i have £11,000 and want to invest it. its currently with foreign and colonial but want to get the most from it

Question

any ideas???

i'm 21 and really don't understand all the finances jargon!

Answer 1

In UK it is illegal to give Financial Advise without being Registered with the FSA.

So I can only tell you what I would do.

I would put the whole lot in my SIPP (Self Invested Pension Plan). The SIPP provider would then claim back 22% Tax (making the SIPP worth £14,102) and I would then invest it in the highest paying dividend Companies in the FTSE 250.

When I retire (age 50+) I will take 25% as a Tax Free lump sum ... and let the remaining funds in the SIPP continue to grow.

Answer 2

For a guaranteed return, invest in a high interest bank account.
For a long term return you can look torwards shares on the stockmarket, some blue chip companies also pay dividends which will also give you a return. However the price of these shares can rise - more return or fall - a loss. However the long term view is to invest for the return and leave the initial investment. You can then ignore the ups and downs.
I prefer to pick my own investments as that way your return depends on your ability and if you do make a loss then you are not paying a fund manager to lose your money.

If you do decide on shares then look for Blue Chip companies with a guaranteed dividend, BP, Barclays etc all well known companies until you start to understand the market.

Losses are easily achieved especially if you are impatient. I have made many mistakes, but you can register losses to offset against gains for tax purposes.

All the best with whatever you decide.

Answer 3

I suppose you are already in your employer's pension scheme. If so, no need for an additional pension which goes to the financial crooks in the end.

If your £11,000 is in F&C unit trusts leave it there. If it is in the company's shares, it is vulnerable. Leave 1/5th there and invest the balance in 4 other large, solid, well known companies, in the FTSE 100, preferably with dividend yields 3% minimum. Any additional capital later, you can invest in highrer yielding sares.

Answer 4

I'd put £7000 in a 06-07 maxi ISA and the rest in an 07-08 maxi ISA after april 5th.

Lots of companies offer ISA (Individual Savings Accounts) they are based on the stock market and you can invest up to 7k each year, and the interest is tax free.

Answer 5

The best place I've found to learn all about finance & investing and all that is this site:
http://www.fool.co.uk/

Here's the section you need to learn about investing:
http://www.fool.co.uk/investments/investments.aspx

I particularly recommend their guide "How to profit from shares"
http://www.fool.co.uk/school/2006/sch060130.htm
and a HALIFAX SHAREBUILDER sharedealing account to cheaply invest on the UK Stockmarket yourself:
http://www.halifax.co.uk/sharebuilder

Also I recommend this article on the US version of The Motley Fool: http://www.fool.com/school/13steps/13steps.htm

If you do decide to go for the share buying idea, I suggest starting off with shares these ones:
HBOS
RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland)
LLOY (Lloyds TSB)
BATS (British American Tobacco)
BLT (BHP Billiton)
KEL (Kelda - owners of Yorkshire Water)
SVT (Severn Trent Water)
which you can look up @ http://quote.fool.co.uk
before playing around with others in the hope of getting decent growth, such as "SNCL", "AQP", "DOM" or any of literally thousands (providing you RESEARCH them properly first).

If shares don't appeal to you, this might be worth a look instead:
http://www.zopa.com/ZopaWeb/affiliate/?referral=duck1979

Answer 6

You can buy premium bonds and win small amounts every month and have achance of winning alarge amount. You can cash them in any time you need the money back.If you don't fancy that put it on Kauto Star to win the Gold Cup at Cheltenham next week and at least double your money.Good luck

Answer 7

Try at Euro America Index. Daily return is 1.8% to 2.3% with others extra bonuses. Check the website and feedback. I already try and its working