Savings and Investments

We have local offices in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Livingston and Stirling and provide Financial Advice on Investments throughout Scotland. If you would like to speak to an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) then book your free initial consultation.

Savings

What are they? Savings is commonly used to describe bank and building society accounts that you can add to and withdraw from as necessary.

Benefits? Savings accounts are essentially risk-free and a place to keep your money safe. In the UK, bank and building societies are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This means that if your bank runs into financial difficulty, you will receive compensation up to the value of £85,000. Savings can be accessed quickly which means they are suitable for short-term goals.

Negatives? Inflation naturally erodes the value of money. At the time of writing (April 2023) the rate of inflation is much higher than the interest rates currently available, this means that having savings with a bank could effectively be losing you money.

The government charges a tax on interest. For basic rate taxpayers, the first £1,000 of interest is tax-free, for higher rate taxpayers, the first £500 of interest is tax-free. When interest rates are low you are less likely to use your personal savings allowance, however, when interest rates are higher, you will use your personal savings allowance much quicker.

Saving Options

Some of the saving schemes you may consider include but are not limited to;

Savings accounts – Will pay a fixed or variable rate of interest, which may be subject to tax, however, they are easy to use and manage. Different banks will offer various deals to encourage people to save with them, through shopping around you can find a saving account that works well for your needs.

Cash ISAs – These accounts pay interest without tax. However, there is a limit of how much you can invest per year, you have full access to your money and can usually withdraw at any time.

Premium bonds – These are run by the National Savings and Investments (NS&I) which is a government department. As they are backed by the government they come with a 100% guarantee on your deposits. Premium bonds do not pay interest, instead your bond is entered into a monthly prize draw where you can win from £25 to £1,000,000. You can save up to £50,000 in premium bonds.

LISAs – Lifetime ISAs were introduced in April 2017 for savers under the age of 40. This scheme offers tax-free savings with bonuses from the government. Users can withdraw money from a LISA when buying a first home or when the saver is over the age of 60.

Investments

What are they? A higher-risk product that has potential to deliver high returns over a period of time.

Benefits? Likely to give a greater level of return than deposit accounts and are a good way to plan for your long-term goals. Some investment options, such as structured products, have guarantees that lessen the risk involved. Investing means there is less chance of inflation affecting the value of your savings over the long term.

Negatives? There is a danger of losing money as values can fluctuate over the long term.

Investment Options

There are many different investment opportunities available, depending on how much money you can invest, for how long you can invest for and how much risk you are willing to take. Some investment options include;

Equities – This involves buying shares in a company. For each share you buy, you will own a small part of that company. If the company does well it is likely the share price will increase and conversely if the company performs poorly the share price is likely to decrease. By investing in equities there is a chance you will lose money but generally speaking, equities have the potential to deliver higher returns than other investments over the long-term.

Bonds – These are loans where you are the lender and the government or a company is the borrower. You receive your money back over time, with interest. Bonds are generally slightly lower in risk than equities.

Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs) – you invest your money into one company, and they invest on your behalf. Your money is pooled with that from other investors and then the fund manager will buy assets like equities, bonds and property on your behalf. The value of your shares in the OEIC will rise and fall depending on how these investments perform. OEICs allow you to have a more diverse portfolio than if you just bought equities or bonds on your own, this helps to reduce risk.

Offshore Investments – An offshore investment is one that holds your money outside the UK. This can be advantageous for certain investors from a tax perspective. Some Offshore Investments will be subject to a lower level of regulation that those based in the UK, so additional due diligence is always recommended.

The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up and you may not get back the amount originally invested.

HM Revenue and Customs practice and the law relating to taxation are complex and subject to individual circumstances and changes which cannot be foreseen.