fixed-rate bonds - 6.70 per cent the peak?

free4440273

Originally Posted by free4440273
yes, i can wait. my current bond with nationwide expires in three weeks. i would re-invest with NW but they don't even do two/three year bonds now:mad: . I was thinking of Scarborough or Heritable Bank. If anybody has any good/bad experiences of these two i would really appreciate it as the monies i have to invest are quite large (£200K). Thanks all

free4440273 wrote: »

OK, i have till Thursday morning to decide: looks like i will be opting for nationwide's 6.70 rate (monthly option). would have preferred a two year bond but they are only doing one year bonds for some reason. anyone know of other institutions which can better this rate; seems unlikely to me. I read that halifax web saver was also a good rate - any comments on this and nationwide. much appreciated as always

...looks like Nationwide it is

Nick_C

Are you aged 50 or more by any chance? SAGA http://www.saga.co.uk/finance/spf/home_fixed_rates.asp are currently offering 6.77% monthly for 1 year - AER 6.98% - or 6.58% for two years - AER 6.78%.

Alternatively, http://www.rufflerbank.co.uk/deposits/fixed_rate_bonds.php
have some very attractive rates with quarterly interest, but I had never heard of them before. source http://www.fsa.gov.uk/tables

dinosaur1234

Hi

Can I ask what is probably quite a naive questoin

i am thinking about taking out a nationwide 6.7% bond - if I do can I open it with a smaller amount of money and then add to it over the year? assuming this is the case does the whole bond end on the anniversary of the opening date? thanks in advance for your help

free4440273

^I don't believe you can add to an existing bond. Nationwide will definitely be able to tell you this, or otherwise, very quickly; their customer support is always very good IMO

free4440273

Nick_C wrote: »

Are you aged 50 or more by any chance? SAGA http://www.saga.co.uk/finance/spf/home_fixed_rates.asp are currently offering 6.77% monthly for 1 year - AER 6.98% - or 6.58% for two years - AER 6.78%.

Alternatively, http://www.rufflerbank.co.uk/deposits/fixed_rate_bonds.php
have some very attractive rates with quarterly interest, but I had never heard of them before. source http://www.fsa.gov.uk/tables

thanks NC, yes, i was going to look into Saga but i'm underage:rotfl:Ruffler i will stay away from because i am not sure how reputable they are. Heritable Bank is another offering good rates but i am concerned about their exposure to subprime. Thanks for your help, very kind sir

jimatko

If I went 2 months back most investment houses were predicting that bank base rate (currently 5.75% and it has been for a while) would go to about 6.25% in Spring next year. Invesco Perpetual were more bearish and thought it would go higher.

Then the s hit the fan.

Things change all the time and no-one is an expert at this time. Interest rates would have risen had the credit crisis not have happened. As we are it's a strange position - the cost of money inter bank has increased but at the same time there is downward pressure now on official interest rates.

I personally think that anything in the high 6's is a good buy - to get a premium beyond that involves risk, and for what premium? Many millions is going into cash at the moment (I'm talking private investors) and locking into 1 year rates.

If you go onto yieldcurve.com you will see how this is in the UK and the USA.

Remember though that whilst we have an inverted yield curve at the moment (ie the futher out you go in time the lower the interest rate is) it was only 2 months ago that we had the traditional yield curve (ie. the longer you invest the money the higher rate you get).

free4440273

^^"Interest rates would have risen had the credit crisis not have happened".

absolutely, interest rates here in the uk could/should be 6-6.50%. Inflation is on the INCREASE (look at yesterday's figures of manufacturing costs). CPI is NOT 1.8%, it's far higher. I think the Bank will cut by .25 next month. That's why i'm locking my monies away now at 6.70% for a year. I would have actually preferred two years but Nationwide are not doing these at the moment. Good discussion had; good to see mention of the all important yield curve again :thumbsup: (there is no thumbs up smilie).

Beate

dinosaur1234 wrote: »

Hi

Can I ask what is probably quite a naive questoin

i am thinking about taking out a nationwide 6.7% bond - if I do can I open it with a smaller amount of money and then add to it over the year? assuming this is the case does the whole bond end on the anniversary of the opening date? thanks in advance for your help

The answer can be found in their Q&A's and is NO:
How much can I invest?

The minimum deposit and minimum balance on the e-Bond is £1. The maximum balance is £3,000,000. Please note you will not be able to add any further money after the activation of each bond, however, you may hold more than one e-Bond as long as the combined balance does not exceed £3,000,000.

Beate

Nick_C wrote: »

Are you aged 50 or more by any chance? SAGA http://www.saga.co.uk/finance/spf/home_fixed_rates.asp are currently offering 6.77% monthly for 1 year - AER 6.98% - or 6.58% for two years - AER 6.78%.

Alternatively, http://www.rufflerbank.co.uk/deposits/fixed_rate_bonds.php
have some very attractive rates with quarterly interest, but I had never heard of them before. source http://www.fsa.gov.uk/tables

I just clicked on the Saga link and it says the 1 year account is now closed and new 1 year rates will be launched soon.

Nick_C

Wow, Saga bonds get fully subscribed very quickly, this was available yesterday. I got in at 7.14% a couple of weeks ago. Worth keeping an eye on as they seem to consistently offer top rates.