Why an ISA?

The rules for ISA (Individual Savings Accounts) have changed this tax-year, so I thought it was time to review this valuable tax-avoidance scheme. What is an ISA? ISAs are little more than an official tax-wrapper into which other investments may be hidden from the tax-man. Each tax year every adult has an allowance of £7,200 (increased from £7,000 last year) and cash, shares, unit-trusts and investment trusts may be held inside this tax wrapper. Cash is treated differently to other investments in that there is a maximum of £3,600 (up from £3,000 last year) but if you use the cash allowance, the remainder may be made up of the other types of ...  Read the complete review

In the current climate it is wise to save as much money as you can. Pensions are being questioned left, right and centre. House prices are staying at a high level meaning those who want to get on the property ladder are being edged out. It’s all doom and gloom so if you’ve got it, then they’re telling you to keep it. I came into a modest amount of money last year that I wanted to keep away. At first you weigh up the options of investment and regular savings. At present all the high street banks are clamouring for your custom by offering current accounts with decent interest rates. But what looks good on the surface normally ends up having clauses. You’ll find ...  Read the complete review

Now finance is probably not the subject of choice for most people on a Saturday morning after the excess of a Friday night but I remember from my days as a bank manager that Saturday mornings were the busiest time of the week for both counter transactions and appointments for financial reviews so today I’m going to attempt to shed some light on the subjects of ISA’s or to gave them their fill name Individuals Savings Account. Brief History When ISA were launched they were intended to provide a tax free method of savings to all individuals over the age of 18 with a range of options as to how you saved your money. In effect it was hoped that those ...  Read the complete review

Until recently the whole of your PEP or ISA allowance would normally go to one fund manager. So you would select a “Jupiter ISA” or a “Schroder ISA” - and send your £7,000 to Jupiter or Schroder. If that fund manager was no longer appropriate, you switched the whole lot to another fund manager. You would then get separate statements from each PEP or ISA manager. Not any more. Instead of selecting one fund manager, your ISA or PEP is with the Supermarket. The Supermarket effectively provides an administrative “basket” for your ISAs and PEPs - into which you can place your choice of funds. So your £7,000 might be split between five ...  Read the complete review

There is so much confusion over ISA's with over-complicated explanations and confusion between maxi and a mini ISA's. It is really very simple, see if you think I can do any better: An ISA is a tax free wrapper for most investment products. Wrapping an investment in an ISA means there is no income tax or capital gains tax to pay. As it is quite a generous tax break there are limits on how much you can put in. The maximum investment in any one tax year is £7,000. You can EITHER either invest up to a maximum £7,000 in the stockmarket in shares, unit trusts, investment trusts, gilts or bonds in a so-called maxi-ISA OR, you can split ...  Read the complete review