ISAs vs Saving accounts etc.

grumiofoundation

coachman12 said:

My shares portfolio is quite unconnected with any form of ISA. My shares are a portfolio in the purest sense of the word and cover a very wide range of sectors, managed by a longstanding personal financial adviser and stockbroker. No "Tax Wrappers" to quote that pretentious term. And  "No", I have nobody even vaguely connected to JISAs.

Yes pretentiousness is terrible isn't it. 

coachman12 said:

I stick to my advice to the O/P, potatobrains, that he should forget ISAs.  Martin Lewis has just stated the following and I agree with him 'Consider if a CASH ISA is worth it for you' - not 'forget ISAs'

"""1. All savings are now paid tax-free, so consider if a cash ISA is worth it for you

Yes for a lot of people ISAs are not useful - but that doesn't mean you forget about them. 

I notice you chose not to add any retort to the mention of Lifetime ISAs - is this an ISA to forget about as well?

schiff

I have a cash ISA from last year which I've not yet done anything about. The interest rate on it has been reduced over time but is currently at 1%. As I pay tax on interest it's worth 1.25% to me, better than most of the easy access cash accounts.

colsten

coachman12 said:

           ---------------------------------

I am talking only about NEW ISAs and I would not recommend them to anyone now.

Oh for goodness sake. There is nothing at all wrong with a new S&S ISA, LISA or JISA.

If you mean a normal adult cash ISA, then why not say so.

kinger101

coachman12 said:

colsten said:

coachman12 said:

Forget ISAs. 

Thanks for your suggestion.

I will absolutely definitely 100% not forget my S&S ISA as it would be a pretty irrational thing to do.

I don't have any JISA or LISA but I reckon it would be equally irrational to forget them.

As to NS&I Bonds, those presently paying more than 1.16% are closed to new applicants so they are not an alternative for people looking for new savings accounts. The 1.16% Income Bond might be a viable alternative for some if the T&Cs of the account suit - which they don't for many people (e.g. those who don't have £500 at a time to put away). I would definitely not consider a 1.16% AER cash account a viable alternative for my long term investments, and I don't consider it the best place to park my cash emergency fund as long as I have access to current and regular savings accounts that pay much better than 1.16%. 

Perhaps you weren't quite meant to suggest what you did?

coachman12 said:

I am as happy with my shares portfolio which is doing very well, though I have had a bit of a "shuffle" of its contents recently-----as I was mentioning recently on another thread concerning my large Astra Zeneca holdings. 

Is your shares portfolio in one or more tax wrappers? S&S ISA? SIPP? LISA?

Do you have kids/grandkids with JISAs?

I am talking only about NEW ISAs and I would not recommend them to anyone now

If you can't think of a circumstance under which it might be advantageous to use a cash ISA, you either lack imagination or an understanding of the UK tax regime.

coachman12

2unlimited91 said:

coachman12 said:

My shares portfolio is quite unconnected with any form of ISA. My shares are a portfolio in the purest sense of the word and cover a very wide range of sectors, managed by a longstanding personal financial adviser and stockbroker. No "Tax Wrappers" to quote that pretentious term. And  "No", I have nobody even vaguely connected to JISAs.

My wife opened an ISA, and that's why I divorced her.

     

JoDo45

Iv extended my matured isa because I was still getting a decent rate 

coachman12

JoDo45 said:

Iv extended my matured isa because I was still getting a decent rate 

And may I ask, Jo, what the decent rate is please ? 
And may I ask whether the nice gent who started this thread has decided to get an TISA, LISA, BISA, FRISA, GRRRRISA, JISA, MISA, DERISA or any such mechanism or is he WISA than that and has taken note of what the founder of the Forum, Mr Lewis, said this week, part of which I included in a post earlier on this thread ?
And while I make a return guest appearance on this thread, may I add that my degree in Economics and Politics never prepared me for some of the comments on these Forums   
Finally, I had been waiting for kinger to make an appearance-----always such a pleasure.

eskbanker

coachman12 said:
My shares portfolio is quite unconnected with any form of ISA. My shares are a portfolio in the purest sense of the word and cover a very wide range of sectors, managed by a longstanding personal financial adviser and stockbroker. No "Tax Wrappers" to quote that pretentious term.

When selectively citing Martin Lewis, do you think he'd in any way agree with exposure to unnecessary tax liabilities by wilfully ignoring a shelter used by many savvy investors?  I seem to recall that this site used to offer dumbed-down explanatory analogies for ISAs involving shopping baskets and/or pieces of cake, perhaps suited to those who consider the standard terminology 'pretentious'.  Maybe you need a better financial advISA?

Zanderman

coachman12 said:
may I add that my degree in Economics and Politics never prepared me for some of the comments on these Forums   

Not a very good course then?

PS If you need a course that (I'd guess) explains the different types of ISAs and why there is more to the concept than the bog-standard cash ISA try this brand new one from, er, Martin Lewis himself:  https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-business/mses-academy-money/content-section-overview

kinger101

coachman12 said:

JoDo45 said:

Iv extended my matured isa because I was still getting a decent rate 

And may I ask, Jo, what the decent rate is please ? 
And may I ask whether the nice gent who started this thread has decided to get an TISA, LISA, BISA, FRISA, GRRRRISA, JISA, MISA, DERISA or any such mechanism or is he WISA than that and has taken note of what the founder of the Forum, Mr Lewis, said this week, part of which I included in a post earlier on this thread ?
And while I make a return guest appearance on this thread, may I add that my degree in Economics and Politics never prepared me for some of the comments on these Forums   
Finally, I had been waiting for kinger to make an appearance-----always such a pleasure.

FYI, OP's post was pretty much answered by the first response.  People are merely challenging your incorrect assertion that ISAs are useless.    

S&S ISAs allow people to shield assets from income tax and capital gains tax.  And access their money as quickly as funds can be liquidated.

LISAs are essentially free money to some people saving for a house, and are usually better than pensions (once employer match is maxed-out) for basic rate taxpayers whom cannot benefit from salary sacrifice.

The JISA, which can be S&S or cash is a very good product for saving for children.  The higher interest rates available on them usually means they beat inflation, and they would almost certainly be a better option than say multi-asset fund with a high bond allocation for example.

But even the cash ISA with its pitiful interest rates is useful in some circumstances.  As is outlined in one example which came up on this very forum last week.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77176476

So your sweeping assertions that ISAs are useless has no basis.  The fact you've studied economics doesn't change the reality that some people will pay 40% income tax on savings interest.  Or that even on smaller deposits, unwrapping savings to gain a slightly higher interest rate should be balanced with the risk that the £500 or £1000 interest allowances might not be available in future years.

This forum is a brilliant place to pick great tips for saving efficiently, and I've gained a lot of valuable information, both from contributors whom I agree with and disagree with.  But if you make statements that are untrue, you can expect to be called out on them.  Rather than taking umbrage, why not try to understand what people have written?