An Individual Savings Account (ISA) one of the few remaining opportunities to shelter your money from the tax man.  If you have not maximised your tax free allowances this year then the only option  is to use it or lose it. Many people are confused by ISAs and to help  we have set out some of the basic rules below: 

• In this tax year which runs 6^th April 2011 to 5^th April 2012 you can invest a total of £10,680 into ISAs
• The minimum age is 16 for a cash ISA and 18 for an Investment ISA
• You can only have one Cash ISA provider and one Investment ISA provider for each tax year.
• Up to £5,340 can be paid into a Cash ISA.
• Up to £10,680 can be paid into an Investment ISA
• If you do not use up your full Cash ISA allowance it is now possible to top up any balance to the maximum of £10,680 using an Investment ISA. So £3,000 in a Cash ISA would allow you to invest £7,680 into an Investment ISA. Or you can top up your Cash ISA to £5,340 and pay a further £5,340 to an Investment ISA.
• An investment ISA does not have to be invested in shares/equities or higher risk investments. You can invest in property funds, gilts, corporate bonds and structured investments that may carry less risk than equities and yet provide potentially higher returns than deposits.
• You can transfer cash ISAs into Investment ISAs. When you transfer ISAs you always retain the year of the original deposit/investment.  You cannot transfer Investment ISAs into Cash ISAs

NORTHGATE School Arts College in Northampton was this year’s chosen beneficiary of the annual David Williams IFA charity golf day which raised £3,420.   The money was raised through clients’ donations, which were matched by the firm, and a raffle. Mike Trundley, Deputy Head of Northgate School, attended the dinner in the evening and gave a short presentation on the work and aims of the school.

 Northgate is a Special School and provides a curriculum that is meaningful to its pupils. The curriculum is based on entitlement and the right of every student to participate fully in a variety of learning experiences and activities. Having nominated Northgate as its chosen charity this year, David Williams directors Nick Beal and David Knight visited the school where they met teachers, support staff and pupils. “We were made to feel very welcome by everyone at the school and were impressed by the range of activities,” said David Knight.

Transfer your pensions

Most people switch jobs several times during their working life; however, when you change employers, it is worth thinking about the pension pot that you have accrued. You might wish to consider combining your pensions into one pot. It is easier to keep an eye on fund performance if your pensions are all under one umbrella; moreover, a single pension pot will incur less paperwork and administration, and could also generate lower costs and better overall performance. Sounds like a no-brainer? In theory yes, however, there are some important issues to consider before taking the plunge.

 Most occupational pension schemes and private schemes can be transferred, but there are restrictions and potential pitfalls. It is not usually worth transferring final-salary or public-sector pension schemes; the benefits are too good to lose. It is worth noting that the money in your pension can only be transferred from one pension scheme to another (until you have retired), and not every new pension scheme accepts inward transfers. You may have to pay charges when you transfer, and some providers impose harsh penalties if you leave their scheme.

Transferring and aggregating your pension pots might generate significant long-term benefits; however, any decision to do so should be taken for the right reasons. Tread carefully and, above all, take our expert advice before making an irreversible decision.

Congratulations to our Director, Ian Lowe, who recently completed his Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning and has been awarded Chartered Financial Planning status by the Chartered Insurance Institute.  Ian is  responsible for overseeing the David Williams IFA training and competence program which encourages and helps all staff in continuing professional development.