Yellowtail Blog

We all know we aren’t supposed to put all our savings eggs in one basket, especially because of the limited protection against losses for savings deposits in the UK.

UK deposits in bank or building society savings products are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).  FSCS is an independent body created by the Government to pay compensation if a financial institution is unable to pay claims against it.  Currently the first £35,000 per financial institution is protected.  So if you have more than £35,000 where should you put your savings?

One solution is to spread your savings around a number of accounts with different financial institutions.  With larger balances this approach becomes a little unwieldy.  For example an investor with £500,000 will need to open 14 different accounts to take full advantage of the protection offered by the FSCS.

An alternative approach may be to invest in a money market fund. A money market fund invests in a large number of short-term debt instruments on an investor’s behalf.  As an investor this allows you to diversify your savings and spread your risk, while offering competitive interest rates.

The money market funds we have researched in depth have all been given the highest triple-A ratings by independent credit ratings agencies.

You can read more about the benefits of these funds and how to invest in our Money Market Funds article written by my colleague Mushtaq.

Samantha Potter, 31, a geophysicist from Warrington, divides her time between her job on board a ship, her partner in China, and her friends and family in the UK. She has no rent or utilities bills to pay, but is concerned about her long term savings. “I don’t know whether I will have enough money to retire on,” Samantha says. “I don’t know what my options are apart from my pension, I also don’t own a property in the UK, and don’t know if I should invest in a buy to let.”

Three independent financial advisers offer Samantha their help this week including Dennis Hall of Yellowtail Financial Planning.

You can read the complete article on the Independent website.

Dennis gives advice to a student trying to cope with debt that must be repaid later.

Helen Stevens, 20, is keen to enjoy her remaining two years of student life before tackling the £30,000 debt she faces on graduation. She estimates she will owe this sum, made up of tuition fees and maintenance loans, on completion of her four-year degree in French and German at University College London (UCL). 

“We’re always hearing about how awful debt issues are, yet in doing a degree you can’t avoid it,” says Helen.

 You can read the complete article on the Independent website.