Best place to invest £15k

Edinburgh64

I have an endowment policy coming to full term mid Oct. My morgage has been paid in full and so I would like to know the best place to invest 2/3 of the policy, approx £15k? I know savings rates are terrible so any advice would be great. Thank you 

bowlhead99

As you no longer need the money for the mortgage, it depends what your goals and ambitions for the money really are. 

 If you are likely to need the cash for something soon you can just shop around for the best instant access interest rate.

If you still need all the cash and don't want investment risk but don't need it right away you could put it in a fixed term savings account for one or two years which would get more than a percent of interest, though it may not be more than whatever inflation turns out to be.

If you don't need the money for 8-10+ years you might like to put it in an investment fund within an S&S ISA with the intention that it grows over the longer term.  If you don't need it until you're in your late 50s, for most people it would probably be most efficient to contribute it to a pension - which would be able to hold the same sort of investment funds as S&S ISAs, but with the added benefit of some tax relief.

Albermarle

Edinburgh64 said:

I have an endowment policy coming to full term mid Oct. My morgage has been paid in full and so I would like to know the best place to invest 2/3 of the policy, approx £15k? I know savings rates are terrible so any advice would be great. Thank you 

If you are ever a reader of this forum ( where very similar questions are asked all the time)  you can guess what comes next 
More info is needed about you to offer any sensible guidance:
Age?; family?; employed?; pension provision? ; comfortable with risk or only 100% safe?; any savings or other investments ?etc 

Edinburgh64

Hi, Albermarle, here is some more info about me. I'm 56, divorced, no dependents,  self employed,  contribute to a pension but really need to up my contributions.  I have some shares and a couple of ISA'S. I'm happy to invest the money as I don't require it for the foreseeable future. I would prefer no risk if possible. Hope this helps. 

Thrugelmir

Edinburgh64 said:

 contribute to a pension but really need to up my contributions.  

There's a starting point then perhaps. 
What are you currently investing into? 

xylophone

I'm happy to invest the money as I don't require it for the foreseeable future. I would prefer no risk if possible

No risk to capital?  Then you are not happy to invest.

Savings?

https://moneyfacts.co.uk/savings-accounts/  but be careful to check the interest rates as they change in the blink of an eye.

contribute to a pension but really need to up my contributions. 

If you do choose "invest" and you are unlikely to be accessing the pension for another ten years and you don't require short term access, your pension seems a likely home for your money?

ColdIron

Edinburgh64 said:

I'm happy to invest the money as I don't require it for the foreseeable future. I would prefer no risk if possible.

You'll have to choose one or the other. All investments carry some risk

csgohan4

Edinburgh64 said:

Hi, Albermarle, here is some more info about me. I'm 56, divorced, no dependents,  self employed,  contribute to a pension but really need to up my contributions.  I have some shares and a couple of ISA'S. I'm happy to invest the money as I don't require it for the foreseeable future. I would prefer no risk if possible. Hope this helps. 

maybe premium bonds or the savings accounts might be preferable then

Albermarle

I would prefer no risk if possible.

As already said if you want to invest and get a return above what you can get in a savings account , you need to take a risk .

However you should be clear what 'risk ' means in this context . Firstly as long as you stick to mainstream investments ( so no landbanks , tropical forests; car park spaces; mini bonds paying 15% etc ) then there is no risk that you will lose all your money unless there is an all out nuclear war etc. Then with the mainstream investments you can choose different level of risk & potential return . If you keep the investments long term then the risk effectively fades away based on very long historical trends.

On the positive side you should see returns at least above inflation , whilst your safe savings will lose to inflation every year .

Copperbark

Albermarle said:

If you keep the investments long term then the risk effectively fades away based on very long historical trends.

I once read that over the last 100 years or more, there hasn't been a single 20-year period when you'd have done better to hold cash savings than UK stocks.  In other words, if your time frame is long enough stocks always win.

I wish I knew what the reference for that was.  Does anyone know?

thegentleway

Copperbark said:

Albermarle said:

If you keep the investments long term then the risk effectively fades away based on very long historical trends.

I once read that over the last 100 years or more, there hasn't been a single 20-year period when you'd have done better to hold cash savings than UK stocks.  In other words, if your time frame is long enough stocks always win.

I wish I knew what the reference for that was.  Does anyone know?

Could be: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-2097825/Credit-Suisse-stock-market-returns-1900-The-24-year-spell-UK-shares-failed.html