S+S ISA for house deposit

Mick70

Hi all
would be interested to hear any comments/advice on this

My daughter has about £20k in a S+S ISA , about £15k in the bank savings (not isa) and has a LISA which again is about £15k and is maxing that out every year - so about £50k in total. 
She is hoping to move out and buy her first home in 3 years .

My query is , as she may move out in 2-3 year which is a relatively short timescale, should she now seek to sell the S+S ISA and put it into a savings account , she cant afford to lose that money IF markets were to crash as its not  along term investment where she could sit back and wait for it to recover .

Any opinions appreciated

Thanks
Mick

Woodstok2000

If the investment is short term, and I would class 2-3 years as short in markets, my opinion is she would be better with a cash isa, or a standard savings account, depending on her tax situation and the amount of interest she expects to earn. 

dunstonh

My query is , as she may move out in 2-3 year which is a relatively short timescale, should she now seek to sell the S+S ISA and put it into a savings account , she cant afford to lose that money IF markets were to crash as its not  along term investment where she could sit back and wait for it to recover .

As she cannot wait following a crash, then she should be in cash now.

2-3 years is not relatively short.  Its very short.  Its not worth the risk.  Especially after 3 years of above-average returns.

Mick70

thanks , just cements what I was thinking as her father, but lack some knowledge in certain areas, why take more risk if would cause you a major issue it values went south 

Mick70

apparently Vanguard are terrible for dragging heels regarding a transfer to another provider cash ISA so in this instance im likely to just sell it this week, just confirmn with my daughter when speak tonight, problem is shes a nurse and when does come in is always too tired to discuss these things  

eskbanker

Mick70 said:

apparently Vanguard are terrible for dragging heels regarding a transfer to another provider cash ISA so in this instance im likely to just sell it this week, just confirmn with my daughter when speak tonight, problem is shes a nurse and when does come in is always too tired to discuss these things  

You may be mixing up two different things there - if transferring away from S&S into cash then the investments have to be sold anyway, but the disposal of the proceeds is independent of that.  She could, for example, sell the investments sooner rather than later and leave the money within the S&S ISA, perhaps invested in something low risk like a short term money marker fund, rather than transferring to a cash ISA (or withdrawing outside the ISA wrapper) - the key thing is to eliminate as much of the investment risk as possible if losses can't be contemplated, so the (subsequent) timescale to transfer from S&S to cash ISA is largely irrelevant....

ColdIron

Bear in mind that it's likely that she won't be able to transfer her S&S ISA to a cash ISA from 6th April next year

Mick70

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81854983#Comment_81854983

didnt realise this, how come ?

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81878077#Comment_81878077

Announced in the most recent budget, new rules are being introduced. How come? The government claims that it thinks it will persuade more people to invest in the stockmarket.

"You will NO longer be able to transfer money from stocks and shares ISAs and innovative finance ISAs into cash ISAs. This ban won't apply to transfers between cash ISAs."

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/11/cash-isa-limit-cut-martin-lewis-budget/

https://chartwellfs.com/isas-shake-up-on-the-horizon/

Mick70

Thanks .. I wasn't aware you could no longer transfer

vanguard apparently are horrendous for dragging their heels if transferring out so its prob too late now

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81878173#Comment_81878173

You still can, just not from S&S ISAs to Cash ISAs after 06/04/27.