To ask for help with financial pickle

[ShoebillStork]

In 2009 FIL had a win on the Premium Bonds. He gave us £10,000 to invest for DS (at low risk) and the money to be given to DS when he's 18.

I put the money towards a loft conversion. DS is 18 soon and I'm due to remortgage for a better rate. How much do I need to release for him so he gets the £10k plus what it might have gained in interest since 2009.

And should I encourage DS to get a Help to Buy ISA with it?

@Bard6817

Agree that we'll have to agree to disagree about whether or not it's theft.

I was genuinely curious about Fundsmith and the 18% return so I checked out their webpage. Their own factsheet states the net yield is 0.31%. Is this not the what the investor actually receives? The 18% is the fund performance but not actually what an investor gets?

I'm no expert and genuinely would be interested to find out. If it's so easy I don't get why MSE and Martin Lewis aren't advising things like this?

Would this be the MOST boring crime doc ever? Unraveling the machinations of the (secret) loft extension details

Hey don't be so quick to dismiss it! Gorgeous Gina McKee could play me offering building control a bung to turn a blind eye to the slightly illegal staircase whilst having an affair with the dishy builder played by David Morrisey.

Some of the above may actually have happened ...

[quote HollyGoLoudly1]@Bard6817

Agree that we'll have to agree to disagree about whether or not it's theft.

I was genuinely curious about Fundsmith and the 18% return so I checked out their webpage. Their own factsheet states the net yield is 0.31%. Is this not the what the investor actually receives? The 18% is the fund performance but not actually what an investor gets?

I'm no expert and genuinely would be interested to find out. If it's so easy I don't get why MSE and Martin Lewis aren't advising things like this?[/quote]
MSE does discuss Vanguard here. Whether 18 percent is real or not I am genuinely interested

www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/stocks-shares-isas/

@Rosegoldfan

It's not illegal. Immoral maybe

So if I took your money out wouldn't be illegal?

The money came from the OP's FiL and was intended for her son, it doesn't make it her money, it's her son's and she had absolutely NO right to use it for home improvements, putting into her pension, whatever, it's not hers.

Also saying that by spending it meant she could claim child benefit that she clearly wouldn't otherwise be entitled to is fraud.

Thanks @Rosegoldfan

@sunglassesonthetable Go for it.

www.fundsmith.co.uk/

And if you want to look up others, use www.trustnet.com/ (and validate that my numbers are correct.)

I have no affiliation to any of the above, i just wish people knew what is easily possible.

There are better returns out there if you want to go for more risk. (see trustnet, some returned over 100% in past 12 months alone)

[quote Harmonypuss]@Rosegoldfan

It's not illegal. Immoral maybe

So if I took your money out wouldn't be illegal?

The money came from the OP's FiL and was intended for her son, it doesn't make it her money, it's her son's and she had absolutely NO right to use it for home improvements, putting into her pension, whatever, it's not hers.

Also saying that by spending it meant she could claim child benefit that she clearly wouldn't otherwise be entitled to is fraud.[/quote]
I am talking about the pension contributions bit for the child benefit. I should have made that clear.

Also saying that by spending it meant she could claim child benefit that she clearly wouldn't otherwise be entitled to is fraud.

She wasn't talking about the 10k there, she was talking about putting extra money in her pension vs saving money each month.

[quote Bard6817]@sunglassesonthetable Go for it.

www.fundsmith.co.uk/

And if you want to look up others, use www.trustnet.com/ (and validate that my numbers are correct.)

I have no affiliation to any of the above, i just wish people knew what is easily possible.

There are better returns out there if you want to go for more risk. (see trustnet, some returned over 100% in past 12 months alone)[/quote]
I would be wary of the returns based on last year or so. This has been an unusual year and we have seen our investment do stuff that wasn’t possible minus covid.

Anything at 100% return is not low risk! It’s great if you time it right, but it’s not low risk in any way shape or form.

@HollyGoLoudly1 See my link above for trustnet and you will get a nice summary of fundsmith and other funds. I can’t see the doc you are looking at, but i’ve been in it for a long time, and yes it’s a brilliant fund delivering what i say. It’s not even the best, but i consider it low risk, compared to others.

I do feel that financial education in the Uk is appalling, but we also have rules about advice vs guidance when it comes to IFa’s so i can imagine ML might struggle to recommend a specific fund.

I have been putting my little one to sleep and reading some of these comments 😂😂😂😂

What is wrong with people I mean come on some stuff people have said is outrageous 🤦🏼‍♀️

Does nobody understands a joke anymore?

I can’t believe people like you lot actually exist, I mean how do you want get on in life with the strange things you think 😅

OP just give him what ever feels right for you and clearly no one wants to actually help, just call you all kinds of weirdness .... people this kid is gonna end up with the house (hopefully) in many many years.

'No, he's never asked. He's just expecting a big thank you from his grandson when he gets his grubby hands on the £10k plus interest!'

That's not a very nice way to talk about your Son-especially considering what you did when you got your hands on the money!

If he is 18 he must be given the money now. Compound interest is usually at 8% where money has been owed for a long period. Or work it out as a % of your house value but give it now.

@Wheretobuy Very much agree. I benefitted from some Ballie Gifford incredible returns, but that was luck and won’t be repeated for years again. But Fundsmith for me, is returning excellent returns year after year, for 18 years, might be 19 now.

Cannot believe how dramatic some posters are being! Around 4.5% is fair to give on top of the 10%. DF doesn't need to know what you did with it and DS benefitted from the investment in the property already.

I have no affiliation to any of the above, i just wish people knew what is easily possible.

Putting my early retirement aside and back to the main event.

As you say Bard folks DON'T know. So OP can NOT be held to account for incredible interest rates that MOST don't know about. Ludicrous.

Honestly some of the comments here are very uneducated… please look at what is considered, low, medium, or high risk for investments.

Low risk are just that, they trade capital safety for guaranteed income.

High risk trades capital risk for potential high rates of return.

Medium risk blends high and low risk for the potential of some return while mitigating the risk to capital.

The FIL, specified a low risk investment, which at most would come with a 5-6% return. That is being very generous. You can’t say “this one fund had a 100% return so that’s what the OP should calculate from”.

That is silly. It’s like saying the OP should have been omniscient and invested in Bitcoin. Sure, getting in the ground floor would have been great, but it’s hardly a low risk proposition.

@sunglassesonthetable

Except that as trustee of her sons money, there is a duty to go find out, maybe even take advice.

I wish you well and we will have to accept we don’t accept each other’s views. Best of luck.

I've just read this entire thread and it's hilarious. But I have decided that I might sue my parents. On the night I passed my A-levels (and therefore confirmed my place at uni), she informed me that she had been 'stealing' (according to some MN definitions) some of my birthday/Christmas money from relatives and it now had reached a healthy sum so I could buy a car for uni or whatever I chose to do with it. Shameful woman my Mum. Or, as I chose to believe, bloody amazing woman, gave her a huge hug and cried tears of joy. And yes, they had had 2 extensions on our family home, so it's conceivable that my pocket money funded some of it 😂😂

@whattheefffff

Cannot believe how dramatic some posters are being! Around 4.5% is fair to give on top of the 10%. DF doesn't need to know what you did with it and DS benefitted from the investment in the property already.

OP has only written this post precisely because FIL is about to find out what she did with the funds and more importantly, what she is about to do with the returns now that the time is here to hand it over to DS. I know it’s family and all that but I have no doubt that her FIL and/or DS will not agree with her idea of investment returns. It’s got family rift written all over it.

building control a bung to turn a blind eye to the slightly illegal staircase whilst having an affair with the dishy builder played by David Morrisey.

"slightly illegal staircase"
"bung"
"affair"

Mother of God. CPS is going to go bonkers.

@saltinesandcoffeecups I wouldnt invest in bitcoin, too risky for me.

As for returns, we could discuss that for weeks, but giving the lad barely more than inflation, is a rip off.

Happy to talk to anyone off post if they want to, dig further. PM me or create a post about investments and tag me.

OMG this thread is so mad it’s hysterical. She’s giving the money back to her son, honestly it’s so not an issue it’s ridiculous and as I said before, she had made the money work.

@Wheretobuy

Not really the OP could have taken the cash and lined her mattress which is the ultimate low risk investment. Therefore the rate of return is a moot point. The son was too young to manage it and the FIL abdicated responsibility by giving it to the OP to manage.

The OP has the means to acquire the initial $10k and that is the important bit. Now she just needs to figure out what % she wants to apply.