Timing advice on transfer of Cash ISA

Quarkling

Hello there,
I'm very new to ISAs - only started one about two years ago - and have been looking at finances and realised that I could be getting at least 1% more on my cash ISA if I transfer it to another provider. I have two questions first:


1. When is the best time to transfer an ISA? Should I wait until the new ISA financial year and see what new deals are out and then transfer? (I understand if I do this, I'll need to go with a provider that will accept old ISA complete transfers).


2. Follow-on to #1, when will providers release their rates and deals for the next ISA year (19/20)? Due to the state of the UK and Brexit looming, I'm wondering if I should transfer in this ISA year to get the best deal.


Context: I am in the upper tax bracket, so can only earn £500 a year before tax of interest, so an ISA is the best bet. I'm not ready to start investing yet, so sticking with a safe Cash ISA and looking to save up another 2 years before using it for a house deposit (so two-year fixed term would be ideal). And no, I do not qualify for the first-time buyer's ISA. I currently have about 45k in my ISA, with a 0.75% rate with HSBC (abysmal).


I'd appreciate some advice.


- Q

Reed_Richards

I take it you are looking at fixed-term ISAs where the interest rates are higher than for those which allow easy access to your funds. If not, transfer straight away and then transfer again if you find a better deal later.

The best ISA rates for new money are often found around March and April when financial institutions are looking to attract last-minute investors at the end of the old financial year and then early-bird investors at the start of the new one. Some of these will also allow transfers in of old money. Other than that, the only stimulus would be if the Bank of England were to raise its interest rate.

eskbanker

Reed_Richards wrote: »

The best ISA rates for new money are often found around March and April when financial institutions are looking to attract last-minute investors at the end of the old financial year and then early-bird investors at the start of the new one.

While that certainly used to be the case, my recollection is that there hasn't really been an identifiable 'ISA season' for a number of years now, at least since the cash ISA market became less competitive following the 2016 introduction of the personal savings allowance.