Plans have been announced for introducing a new tax-free savings
account for children as part compensation for losing Child Trust
Fund contributions.
Brewin Dolphin, one of the largest independent investment
managers for private investors in the UK, responds:
Is this a good decision?
We believe there is room for a savings account for children,
which has a wider scope for investment than a deposit account and
that can be designed to encourage savings and educate children in
the merits of other permitted asset classes beyond cash.
Are ISAs the right approach for a children’s saving
scheme?
It is appropriate to use the existing ISA mechanism to save
providers the costs of new systems and that therefore annual
accounts to which any relative may contribute up to a capped annual
limit.
The ISA concept is well understood and respected; it is offered
by every high street bank and building society in the land as well
as more specialist providers like ourselves. If the familiar
concept is retained the costs should also be lower and the
marketing task easier. We approve of Stakeholder versions with more
proscriptive rules and capped fees that can be offered to the mass
market – but we do believe it should not be compulsory for
providers to offer stakeholder versions.
-Ends-
For further press information or to arrange an interview, please
contact Charlotte Black, Director of Corporate Affairs on 0845 213
3331