Where is it best to put £100k?

2ba3c_thesecond

My OH and I (hopefully) are buying our first property next year, with a deposit from some shares we have been paid out on, that will be around £100,000.

Where should we put this money? We want to put it somewhere safe and readily accessible to us in 6 months time. We haven't used both our ISAs, so should we do that to start with?

eskbanker

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/#easyaccess for 1.5+% AER or £50K each in Premium Bonds for an average annualised return in 1.25% but a tiny chance of a decent win.  No point in ISAs for this IMHO....

MrFrugalFever

I would also look in to opening a LISA each, providing it is definitely a first time purchase for both and you are both under the age of 39. Claim £2,000 in government bonus for it. 

eskbanker

MrFrugalFever said:

I would also look in to opening a LISA each, providing it is definitely a first time purchase for both and you are both under the age of 39. Claim £2,000 in government bonus for it. 

....but lose all that and more if you buy within a year!  OP does refer to 'next year' but also 'readily accessible in six months time'....

MrFrugalFever

eskbanker said:

MrFrugalFever said:

I would also look in to opening a LISA each, providing it is definitely a first time purchase for both and you are both under the age of 39. Claim £2,000 in government bonus for it. 

....but lose all that and more if you buy within a year!  OP does refer to 'next year' but also 'readily accessible in six months time'....

A great point and that’s why I said ‘look in to’, if their circumstances change so that they are delayed in buying, they could benefit.

A potential recession is on the horizon and that may be another reason to hold fire for a little while to establish a clearer path.

eskbanker

Yes, it's true that opening LISAs with a token quid or similar keeps options open, but there'd be no point in funding them with meaningful money until it's clear that the purchase would be after this time next year, so the issue of what to do with the £100K in the mean time would remain.

pjread

For 6 month time horizon, I can't think of a better answer than premium bonds.  Some other NS&I or bank savings accounts work too, but I don't think you can meaningfully beat expected returns from PBs right now (post-tax) - the randomness evens out with larger holdings unless you're super unlucky/lucky.

Millyonare

Several banks and platforms right now have 2.0% to 2.1% saving deals for 4 or 6 months, such as OakNorth or Raisin. Spread the £100k around 2-4 savings accounts, for safety, and interest will go up by £1,000 or so in half-a-year. Dont forget to pay the tax on the interest (if applicable).

Beddie

50k each in premium bonds, might get a decent return, or not, but it's safe and easy to get to when you need it!