London 17 March, 2008: Fidelity FundsNetwork™ is urging advisers to ensure even their most cautious clients take advantage of the tax breaks available to them this ISA season.
Cautious clients have no need to miss out on this years tax breaks since the newly available ISA Cash Park allows investors to utilise their ISA allowance without immediately committing to any funds*. In addition, the recently launched ‘FIL FundsNetwork PortfolioManager’ Funds include a Defensive, Balance and a Cautious Fund which cater for the more risk averse investor.
Advisers and clients can invest via:
- ISA Cash Park – Launched today, this new service will allow investors to utilise their £7,000 ISA allowance without immediately committing to any funds, by temporarily holding the allowance in cash. It offers competitive monthly interest at a gross annual rate of 4.85%**
- Monthly Saving Plan – Investors can invest a minimum of £50 each month via Direct Debit;
- Phasing – A lump sum invested into the ISA account and gradually drip-fed by FundsNetwork, into funds of the clients’ choice, in six equal monthly instalments;
- Lump sum –For those investors who are perhaps more comfortable with current market conditions, the full £7,000 allowance can be invested as a lump sum;
Rob Fisher, Head of Sales & Marketing FundsNetwork, comments: “This year advisers and clients have more options than ever when it comes to making an ISA investment. Understandably, clients may be more wary of the market due to recent conditions but there is no reason for them to miss out on this year’s ISA, with a range of ways to invest – including our new ISA Cash Park.”
The Government has made significant changes to tax year 08/09 which will make ISA investing easier and means that all types of investors are catered for:
Changes to ISA investments for tax year 08/09:
- The Government has confirmed that ISAs will remain indefinitely
- All PEPs will be reclassified as Stocks & Shares ISAs
- The Maxi/Mini ISA distinction has been removed; instead there will be just two types of ISA:
- Stocks & Shares ISA
- Cash ISA (TESSA only ISAs are reclassified as Cash ISAs)
- The subscription limit for ISAs has increased to £7,200 of which up to £3,600 can be invested in a Cash ISA
- You can continue to subscribe to one Stocks & Shares ISA and one Cash ISA, subject to the new overall maximum limits in any tax year
- From 6th April 2008 you will be able to transfer any investments currently held in a Cash ISA into a Stocks & Shares ISA
For more information, advisers should visit www.fundsnetwork.co.uk or call: 0800 414126.
FIL Limited (“FIL”) and its subsidiary companies serve the major markets of the world by providing investment products and services to individuals and institutional investors outside the US. FIL Limited manages a total of £150.9 billion of assets***.
Notes to editors:
*Available from 17th March 2008. Cash may only be held in the stocks and share component of an ISA on a temporary basis, for the purpose of investing in qualifying investments. Interest earned will be subject to an HM Revenue and Customs charge of 20%.
**Source: Interest rate will track 0.4% lower than the Bank of England Base Rate. AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest rate would be if interest was paid and compounded once each year.
***Source: Fidelity as at 31.12.07
FundsNetwork, Fidelity’s online investment supermarket, was launched in June 2000. It offers investors the ability to plan, invest, manage and monitor their investments in one place. FundsNetwork is the only investment supermarket used by both direct investors and financial advisers (and their clients). Investors or their advisers can select from a range of over 1000 funds from 60 fund managers (an overwhelming proportion of UK mutual funds) - and buy them online. The FundsNetwork service is offered and managed by Financial Administration Services Limited. FundsNetworkTM is a trademark of FIL Limited
Any opinions expressed are made at the time of writing and can be subject to change without notification. The value of investments can go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the original amount invested. The Fidelity ISA is offered and managed by Financial Administration Services Limited. The value of tax savings and eligibility to invest in an ISA will depend on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. Assets as at 31.12.07 are those of FIL Limited. Fidelity, Fidelity International and Pyramid Logo are trademarks of FIL Limited.
