Junior ISA

£84,000, that is nearly £8,000 per year. With university fees increasing, and weddings costing, on average, £24,700*, £8,000 per year doesn't seem quite such a milestone.  

We all want to help our children in later life, whether it is for their first car, starting up a business, or helping towards a deposit for a house, but is that possible when we have already spent so much?

With careful planning it is possible.

Many of our investors hold ISAs with us here at Chelsea, but are unaware of the Junior ISA. The Junior ISA is exactly what it sounds like, an ISA for children. This allows a parent (or guardian), grandparent, or any other third party (this could be godparents, aunts, uncles, friends) to invest on behalf of someone under the age of 18.

Some things to bear in mind:

  • The annual allowance is £4000 for 2014/15 (or £333.33 per month).
  • The investment is in the child's name. No one else can take money out of it.
  • The money can be invested into any of the funds on the FundStore platform. You may even be interested in the Chelsea Junior EasyISA.
  • The investment is handed over, in its entirety, to the child when they are 18, to do with as they see fit.
  • If your child has a Child Trust Fund they cannot currently hold a Junior ISA as well. We anticipate that from April next year Child Trust Funds will be transferable to Junior ISAs.

Most importantly, until April 2015, the Junior ISA, via Chelsea FundStore, has no service or platform charge. Whilst you will still have to pay the annual management charge (AMC) to the fund manager, the Chelsea and Cofunds charge are completely waived. You will therefore only be paying the fund manager's charge of, typically, 0.75% per annum.**

If you are interested in investing in a Junior ISA you will simply need to complete an application form and return it to us here in the office. Please be aware that the parent will need to sign the document, as the registered contact.

Please be aware that if you are a paying into the Chelsea Junior ISA on a third party basis you may need to supply verification of your identity.

**At the end of the deal period you will be charged a Chelsea service charge and Cofunds platform charge, which will be taken from the Cash Account.

*The Independent, 12th October 2014

Published on 06/11/2014