Anyone about to put their last chunk into an ISA for the year and are you going cash or stocks and shares?

[Mightneedencouraged]

Stocks and shares have taken a hit but could go further down

Cash is safer but will get devoured by inflation

Which did you go for?

Mine was full in January so had to stash spare in a non ISA account. Next tax year I'm sticking with cash, prefer the certainty of the interest rate.

We did ours at the end of last year when cash ISA rates were still above 4%, my OH pulled most of his PB's and put £20k each into two cash ISA's at 4.2%.
Just to add, we are 57 & 60 (and retired) so long-term growth is not something that concerns us.

My S&S ISA has gone from a return of 7.1% to 0.8% in the last fortnight. Logically I know it goes up and down especially with what is going on in the world right now, but its annoying. On 6 April I plan on using my full allowance to fund a new cash isa. Think I might fix for 2 years with Natwest at 4.3%.

DH and I have had the cash ready to go for Cash ISAs since the changes were announced.
Wouldn't touch S&S at the mo - who knows what (or who) Trump will attack next?

Half and half, I should think. S&S goes up and down and sometimes it helps me to think of the downshift as a sale on shares.

Just put my last chunk in my s and s ISA earlier today. Not bought anything with it as yet, but looking at a few options. If it’s money you won’t need for 10-20 years right now is a great time to go into stocks

I like to keep some in cash for emergencies/ cashflow (it is a flexible ISA) but the rest will be in S&S. You don’t need to decide before 5 April though, just get the cash in the ISA wrapper.

S&S, not planning to touch the money for a while and growth over the last year in my existing S&S ISA has been multiples above 4% so I cannot see that I have a reason not to. If I wanted that cash for easy access of if I thught I would need it in the next few years I might do something different, but it can ride out some ups and downs as far as I am concerned.

Shares but I'm not going to buy them until the Iran stuff settles down. Just funding the account with the last of the yearly allowance.

Stocks and shares

mine goes out every month regardless.

But if going for shares be happy to park it for at least 10 years

The amount you can put in a cash ISA is going down for most people so I would maximise that this year. S&S may also fall due to the war, inflation and global instability so I might skip S&S this year and wait to decide which way to go later in the next tax year and see if things seem stable for S&S then.

But if there's a good chance it's going to fall currently, why do it now? I know theoretically you are cost averaging, but you can also be canny.

My ISAs are cash but only because my mortgage is up for renewal next year and I want to pay a chunk off so having my money in S&S doesn’t make sense as I need it and therefore won’t benefit from longer term gains of a S&S. I’ll open a S&S next year when I can leave the money for longer.

I have money from a recent property sale as part of an inheritance. I put £10k in a Virgin cash account at 4.2 % last month and £20 k in one for DH. I put £10k in 2 tracker ISA funds just after the war - they've gone down but I don't need the money in the near future so they should hopefully recover over time.
The war, terrible as it, is presents a strong investment opportunity so I'll invest £40 k in Tracker funds in my shares ISA and also DH's and skip the cash ISA this year. Probably World and European ETFs to spread the risk. Not doing anything with specifically American funds (war mongering feckers) but already have lots of exposure there for better or worse.

There is no way to predict the stock market.

Im in a ETF.

It's better to buy when the unit costs are low than when they are high. And im investing for the long term.

Rather than spend time looking at tables it's easier when the money goes out automatically and to forget about it.

You are never gonna be able to time the market.

by the time you think its a good time to invest you could have lost oit on 15% of gains.
The best time to take the cash out of stocks is when everyone is raving about how good the stock market is doing and how good the returns are. And how its a good idea to invest.

In April 2025 there was a huge dip in a lot of the markets due to Trumps plan on duty on imports. Markets were crashing. People were cashing out of stocks and shares.

In the last 2 years that was the best time to buy.
And if you had bought then you would have be in profit even now.

But rather than spending time and mental energy checking on stocks and shares it's easier to have the money go out automatically, park the money and check it in a few years.

Obviously if you are going to need the money within the next few years then the stocks and shares are not the right place.

The stock market was dping really well and it was always in the news about gains people were making. My sister saw my gains and asked about investing. I told her not to invest unless she could wait at least 10 years before she took oit the money.

Anyway she invested. And the stock marker dipped.

She took her money out at a loss within 6 months and talked about how she lost money when she could have made 4-5% via a savings account. ( I don't give her financial advice anymore)

If you cant forget about your money and will be checking it all the time and get worried if it goes down in value for a bit. Then a stocks and shares ISA is not for you.

I put mine in annually at the start of the tax year, always S&S, and will be doing the same this year.

But if there's a good chance it's going to fall currently, why do it now? I know theoretically you are cost averaging, but you can also be canny.

Trying to time this stuff as an amateur investor is a mug's game. If you stay out and attempt to call the bottom, you're far more likely to miss it and hence a miss chunk of gains as well. The £33k cost of trying to time the market

Unless you are extraordinarily lucky or have a crystal ball, you're almost certainly better off sticking with your regular plan.

I’m a pensioner so will be opening another cash ISA at max amount - safe and tax free. 👍

I’d do stocks and shares if I currently had any allowance left. Buy the dip. Did it in Covid and made a 96% return.

The Iran mess isn’t going to last forever. Nor is Trump going to be president forever.

I am waiting to transfer £20K from premium bonds to S&S ISA but terrified about losing it all. Im not a spring chicken so can wait max 10 years for tge stock market to recover.

all of my pre-retirement assets are in cash. I have enough exposure to equity through my pension.