BEST JUNIOR ISA - NOW CHILD TRUST FUND CAN BE TRANSFERRED

[hulahoopsilove]

My DS born 2005 can now I believe have his Child Trust Fund transferred to Junior ISA.

Any ideas which the BEST is?

[dementedpixie]

think you have to wait until April to do this

[hulahoopsilove]

Which isnt that far off so want to look at the best options

[dementedpixie]

try looking on the moneysavingexpert site for the best deals

[hulahoopsilove]

There isnt a full list Ive already had a browse just wondered what others other Mumsnetters were looking at

[hulahoopsilove]

any more news on this anyone I cant find a thing!

[FurbysMakeSexNoises]

I asked my IFA about this and he felt there wasn't much benefit in swapping at the current time, I'd be interested in what others felt. My two have a Foreign and Colonial tracker CTF each.

[mamochkazzzzz]

my older kids have CTFs, they youngest does not has a JISA instead. CTFs not very glossy but the 'stakeholder' ones have protections. JISAs do not. So move to JISA from April if you want more choice, but you lose protections along the way.

[Daisy62]

Halifax junior cash ISA pays 4% provided that the parent has a Halifax cash ISA too. The parent need not put much in their own ISA if they don't want to. If the parent doesn't have an adult ISA, the junior IS pays 3%.

[ipadmad]

I've moved DS's to Junior Stocks & Shares ISA with BestInvest - similar set up to Hargreaves Lansdown as I like to pick the funds I want to invest in and have other investments with them.

[Melonfool]

There are different ways to measure 'best', aren't there?

An (J)ISA is just a wrapper that avoids tax. Many cash ISAs have a better interest rate than 'normal' savings account and this is what makes them worthwhile - it's pretty unlikely your 10yo is worried about tax at the moment. The other good thing about them is that by their legal structure the child cannot have the money until they are 18, and that may appeal to you.

So, there are two main types:

cash, and
stocks

Best for cash is probably simply dependent on the rate. I think Nationwide is pretty good. (3.25%)
You may also want to consider how their online systems work and how good their customer service is.

Best for investments is a whole nother issue. As well as looking at how their systems work and their customer services, you probably want to think about what it is actually invested in.
You will want to consider levels of risk, diversification, total return, historic returns, charges, total expense ratio, types of scheme management (i.e. active or passive).

Personally I would go for a FTSE 250 index tracker with a solid provider like L&G, or HL. (L&G seem to have an all-share tracker: www.legalandgeneral.com/investments/isas/junior-isa/ )

But you may prefer to manage it yourself, so just open an account and buy individual stocks of your own choosing.

It also depends how much you are putting in, how often etc.

[tricot39]

I have just moved out of the F&C CTF Tracker as it was FTSE 250 and I am fed up with woeful UK performance and want a low cost All World tracker. I like the look of Vanguard All World ETF but am having problems with AJ Bell Bestinvest not being able to deal for those shares. Hopefully they can sort this soon. I wanted to switch to a JISA to get access to a better range of funds. JISA wrappers will protect against income tax and CGT. It also means I can get both kids' funds in the same place which I couldn't do when we had one CTF and one JISA. I like the Monevator blog for investment approach - passive low cost and all world. Good luck

[ispyfispi]

Yes you can. There is also an opportunity to benefit while you do. CTFs investment limits run from child's birthday to birthday while junior ISAs like normal ISAs run between tax years (5th April-5th April). Depending on your child's age you can maximise their investment before their birthday then transfer it into a junior ISA and maximise the limit again before the tax year, essentially reaping double the limit. Ensure your invested, be it CTF or JISA in a managed fund with reasonable charges or else your child's investment will show little growth.

[chatsworth25]

junior cash isa -try halifax as you can get 4% if you have an isa yourself

Seriously i started the Child trust fund with family investments and they are now one family who i rate 0/10
the return on CHF is rubbish and goes down so i intend to transfer to halifax jar cash isa and at least get 4%

One family ethical fund apparently includes Shell,glaxo etc -ethical ???

[SENMumoftwo]

I must admit, I really struggle with choosing the 'right' type of fund to place DS's money in.

The Halifax Junior ISA is quite appealing at the minute. If only for the 4% interest rate (unless i'm missing something, that is).

[FurbysMakeSexNoises]

Ice been looking into this and am about to transfer to the Hargreaves Lansdown JISA- sure there are more profitable accounts but I can't be bothered to chase them every year as we haven't added to the original voucher so it's only going to be a small pot when they're 18.

Other than that I have a Halifax saver for them both and the equivalent of child benefit each month into a fidelity stocks and shares ISA.

[WreckingBallsInsideMyHead]

If you can afford it, set up a direct debit, even if it's for £20, it really does add up over the years

JISAs are different from normal savings accounts and indeed adult ISAs in that they cannot be withdrawn til the child is 18

[AnonymousBird]

Just reviving this thread - we have CTF's with not much in them, and although we've not really invested in them, we have 7 and 8 years left until the DC are 18 so better late then never to start!

Does anyone have any more recent views on pros and cons of CTF v. JISA?

Is transferring easy/free?

TIA for any experience over the last year since JISA's were launched.

[CuppaTeaAndAJammieDodger]

This is the first I've heard about being able to transfer them - so thanks for reviving!

[AnonymousBird]

No problem, I am only just researching it so don't know much, but our outgoings have significantly dropped recently so I am keen to make use of tax efficient/savings vehicles for the children on a monthly basis before we get used to the extra cash and just blow it on frivolous stuff when we can actually afford to save for them now.

[FurbysMakeSexNoises]

There was no charge to leave the ctf but will depend on the JISA what charge for opening. Think ours was 4% maybe (this may be wildly out!).