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

kidmugsy

You can't go wrong with shares. Either you make a killing and boast about your investment genius, or you make a loss and blame someone else for mis-selling to you. It's win-win. Especially for bears of little brain.

ColdIron

Where else will you get inflation busting, tax free savings guaranteed for 3 to 5 years? If you don't need the cash it's a no-brainer to roll it over IMO

bigadaj

kidmugsy wrote: »

You can't go wrong with shares. Either you make a killing and boast about your investment genius, or you make a loss and blame someone else for mis-selling to you. It's win-win. Especially for bears of little brain.

I thought that was ppi?

lisyloo

Where else will you get inflation busting, tax free savings guaranteed for 3 to 5 years?

Bank of roof (solar PV).

bigadaj

lisyloo wrote: »

Bank of roof (solar PV).

Though the boat has sailed for many on that, reports of some annoyed people not getting the returns on event investments that they were promised, and some times making a loss, there's always risk.

lisyloo

I agree with you that there is some element of risk.
But for it to be a loss there would have to be a totally cowboy company and some consumers that didn't do due dilligence.
Nowadays the estimates are regulated and quite conservative and if you get multiple quotes from accreditied companies you should avoid the cowboys.
Advice that's technically bad should be avoided if you get multiple quotes/designs.

bigadaj

lisyloo wrote: »

I agree with you that there is some element of risk.
But for it to be a loss there would have to be a totally cowboy company and some consumers that didn't do due dilligence.
Nowadays the estimates are regulated and quite conservative and if you get multiple quotes from accreditied companies you should avoid the cowboys.
Advice that's technically bad should be avoided if you get multiple quotes/designs.

True but there have been cases outlined in the media where this has happened apparently. Over optimistic projection of power generation resulting in payments that are lower than the loan repayments.

I'm involved in the environmental sector and whilst solar isn't my main area of expertise it always seemed a strange idea in the uk. I am cynical but not sufficiently so to have accounted for the excessive level of subsidy initially, and the subsequent watering down. My main area for cynicism was actually in the useful working life, it's all very well getting a 10% return but capital is lost at outset and even at a twenty year operational life, which seems optimistic to me, that's probably no better than average equity returns.

gadgetmind

bigadaj wrote: »

it's all very well getting a 10% return but capital is lost at outset and even at a twenty year operational life, which seems optimistic to me, that's probably no better than average equity returns.

That's why I didn't go the solar route. No-one was prepared to guarantee expensive components such as inverters for more than a few years, and you'd only need a couple of these to fail for your return to be rather dismal.

lisyloo

I'm kind of with you broadly most of the way until here.

that's probably no better than average equity returns

Woah !! Here we diverge completely.
I'm not a sophisticated investor although I do have S&S ISA and pensions.
There is no way I could expect to reasonably get 11% per annum on my investments.
Perhaps that's because you are a sophsticated investor and I'm not, but there is no way I'd say you can compare that with a government backed 20 year, rising in line with RPI investment.
NO WAY.

If you are sophisticated then you need to bear in mind that the majority of the UK population are not sophisticated investors.
Also you can get bad advice from tied FAs and IFAs just as ou can get poor Solar installers.

lisyloo

No-one was prepared to guarantee expensive components such as inverters for more than a few years, and you'd only need a couple of these to fail for your return to be rather dismal.

My (potential) invertor will have a 12 year warranty.
Ok that's not 20 I agree.
I will have one and it's not that prohibitive to replace.

Perhaps the technology has moved on since you looked?

I have certainly looked into warranties and mitigiating the maintainance (having the failable parts in the loft and not on the roof) and that's exactly what I mean by due dilligence.
People who aren't dilligent and go with cowboys will get problems, but I'd say exactly the same applies to investments.