Savings Accounts
What sort of savings accounts are available?
The main types of account are listed below. All are relatively low-risk investments suitable for short-term to medium-term savings and investment.
|
Type of Account
|
Minimum Investment
|
Access to your Money
|
Interest
|
Other Points
|
| Instant access | Often £1 | On Demand | Variable | Particulary suitable for an emergency fund |
| Easy Access | Often £1 | Within a few days | Variable | Particularly suitable for an emergency fund |
| Notice accounts | Often several hundred pounds | You must give, say, 60 or 90 days notice | Usually variable |
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| Monthly Interest Accounts | Often several hundred pounds | Can be instant access or notice accounts | Usually variable | Useful if you're investing for income |
| Term accounts (also called bonds) | Often £1,000 or more | Often, none during the term (say, one or two years). If you can make withdrawals, watch out for penalty charges. | Often fixed. With some, you can receive interest monthly. |
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| Stock market linked bonds | Often £1,000 or more | Usually none until the end of a fixed term - say, 1, 2, 3 or 5 years. | Depends on growth of a stockmarket index, such as FTSE 100, but interest usually less than the full increase in the index. If the index falls over term, you just get back the amount you invested and no interest at all. | Lets you participate in stockmarket returns without risk of losing your capital. |
| Mini cash ISA | Often £1 | Can be instant access, easy access, notice accounts or term accounts. | Tax-free return. Usually variable. With some, you can receive interest monthly. | See ISAs for more information. |
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