stockd and shares ISA

Blondie21_2

I have a stocks and shares ISA with the Halifax. I understand it a Corporate Bond (I dont know which one) - I get a small quarterly incopme from it. It is losing money and I would like to know how I can keep some sort of track on it. It seems that when the footsie is doing well, my ISA drops and then the reverse seesms true? I would be most grateful if anyone could help me with some info please. Many thanks.

Aegis

Corporate bonds are fixed-income assets, which means that in times when the FTSE declines they will often be seen as "safe harbours" for investors that change their strategy to suit market conditions. The reverse is therefore likely to be true as well.

If you're taking money out of your ISA as well, this won't help the situation...

You might want to consider moving your ISA and diversifying a little. If your attitude to risk allows for exposure to equities (i.e. like the FTSE) then you'll find that in the long run they do quite well but are much more volatile than your corporate bond fund.

There's a lot of information on the forum (especially in the ISA forum) about selecting a stocks and shares ISA which you might find interesting.

Blondie21_2

Thanks for your reply. The £4000 stocks and shares ISA I have was set up to provide me with an income. So it should not affect the fact that it should hopefully make mony for me in the future. I realy would like to know if tracking the Bond is somehow possible?

Aegis

If you know the name of the fund you're in, you can probably track it on trustnet (www.trustnet.com). this will give you an idea of it's price on anything up to a daily basis, assuming it's a unit trust or an OEIC...

dunstonh

Fixed interest funds have been weak over the last 2 years but have been showing signs of picking up. This is normal as they tend to perform less well (or go down) when interest rates rise. They tend to perform better when interest rates drop which is where we are going at the moment.

You are with a fairly naff provider and fund and can do a lot better (and at no cost to get it sorted too). How its set up currently, you should expect to make little or no money on the capital over the long term but expect it to weave a wavy line up and down between small growth and small loss.

If you want a better yield with potential for real growth then you need to invest it better.

Blondie21_2

Thanks for your reply. You say I'm not with a very good provder. Could you possibly advise on what is the best way to invest my money and with whom please. Many thanks.

dunstonh

Blondie21 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. You say I'm not with a very good provder. Could you possibly advise on what is the best way to invest my money and with whom please. Many thanks.

Bank products are generally very poor. They are also generally expensive. Even those linked to brand name insurers retail their products with either more features/funds removed and/or higher charges than the IFA version.

You should never seek advice from a bank. You went to Halifax and they basically had 1 fund available to offer you in that area. IFAs have hundreds from the whole marketplace.

You can either go DIY and correct this yourself or get an IFA to correct it for you.