Advising a Relative on Their Finances

Cotta

Hi All,


My Mum has asked for some advice on managing her £12000. She has other money in various accounts but it is the £12k that she wants to do something with.


Mum is very old school and I walked her (painfully) through the process of switching accounts to Nationwide for the £100 reward and two 5% saving's accounts.


She has an account doing nothing so I am going to walk her through the process again and switch to HSBC and from this setup another Regular saver at 5%.


Mum has stipulated that she does not like doing this and would prefer to tie up the £12000 where it can make the maximum return.


What are my Mum's best options if we do things her way or if we do what will make the most money for her?


Thanks in advance

AnotherJoe

Then just look at the fixed period savings rates in here here and pick the best match of duration and interest rate that fit how long shes willing to tie it up for.. Not rocket science.

barnstar2077

I think the answer depends on how long this money is to remain untouched for?

Malthusian

Does she have Lasting Powers of Attorney in place?

xylophone

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1583859/Best-savings-rates-General-savings-Internet-branch.html

Emily_Joy

Whenever somebody comes up to me with a question like this, I go to moneysupermarket and pick up the best option which ticks the points. Being very old school however might mean she would prefer NS&I ?

Voyager2002

Unless she needs the money within the next couple of years, she should look at the stock market. Wind power offers dividends amounting to 5 per cent, along with a reasonable chance of a capital gain and very low risk of any losses.

LHW99

As there are savings accounts with various notice periods, would it be helpful to split the amount, and have say £2k in an instant access account, £5K on 1 years notice and £5K on 2 years notice?

Christhesparky

How about 4000 in a 1 year fix, 4000 in a 2 year fix and the final 4000 in a 3 year fix. When each matures reinvest into a 3 year fixed rate, so you have one account maturing every year and being reinvested

eskbanker

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Unless she needs the money within the next couple of years, she should look at the stock market. Wind power offers dividends amounting to 5 per cent, along with a reasonable chance of a capital gain and very low risk of any losses.

I disagree with this....

Investing is generally only recommended for timescales of at least five years and preferably 7-10, taking into account what historical data tells us about economic cycles.

And wind power doesn't offer any dividends as such, but perhaps some specific companies in that industry (within the UK?) do. However, investing solely in individual companies, or even in very narrow sector funds, is poor practice compared with having a properly diversified portfolio that has the best chance of riding out peaks and troughs and minimising the potential for total loss by spreading eggs across many baskets. Many thought that banking shares were solid and relatively safe until 12 years ago, and investors in the likes of Enron, Carillion, etc, also no doubt felt that they were backing horses with good prospects!

LobsterMemory

If she's as old school as my late Mum, she'll want easy access and monthly interest (in the absence of a passbook!)

Her requirements 3-4 years ago were met by Aldermore, but I imagine nowadays it would be a Marcus account