19 Year old Euro Inheritance - what to do?

JG7
JG7 Posts: 7 Forumite
in Savings & investments
Hello,

Quick introduction - I'm currently a student at university, studying Accounting and Finance, and have a basic knowledge of investing etc. I am on the verge of inheriting around €150k, and would really appreciate advice on what best to do with the funds.

My current plans are just to open a Euro account and place the funds in there; but as a finance student i'm aware this would be one of the least productive ways of handling it. Currently, as student I have a lot of time to learn about investing and ways of creating passive income, but I don't know the best place to get started. If you were in my position, what would you do with the funds?

All help and advice is appreciated :beer:

Regards
«1

Comments

  • JG7
    JG7 Posts: 7 Forumite
    Any and all advice is welcome
  • Apodemus
    Apodemus Posts: 3,384 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
    I think folks would need a bit more info about your current financial situation, your life plans and whether you envisage being in U.K. or eurozone for the longer term.
  • Plus
    Plus Posts: 433 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    In the first place, open at least two Euro accounts to transfer it into - one isn't enough to have FSCS protection. Citibank, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and others have Euro accounts - they're pretty lame as current accounts, but should do enough to just put the money in a holding pattern.

    Once you have that sorted, you then have time to work out what you want to do with the money - including deciding whether to change it into a pounds or not, and when you might do that. There's no need to be hasty - time spent learning may prevent expensive mistakes at the beginning.
  • JG7
    JG7 Posts: 7 Forumite
    edited 23 March 2017 at 2:07PM
    Plus wrote: »
    In the first place, open at least two Euro accounts to transfer it into - one isn't enough to have FSCS protection. Citibank, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and others have Euro accounts - they're pretty lame as current accounts, but should do enough to just put the money in a holding pattern.

    Once you have that sorted, you then have time to work out what you want to do with the money - including deciding whether to change it into a pounds or not, and when you might do that. There's no need to be hasty - time spent learning may prevent expensive mistakes at the beginning.

    Thanks very much for reply - even this has helped me significantly. I am now looking into opening two Euro accounts. Under the impression that Barclays and HSBC offer the best rates. In a bit of a tough position as I have no-one really to advise me on this situation.

    Where do you feel may be a good place to start learning with this sort of situation and strategic investment decision-making? I have read basic investor books such as the intelligent investor, purely out of interest - but even from there I'm not too sure how to get started.

    Thanks again for your response - really appreciate it.
  • JG7
    JG7 Posts: 7 Forumite
    Apodemus wrote: »
    I think folks would need a bit more info about your current financial situation, your life plans and whether you envisage being in U.K. or eurozone for the longer term.

    I am currently a student, with a small overdraft in my second year, around £20k of debt, which I was planning on paying back regularly through monthly payments when in a job post-graduation.

    I have plans to study for a masters in finance and will use some of the funds for that, otherwise the rest is to either save or invest and I realistically don't want to touch it. In the future I hope to be in London but as I have dual nationality (British/French) I could work in the eurozone if the opportunity presents itself.
  • greatkingrat
    greatkingrat Posts: 324 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    I'd clear the overdraft / loans first. That still leaves you with a substantial sum to invest for the future.
  • Plus
    Plus Posts: 433 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    JG7 wrote: »
    Thanks very much for reply - even this has helped me significantly. I am now looking into opening two Euro accounts. Under the impression that Barclays and HSBC offer the best rates. In a bit of a tough position as I have no-one really to advise me on this situation.

    For Euro accounts, almost nobody pays interest. Citi used to, but I discover their accounts now have a nasty monthly fee - so best avoided. Finding Euro accounts is hard enough. As you have a French connection you might be able to open a Euro account in France: while the interest rate won't be high, you'll likely have more options there. British banks are pretty useless when it comes to Euro services, so all the accounts offered are a bit lame (they seem to prefer cheques to online banking, for some reason).

    Have a look at monevator.com for investment basics. And don't feel you have to jump in straightaway - better to learn with small amounts as you go than make expensive mistakes.
  • JG7
    JG7 Posts: 7 Forumite
    Plus wrote: »
    For Euro accounts, almost nobody pays interest. Citi used to, but I discover their accounts now have a nasty monthly fee - so best avoided. Finding Euro accounts is hard enough. As you have a French connection you might be able to open a Euro account in France: while the interest rate won't be high, you'll likely have more options there. British banks are pretty useless when it comes to Euro services, so all the accounts offered are a bit lame (they seem to prefer cheques to online banking, for some reason).

    Have a look at monevator.com for investment basics. And don't feel you have to jump in straightaway - better to learn with small amounts as you go than make expensive mistakes.

    Thanks for the information. I will look into the Euro accounts in France. I know this may be hard to answer, but with your current knowledge, what would you do with the funds if you were in my position right now? Mix of bonds, stocks & cash? ETFs? ISAs? Wondering out of curiosity more than anything
  • Superscrooge
    Superscrooge Posts: 1,171 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    If you are thinking of stocks and shares investments then it makes sense to use your full ISA allowance each year. You only have two weeks left to use this tax years ISA allowance.
  • bigadaj
    bigadaj Posts: 11,531 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Superscrooge wrote: »
    If you are thinking of stocks and shares investments then it makes sense to use your full ISA allowance each year. You only have two weeks left to use this tax years ISA allowance.

    Which just means opening an account and crediting your money. There's no particular need to rush a purchase of funds, you can take your time doing that.
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