Scottish Friendly Savings account

bonnie2024

Good afternoon, I have a Scottish Friendly account set up for my daughters future. I pay in £100 a month and there is around £5500 in there at the moment. It is currently in a UWP fund account. The interest has been very little and it has actually lost money. Does anyone have any recommendations for a better fund on Scottish friendly? I understand any recommendations are at my own risk. Thank you in advance. 

dunstonh

 It is currently in a UWP fund account.

That means it isnt a savings account but an investment.

 The interest has been very little and it has actually lost money.

It isnt an interest paying investment.   It is a capital at risk investment using insured funds (accumulation units only).

 Does anyone have any recommendations for a better fund on Scottish friendly?

This type of plan went obsolete around 1995.  So, its not difficult to find better alternatives.    However, given that you think it was a savings account rather than an investment, I would be wary of people giving you alternatives when its unclear what you are after.

i.e. investments zig zag on a daily basis and you do get periodic negative years.  The fact you don't appear to be aware of that would mean its not worth anyone suggesting other investments as an alternative, even if they are better.    Also, you don't mention her age. Timescale dilutes risk (generally), so what is suitable for a 5 year old will be different to a 15 year old.

bonnie2024

dunstonh said:

 It is currently in a UWP fund account.

That means it isnt a savings account but an investment.

 The interest has been very little and it has actually lost money.

It isnt an interest paying investment.   It is a capital at risk investment using insured funds (accumulation units only).

 Does anyone have any recommendations for a better fund on Scottish friendly?

This type of plan went obsolete around 1995.  So, its not difficult to find better alternatives.    However, given that you think it was a savings account rather than an investment, I would be wary of people giving you alternatives when its unclear what you are after.

i.e. investments zig zag on a daily basis and you do get periodic negative years.  The fact you don't appear to be aware of that would mean its not worth anyone suggesting other investments as an alternative, even if they are better.    Also, you don't mention her age. Timescale dilutes risk (generally), so what is suitable for a 5 year old will be different to a 15 year old.

Hi Dunstonh, you are completely right I have no idea what I am doing. I believe once I pay for 10 years (currently at 5) i would receive all my investment back anyway. None is at risk if I withdraw after the 10 year mark. She is currently 10 so I would probably look to invest for another 8 years. Just something that may give a small profit at the end would be good. If I invested £10K for example I got an extra like £500 in interest/growth.  

bonnie2024

bonnie2024 said:

dunstonh said:

 It is currently in a UWP fund account.

That means it isnt a savings account but an investment.

 The interest has been very little and it has actually lost money.

It isnt an interest paying investment.   It is a capital at risk investment using insured funds (accumulation units only).

 Does anyone have any recommendations for a better fund on Scottish friendly?

This type of plan went obsolete around 1995.  So, its not difficult to find better alternatives.    However, given that you think it was a savings account rather than an investment, I would be wary of people giving you alternatives when its unclear what you are after.

i.e. investments zig zag on a daily basis and you do get periodic negative years.  The fact you don't appear to be aware of that would mean its not worth anyone suggesting other investments as an alternative, even if they are better.    Also, you don't mention her age. Timescale dilutes risk (generally), so what is suitable for a 5 year old will be different to a 15 year old.

Hi Dunstonh, you are completely right I have no idea what I am doing. I believe once I pay for 10 years (currently at 5) i would receive all my investment back anyway. None is at risk if I withdraw after the 10 year mark. She is currently 10 so I would probably look to invest for another 8 years. Just something that may give a small profit at the end would be good. If I invested £10K for example I got an extra like £500 in interest/growth.  

Some other options they have are, SF international ethical fund, Higher Medium and lower fund, International company bond, UK active, uk government, uk tracker and guaranteed cash fund  

masonic

What are the penalties for cashing in the investment? It is a poor product, which ought to be ditched, but after charges you might be better off staying the course. If you can't ditch, then the next best thing is to cut payments to the bare minimum required to avoid being penalised.