Child trust find to junior isa

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

Hi. I've had a child trust fund invested for DD since birth (2008). DS (2011) missed out so I opened a junior isa for him. Do I transfer the child trust fund to a junior isa ? Is it worth it?

You would have to check the interest rates. We transferred our DC’s into a junior Isa because the interest rate was better than where it was in the CTF.
It then automatically swapped into an adult Isa when they turned 18.

Most providers will offer a good range of junior ISA options whereas CTFs are no longer being offered to new customers. As such you would usually also pay lower management fees on a JISA. It is easy to transfer a CTF into a JISA and for most people it is likely to be worth it.

I found it a bit of a nightmare tbh. I had to inform CTF that this was my plan as they needed notice and then I had to wait for an appointment at the building Society which was weeks AND I had to go to a different town. Then when the building society tried to pull the money across the notice period had ended and CTF refused to transfer the funds so the building Society closed the ISA account. Grrrr. I've given up!

Form here.

https://www.hl.co.uk/investment-services/junior-isa/transfer-an-existing-junior-isa

There is also a similar one on the AJ Bell website.

We transferred my ds2's into a JISA last year, very straight forward process.

It is with interactive investor as my general account allows for JISAs at no extra cost.

Added advantage that we were able to use the annual allowance in the CTF (based on child age year) and then the JISA allowance based on tax year. Helpful in specific circumstances as ds2 had been gifted some money.

Is the CT fund in a cash savings account or invested in Stocks & Shares?

Your query suggests you might have put it into a cash savings account and left it alone. If so, I would urge you to prioritise a review the interest rate of the account.

CTFs are likely to have very poor rates, and your DD will be losing out on the best rates as well as the benefit of growth due to compound interest over time. This can have a noticeable impact on the value of the fund, now that interest rates are rising. Top JISA rates are around 4%, whereas some CTF are accruing as little as 1.3%.

If it’s a S&S investment, it’s equally important to monitor provider fees and fund performance. There is access to better performing and cheaper funds with a JISA.
Fidelity don’t charge a platform fee for their junior investment accounts.

It’s very easy to switch from CTF to a JISA.
You also need to be aware of the default option when your DD turns 18, so as not to forfeit the tax free status of the account.