The Final Countdown: Dash for Cash

The Final Countdown: Dash for Cash

We are now into the final days before the end of the tax year but there is still time for investors to secure valuable ISA and Junior ISA allowances, as well as make a contribution into a Self-Invested Personal Pension using the award-wining Bestinvest Online Investment Service at www.bestinvest.co.uk

Here we confirm our end of tax year arrangements for 2015/16:

• ISAs and Junior ISAs. We can accept contributions right up until midnight on 5 April but it is important that the process is completed, not begun before then – while we estimate that the process can take as little as 5-minutes we suggest leaving 10-15 minutes. Opening an account will require cleared funds to be available in the UK bank account of the applicant for transfer. On 5 April 2015, we saw the final subscription made at 11:54pm, six minutes before the end of the tax year!
  
  Those looking to contribute to an ISA through us via a paper based application form, need to ensure everything reaches us by the morning of 5 April. We strongly suggest not using reply-paid envelopes or second class post at this late stage. Applicants might consider using the Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed service which ensures next day delivery for a small fee.
  
  By way of reminder, the Bestinvest Stocks & Shares ISA (and Junior ISA) has an account fee of 0.4% pa for amounts up to £250k and 0.2% for balances above this (no fees charged over £1m). There are no dealing fees for funds and we have access to a large number of lower cost share classes and part rebates on annual costs. Share trades are a competitive £7.50.

• SIPPs. The deadline for opening a new online ‘Best SIPP’ or contributing to an existing account is 11:30pm 5 April. This is slightly earlier than an ISA because there is an extra layer of validation required through the underlying pension administrator.
  
  Those looking to open a new “Best SIPP” with a cheque and paper based application form should ensure these reach us by the morning of 5 April.
  
  The award winning Best SIPP has an ultra-competitive account fee of 0.3% pa for amounts up to £250k and 0.2% for balances above this (no fees charged over £1m).
  
  Additionally, for those choosing one of our four Ready-Made Portfolios* (Aggressive Growth, Growth, Defensive or Income) the SIPP annual account fees will be waived entirely and the investor will only pay the costs of the portfolio they select. These are managed multi-asset funds where the asset allocation will be regularly rebalanced, each with around 20 underlying funds selected by our Research team.

• VCT applications. Each VCT offer has its own cut off time to receive subscriptions against the investors 2015/16 allowance and income tax liability. For a few offers (Amati, Calculus Capital, Maven Income & Growth 6 and Triple Point 2011 B Shares) this is as early as Friday 1 April but the majority of offers still open require receipt by the respective Registrars at various times from midday onwards on 5 April. Top picks that remain open are Downing TWO, Puma 12, Hargreave Hale AIM 1&2 and Octopus Apollo – application forms and prospectus can be downloaded online at www.bestinvest.co.uk/vct - our discounts make it much cheaper than investing directly.
  
  Given the range of cut off times for VCTs we therefore urge applicants using our VCT discounting services to ensure we receive their hard copy applications at our offices at VCT Applications, Tilney Bestinvest, 6 Chesterfield Gardens, London W1J 5BQ by no later than 10am on 5 April so that we can process and deliver these to the respective registrars.

• Opening times until tax year end. Our phone line (020 7189 9999), email support and online “Livechat” facility will be manned during the following hours:
  Thursday 31 March – Friday 1 April: 7:45am – 10pm
  Saturday 2 April: 9:30am – 4pm
  Monday 4 April: 7:45am – 10pm
  Tuesday 5 April: 7:45am – 12am

Jason Hollands, Managing Director of Tilney Bestinvest, comments:

“Many people wait until the final days of the tax year as they deliberate over what to invest in, or whether they should even invest at all and this year looks set to be no different, exacerbated by the Easter Bank Holiday.

“The latest figures from the Investment Association released this week suggest a relatively muted tax year end for Stocks & Shares ISA sales, which is unsurprising really given the diet of unremittingly gloomy news flow about slowing global growth, volatile markets, dividend cuts, terrorism and also a stream of doom mongering statements about the consequences of Brexit.

“Yet when it comes to utilising valuable long-term tax allowances such as ISAs and pensions, the immediate decision isn’t where to invest or if it is a good time to invest at all. All you should worry about is simply securing the allowance in the first place and that doesn't matter whether you are bullish or bearish on the markets – just dash for cash. You can then come back later and decide where to invest it when you are more confident in your plan or outlook.

“Even if you know where you wish to invest, initially funding your ISA or pension with a cash injection can make sense, as it leaves you free to drip feed your money into the markets over a period of time, which can help reduce the ups and downs of daily market volatility.

- ENDS -

*The full name of the portfolio is IFSL Tilney Bestinvest Multi-Asset Portfolio

Important information:

The value of investments, and the income derived from them, can go down as well as up and you can get back less than you originally invested. This article is not advice to invest, or to use any of our services.

SIPPs are not suitable for everyone. If you don’t want to invest across different asset classes or don’t think you will make use of the investment choices that SIPPs give you then a SIPP might not be right for you. Self-directed investors should regularly review their SIPP portfolio, or seek professional advice, to ensure that the underlying investments remain in line with their pension objectives.

VCTs should be regarded as higher risk investments. They are only suitable for UK resident taxpayers who can tolerate higher risk and have a time horizon of greater than five years. Past performance is not an indication of future performance. Share values and income from them may go down as well as up and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Owing to the nature of their underlying assets, VCTs are highly illiquid. Investors should be aware that they may have difficulty, or be unable to realise their shares at levels close to that that reflect the value of the underlying assets. Tax levels and reliefs may change and the availability of tax reliefs will depend on individual circumstances. You should only subscribe for new VCT shares on the basis of the relevant prospectus and must carefully consider the risk warnings contained in that prospectus.

Press contacts:

Jason Hollands
0207 189 9919 / 07768 661382
jason.hollands@tilneybestinvest.co.uk

Gillian Kyle
0203 818 6846 / 07989 650 604
gillian.kyle@tilneybestinvest.co.uk