Forester Friendly £5000 investment bond

Hello,

Has anyone had any experience with Forester Friendly?

They have a Quidco offer whereby if you invest £5000 into their investment bond account for 3 months, you get £225 Cashback.

I can't seem to find out much about the portfolio the monies are invested into.

I am worried about investing in bonds as I believe interest rates are likely to go up, which will result in the value decreasing.

Does anyone know where the monies are invested?

:beer:

Comments

  • Reed_Richards
    Reed_Richards Posts: 4,061
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    The term "bond" is used for a wide range of different investment products. I doubt that this one will prove to be of the type you are looking for.
    Reed
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,038
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    They have a Quidco offer whereby if you invest £5000 into their investment bond account for 3 months, you get £225 Cashback.

    With their charges, they need gimmicks. They are only giving you back a fraction of what you are paying in charges. It was 2.08% p.a. charges.
    I am worried about investing in bonds as I believe interest rates are likely to go up, which will result in the value decreasing.
    This product has nothing to do with interest rates. It is an investment bond and not a fixed term deposit.

    Investment bonds are a tax wrapper which is rather niche nowadays. Largely made obsolete with the increase in ISA allowance to £20k and the dividend allowance changes to unwrapped holdings. You could hold around £200k without needing an investment bond. And even then, 7.5% on dividends is less than the 20% internal taxation (although through reliefs it could end up between 13-18%). So, that makes it really only useful for higher rate taxpayers who may be a basic rate taxpayer in the future.

    If this was being placed under advice for £5000 then it would likely be classed as a missale. If you buy it on a DIY basis, then it cant be a missale but it would be a misbuy. Pretty disgraceful that they are using a marketing gimmick to get people to buy such a niche option that is likely to be unsuitable for the majority of people.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622
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    Arazan wrote: »
    Hello,

    Has anyone had any experience with Forester Friendly?

    They have a Quidco offer whereby if you invest £5000 into their investment bond account for 3 months, you get £225 Cashback.

    I can't seem to find out much about the portfolio the monies are invested into.

    I am worried about investing in bonds as I believe interest rates are likely to go up, which will result in the value decreasing.

    Does anyone know where the monies are invested?

    :beer:


    That would be because its not aimed at people who care or even understand what that means.
    If you can even ask that question, its the wrong product for you (its probably the wrong product for most people which is why they have to be bribed to get it).
  • Ed-1
    Ed-1 Posts: 3,867
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    Nothing stopping you cashing it in after 3 months in which case you would be charged substantially less than 2.08% on the £5k.
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