The links below will take you to the appropriate savings page.
Frequently asked Questions about savings:
I have an endowment taken out in conjunction with my mortgage when I moved about 5 years ago and I have never received a statement. Can you conduct an endowment review for me?
Yes we can. The most likely reason you have never received a statement is that they are probably being sent to your old address. To conduct a review of your endowment all we would require is a letter of authority to be signed by yourself this would enable us to obtain all the information on your endowment form your product provider. Once in receipt of this information we can ascertain whether or not your policy is on target to reach its maturity value and advise you accordingly.
I am married with one child who is 3 years old, I would like to set up a savings plan to put him through university, I anticipate I will need about £5000, what should I do?
You can certainly set up a savings plan for your child with this objective in mind. You may have to rethink the amount you would need, £5000 may be sufficient to help get your child through university toady, however in 15 years time this figure is likely to be a great deal higher due to inflation and the Governments stance going further and further towards university education being privately funded.
I've had a traditional With Profits endowment for the past 18 years and wish to surrender it, can you sort this out for me?
Yes we can, however, it is highly likely that it will be more beneficial for you to sell this endowment at auction. This course of action is likely to make you more money than a simple surrender. The first step would be for you to meet one of our financial advisers so that he can complete a factfind and get all the necessary information on your endowment.
I have a relatively high income and have a large amount of disposable income at the end of each month. I would like to set up a savings plan can you help?
Yes we can, the first step would be for us to conduct an initial meeting where I can complete a factfind and find out all the details I would need to base my recommendations on. The advantage of investing on a monthly basis is that you buy units in your funds at a different price each month meaning that fluctuations in the stockmarket will not have such a dramatic effect as it would with a lump sum investment.
Individual Savings Accounts (ISA's) Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take money out of my ISA?
Yes you are able to take as much money out of our ISA as you like at any given time. You are, however, restricted to the amount you can put in. For example if you had a cash mini ISA and invested £2000, then took out £500 you would only be able to invest another £1000 in that given Tax Year making a total investment of £3000 regardless of how much you withdraw.
Are there any risks involved?
With every investment there are always risks involved. The risk will vary depending on what type of ISA you have. For example a stocks and shares ISA is a lot more riskier than a cash ISA. With Stocks and Shares ISA's the risk will also vary depending on where your fund / shares are invested in a geographical and sector sense. For example a fund invested in Japanese Technology companies carries a much higher risk rating than a fund investing in UK Large Cap Companies. It is important to seek independent financial advice when selecting a fund that suits your profile and you should always remember that the value of your investment can fall as well as rise.
How will I know how well my ISA is doing?
Your ISA provider should send you a statement detailing the value of the fund and how well it has performed over the set period between statements. You should receive this statement annually or half yearly depending on the provider.
I am thinking about taking out a unit trust in an ISA wrapper what are the charges?
The charges vary from provider to provider. You tend to find that the initial charge is about 5% - 6% of the amount invested and an annual management charge of approximately 1% - 2% per annum of the fund value. The Government introduced CAT standard (stands for cost, access and terms) ISA's a few years back, these were introduced to make ISA's more accessible to the general public and if you opt for a CAT ISA fund there are clear boundaries to what your ISA provider can charge you. |
