUOTE
;Having done Day trading for a considerable time,( not currency, too volatile, but, it's the volatility that can make or break) it's not for the faint hearted.
It's knowing WHAT to buy, when, and when to sell.
You can lose your house etc in one bad deal.
If you only want to play at it,fine,but, use a stop/loss and don't go above your limit.
BUT, that's what all gamblers say, AFTER they have chased the Lady and lost it all.
"I should have quit while I was ahead".
You pays your money, you takes your chance.
LIBOR???????:eek:

PS;There's a good thread on bankruptcies on here:-)

bertsilver

Mine is ending on 8th July, if I dont need the money is it best to roll over or is there any thing with a better return which has no risk?

talexuser

bertsilver wrote: »

is there any thing with a better return which has no risk?

Yes, multiple current accounts if you can juggle some direct debits and setup some standing orders. However we don't know how long the banks will subsidise their interest rates, or how inflation will look in a couple of years time. I've rolled over because don't need the money and maxed out the banks, but suspect these interest rates will last for years yet in our new central bank command economy.

brewerdave

As per talexuser I've decided to roll over - just happen to have two term bonds maturing in the next two months so really struggling with where to put it - the grandchildren are going to get an unexpected boost to their savings and a third Santander 123 account beckons plus at least one other current account!

polymaff

bertsilver wrote: »

Mine is ending on 8th July, if I dont need the money is it best to roll over or is there any thing with a better return which has no risk?

talexuser wrote: »

Yes, multiple current accounts if you can juggle some direct debits and setup some standing orders. However we don't know how long the banks will subsidise their interest rates, or how inflation will look in a couple of years time. I've rolled over because don't need the money and maxed out the banks, but suspect these interest rates will last for years yet in our new central bank command economy.

And do bear in mind that, whatever renewal term you choose, NS&I ILSCs are, effectively, year-renewable - i.e. you can get out on any anniversary for a penalty of only one penny per £400 invested.

[Deleted User]

polymaff wrote: »

And do bear in mind that, whatever renewal term you choose, NS&I ILSCs are, effectively, year-renewable - i.e. you can get out on any anniversary for a penalty of only one penny per £400 invested.

That's a very useful way to think about it.

NSI continually emphasise that you only get the "full benefit" of ILSC by keeping them for the full term of 3 or 5 years. But with the fixed interest rate over and above inflation almost negligible, and with careful selection of the surrender date, the certificates are, in effect, year to year fixes.

A case could be made that NSI are misleading investors.

polymaff

Deleted_User wrote: »

That's a very useful way to think about it.

NSI continually emphasise that you only get the "full benefit" of ILSC by keeping them for the full term of 3 or 5 years. But with the fixed interest rate over and above inflation almost negligible, and with careful selection of the surrender date, the certificates are, in effect, year to year fixes.

A case could be made that NSI are misleading investors.

NS&I are hopeless. Even worse than HMRC when it comes to understanding how their products and processes work - and that's saying something. Only in the last couple of years, after I pointed out to them that their T&C description of how the interest on ILSCs is caculated was unambiguously wrong and gave them the correct text required, have they even got close to stating that most fundamental property of ILSCs correctly. As such, they are wide open to claims of misleading investors. Mind you, in this case, I would accept the counter-argument that the ability to re-invest in ILSCs, which is currently restricted to those who hold the certificates for their full life, could be acceptably described as the "full benefit"

It's not just ILSCs, by the way. I'm currently attempting to explain - as much as anyone can explain - in another MSE thread just why "adjustments" keep turning up in the statements of NS&I Income Bonds.

bertsilver

talexuser wrote: »

Yes, multiple current accounts if you can juggle some direct debits and setup some standing orders. However we don't know how long the banks will subsidise their interest rates, or how inflation will look in a couple of years time. I've rolled over because don't need the money and maxed out the banks, but suspect these interest rates will last for years yet in our new central bank command economy.

Is there any cash ISA's that have a better return?