Investing £1m short-term, after house sale?

sunflower_lass

My parents (active in their 70's) are in the highly fortunate position of having just sold the family farmhouse for £1m. (We're in the south east, where prices in the past 30 years have gone up exponentially!)

They are looking to downsize and spend £650k, but haven't found a house yet; so would like to move in to rented.

Can anyone advise as to where is the best place to put £1m for 6months - 1 year ?!

(We were hoping that the interest on such a large sum might go some way to covering the rental costs?)

I would be hugely grateful for any advice! Thank you

pip895

As they are intending to have 350k left over could they not at least invest that for the longer term? The rest take a look at the comparison sites and pick a range of the best instant access accounts - you would want to split it between banks/BSocs etc to keep it protected - think it is about 160k for a joint account.

innovate

Investment is when you put your money away for some 7-10 years, so investment is not for you/ your parents if the money is needed in the next 6-12 months.
They should put the lot into an NS&I savings account since that's the only place where over £85K per person is safe.
Once they money is in there they/you can do your research for the best savings accounts. Keep your expectations low, interest rates are pretty terrible.
Since there appear to be some £350K spare at the end of the year, consulting an IFA could be sensible for the remainder.
I must says, I find it quite surprising that somebody would sell their £1m house without having firm plans where to put the money. Are you sure your parents haven't sorted themselves already?

sunflower_lass

innovate wrote: »

I must say, I find it quite surprising that somebody would sell their £1m house without having firm plans where to put the money. Are you sure your parents haven't sorted themselves already?

Originally they thought they'd found the right home to move in to, but it fell through, and so suddenly found themselves in this position!

Many thanks for the advice, I am off to look up NS&I accounts