Junior S&S ISA advice please

RUTHIE.S

I am looking for some advice please.
My children aged 16 and 14 have £10,000 each  left to them in a will.
After researching I am thinking of putting it into Vanguard LifeStrategy 60%.
Would this be a good option or any other ideas please?
Thank you

masonic

How soon after their 18th birthdays do you think they will want to access this money?

RUTHIE.S

I’m hoping once they reach 18 they will be sensible enough to keep it as a house deposit and add to it once they are able. 

masonic

VLS60 should really be bought with am intended holding period of 10 years, so if they wouldn't be in a position to buy until their late 20s then it could be suitable to invest in now and move over to a LISA in the years leading up to buying.

eskbanker

Agree that significant investment at this stage may not be appropriate but perhaps worth noting that 16 year olds are deemed old enough to take control of their JISAs, even though the funds can't actually be accessed until 18, so worth involving the older one in their decision (not that many 16 year olds will have an accurate plan about when they'll look to get onto the property ladder!).

Also, relatively minor admin point but the annual contribution limit to JISAs is £9K, after being more than doubled last month....

RUTHIE.S

Thanks for your replies.
Yes I read it was now 9k.. which is good. It’s hard to decide whether I’m better to put it into a Junior cash ISA.. or be braver and invest in S&S ISA.

RUTHIE.S

Also.. they both have a Child Trust Fund.. can they have a S&S ISA as well?

Alexland

You would need to transfer their CTF into the new Cash or S&S JISA. They cannot have a S&S ISA until age 18.

masonic

RUTHIE.S said:

Also.. they both have a Child Trust Fund.. can they have a S&S ISA as well?

No, if they have a CTF they cannot also have a Junior ISA, but their CTF could be transferred into a Junior ISA. Presumably it's a S&S JISA you mean, as they would need to be over 18 to open an adult S&S ISA, though your 16 year old can open an adult cash ISA.

Alexland

Oh and the CTF transfer would count as a previous tax year JISA contribution so the full £9k annual allowance would still be available. As such you might wish to add the full allowance into the CTF before transferring so that you can wrap the full £10k and still have JISA allowance remaining.
Check with the CTF provider if there are any implications to transferring out. I heard some With Profits type funds were applying reductions due to the recent stock market crash.

RUTHIE.S

Thank you for your help😊