ISA Ideas

• ISA Transfers
• Cash ISA Transfer

ISA Transfers

Compare ISA transfer options

Unhappy with your current ISA provider? Perhaps you're no longer getting the best rates, or you want to put all your ISAs from previous years together in one place? Fortunately, transferring ISAs is a simple process. Use this page to compare a selection of the latest ISAs accepting transfers.

 

James Caldwell, Director

Cash ISA Transfer Selection

Provider	Plan Name	Deposit Taker	ISA Option	Term	Maximum Potential Return	More Info
	Deposit Growth Plan	Investec Bank plc		5 years	130% x any FTSE 100 growth (no limit)	More Info >
Return of 130% x any FTSE 100 growth, no upper limit Capital protected Low minimum - £3,000  Short/medium term alternative to fixed rates  Also available for Cash ISA & Cash ISA transfers Limited offer - deadlines apply. May close early if oversubscribed Plan designed to be held for full term Arrangement fee applies Returns not guaranteed. You may only receive a return of your original capital

Important Information: Structured deposits offer you the potential to earn higher returns than you would with a regular savings account. Your returns are based on the performance of an index or commodity. If the investment does not perform well you may receive no income or capital growth, but you can be confident that your capital will be repaid. You have no access to your deposit during the term of the account, typically 3 to 6 years but your original capital will be repaid in full at the end of the term. In the event that the deposit taker is unable to repay your initial investment and any returns stated you may be entitled to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) depending on your individual circumstances.

Income Investment ISA Transfer Selection

Provider	Plan Name	Counterparty	ISA Option	Term	Maximum Potential Return	More Info
	FTSE 100 Enhanced Income Plan	Investec Bank plc		6 years	5.76% fixed income per annum	More Info >
5.76% income paid regardless of the performance of the FTSE 100 Monthly income Available for ISA, ISA transfer and direct investment  Investment deadline for ISA transfers - 10 May 2013 Investment deadline for direct and ISA - 4 June 2013 Capital is at risk if the FTSE 100 Index falls by more than 50% during the term and finishes lower than its starting value, in which case your initial investment will reduce by 1% for each 1% fall Minimum investment £3,000 Product designed to be held for the full term

Important Information: Structured investment plans are not capital protected and are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for default alone. Income and growth returns are not guaranteed. There is a risk of losing some or all of your initial investment due to the performance of the underlying Index or commodity. There is also a risk that the company backing the plan known as the Counterparty may be unable to repay your initial investment and any returns stated.

Growth Investment ISA Transfer Selection

Provider	Plan Name	Counterparty	ISA Option	Term	Maximum Potential Return	More Info
	FTSE 100 Enhanced Kick Out Plan	Investec Bank plc		Up to 5 years	8.5% per annum	More Info >
8.5% for each year (not compounded) provided the FTSE 100 finishes higher than its starting value (subject to averaging) Potential to mature early, from year 1 onwards Available for ISA, ISA transfer and direct investment Investment deadline ISA transfers - 10 May 2013 Investment deadline for direct and ISA - 4 June 2013 Capital is at risk if the FTSE 100 Index falls by more than 50% during the term and finishes lower than its starting value, in which case your initial investment will reduce by 1% for each 1% fall Minimum investment £3,000 Product designed to be held for the full term
	FTSE 100 Defined Returns Plan Investec Version	Investec Bank plc		Up to 5 years	67.5%	More Info >
Fixed return of either 40.5% at the end of year 3 or 67.5% at the end of year 5 provided the FTSE 100 finishes higher than its starting value (subject to averaging) Potential to mature early at the end of year 3 Available for ISA, ISA Transfer and Direct Investment Investment deadline ISA transfers - 10 May 2013 Investment deadline for direct and ISA - 4 June 2013 Capital is at risk if the FTSE 100 Index falls by more than 50% during the term and finishes lower than its starting value, in which case your initial investment will reduce by 1% for each 1% fall Minimum investment £3,000 An arrangement fee applies to this plan Product designed to be held for the full term
	UK Giants Selector Plan	Morgan Stanley		6 years	Unlimited	More Info >
Growth linked to the performance of the best-performing 11 shares from the 20 largest FTSE 100 companies Available for ISA, ISA transfer and direct investment Investment deadline ISA transfers - 24 May 2013 Investment deadline for direct and ISA - 3 June 2013 Capital is at risk if the FTSE 100 Index has fallen by more than 50% at maturity from its starting value, in which case your initial investment will reduce by 1% for each 1% fall Minimum investment £3,000 Product designed to be held for the full term

Important Information: Structured investment plans are not capital protected and are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for default alone. Income and growth returns are not guaranteed. There is a risk of losing some or all of your initial investment due to the performance of the underlying Index or commodity. There is also a risk that the company backing the plan known as the Counterparty may be unable to repay your initial investment and any returns stated.

Transferring an ISA

Transferring your ISA can be a smart move for savers, especially given the instability of interest rates in the current financial climate. By keeping tabs on rates across the spectrum of ISA providers, and transferring when your current rate drops, it can allow you to chase the best rates around and ensure you make the most of your hard-earned cash. But before you do anything else, make sure you keep in mind the one fundamental rule of ISA transfers…

If you want to transfer your ISA, make sure you do it properly - never just withdraw the money or you'll immediately lose all the tax benefits.

How do I transfer my ISA?

ISA transfers used to be notorious for taking a long time, but thanks to recent guidelines, transferring an ISA from one provider to another is now a fairly straightforward process:

• Once you have sent off the ISA transfer form, your new ISA provider should contact your current ISA provider within five working days. The ISA transfer process should take no longer than 15 working days.
• When an ISA is transferred, the old ISA manager must give the new ISA manager a notice in writing containing information and a declaration, known as a transfer history form.
• Once the transfer is done, you new ISA provider will be in touch to confirm this.

The rules of ISA transfers

• You can transfer a cash ISA into a shares ISA, but not the other way around.
• Once you've moved money into a transferred to a stocks and shares ISA, it cannot be transferred back to a cash ISA. If you subscribe to a cash ISA in the current tax year and then decide, in the same year, to transfer the ISA to a stocks and shares ISA, the contributions made to the cash ISA will be treated as if they had been made to the stocks and shares ISA. This means that, as far as HMRC is concerned, the investor is regarded as never having subscribed to the cash ISA.
• Only past years' ISAs can be split. This means, in practice, that cash ISAs for the current tax year must be moved whole, but previous years' allowances may be split between different providers.

Can I transfer one ISA and open another?

The short answer is yes - you are free to transfer previous years' ISA balances to a better rate, as well as opening a separate account, as long as you only put cash into the latter account. You can pay into one cash ISA and one investment ISA each tax year, but transfers don't count as 'paying in'. You can transfer as many times as you like, and there's no set time in the tax year when you need to transfer.

Is there a charge for transferring an ISA?

Your existing ISA manager cannot stop you transferring, but they may charge you for it. However, this is becoming less common, particularly with cash ISAs. You should contact your current ISA provider and confirm their policy on this before making a decision.

See the tables above to compare a range of ISAs currently accepting transfers.