Best “modern” ISA

Hey everyone :wave:t2:

I’m looking for suggestions on ISA accounts. I currently have my savings in a Barclays ISA but plan to move away. Is there anything out there that has an app based account such as Monzo? Or just somewhere people would recommend?

Apologies if this has been asked before or if it doesn’t exist. ISA knowledge is certainly not my strong point so any advise would be appreciated.

To clarify, what type of ISA are you taking about? Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares ISA, or something else?

I think Nutmeg are good

But if you want a reduce fees FreeTrade are good

1 Like

You could think about using Moneybox. I quite like it - but to be honest I am not sure i would use it for all my ISAs yet. I use Hargreaves for that. Don’t like them as a brand - but the app is pretty good and they have a great range of funds. But they’re relatively expensive. There’s a great opportunity for someone to clean up in this market - maybe Moneybox will do it?

1 Like

I should have probably mentioned that I was looking for a cash ISA. Ideally, easy access too.

Thanks for the suggestions so far :raised_hands:t2:

I’ll take a look into Moneybox to see if it something I can use, thanks!

Are you going to be making more than £1000 (£500 higher-rate) in interest?

If not then a standard savings account might have a higher rate. Unless you’re playing with £100,000s

Barclays currently is 0.4% instant cash, 0.75% 1yr flexible as far as I can see.

Marcus which is 1.45% with unlimited withdrawals or Coventry BS 1.46% with three/yr.

1 Like

What sort of amount are you wanting to chuck in? That’s pretty key in deciding.

If it’s savings of a high amount you can’t really beat Marcus. But then if it’s that amount, you probably would need an ISA wrapper.

You could go to an IFISA for a better return. There’s a few guys that do this, but money is at risk. Zopa/Ratesetter/Elfin Market (are opening up shortly)

1 Like

The amount is very modest. I read a lot of people mentioning Marcus on this forum so I may look into that :+1:t2:

It’s a good shout for money you want earning interest that you might need quickly again, that you aren’t going to lose sleep that it might be worth less.

Projected balance after 12 months
(underlying interest rate with a bonus of 1.45% AER for 12 months)

So £1000 would give you £14.50 if you left it in for a year.

My overall advice would be

  1. Pay off any debts/loans.
  2. Emergency money / savings into Marcus
  3. Freetrade and get some ETFs rolling for long term in a S&S ISA.
  4. Then look at IFISA and P2P for shorter term gambles. Zopa/Ratesetter/Elfin Market mentioned above.

There’s loads of robo invests like Wealthify but only if you are lazy and don’t mind them taking a cut to manage.

2 Likes

Have a look at Aldermore. rate is good and a flexible cash isa so can withdraw cash in year and replace later without losing allowance. They also allow a fixed cash isa as well as a variable rate one in same year

1 Like

Thanks all… some real excellent advice here.

I’ve just got back from a long vacation so will spend a little time looking into these suggestions.

The only notable ‘modern’ feature that I think is relevant for cash ISAs is whether or not they are Flexible Cash ISAs. This enables you to take money out and put back in during the same tax year without using your subscription allowance for that year. Not all cash ISAs are flexible.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/flexible-ISAs/

Best buy tables will allow you to easily identify best available rates for easy access cash ISAs. Some also provide info on which have flexible terms - e.g. see ‘view further details’ link for each ISA in the moneyfacts table below, although I would suggest also double checking on the bank’s website as well.

1 Like

Anybody see any reason to go with Marcus over Oaknorth?
Seems exactly the same except Oaknorth’s 1.51?

https://www.oaknorth.com/savings/personal-savings/personal-fixed-rate-cash-isa/

There’s a withdrawal charge.

2 Likes