Nationwide Building Society

[crockers]

Deleted cos I didn't read OP properly....DOH

 

[glojo]

Work out the actual monetery difference between the interest with Nationwide and that with Govt Bonds for the amount you have to invest...is the risk worth the difference?

I agree john, your job is prudency at this time,not speculation or the highest profit. As for gold..well its at an all time high so guess where that will go in the future

Shares are definitely a non starter and sop is gold.

This is NOT my money, the profits are not mine, I just have the responsibility and I go along with Carnut's sentiments

Regards
John

 

[glojo]

John you will be governed by the trust deed itself in what you can and can not invest. Govt Gilts can actually lose you money unless you buy at inception and sell at redemption... BUT John you can be sued for not making prudent investment decisions as a trustee so I would double check with the solicitor who drew up the trust. With dropping interest rates and rising inflation - a beneficiary could say investing all your money in cash was not prudent ...yes it has been said before. So just remember you will never be thanked for making the right decisions only slated if it goes wrong.....

John you need to try to ensure that the money buys in 14 years time what it will buy today....so do take advice.
Ignore the above I just re read OP -- 2 years investment for a 14 year old....doh...

Thanks very much for your thoughtful post.

I discussed this with our family solicitor and he has also spoken with the consultant. The building society bond was recommended and I voiced my concerns. The solicitor then took my observations onboard and has gone back to the consultant.

This is all way beyond my expertise and I am asking for observations to help give me a better picture.

I MUST act responsibly, BUT that is a two edged sword and in today's climate loosing money appears to be a huge danger.

At present the money is being held by my family solicitor.

Regards
John

 

[Corrado]

I recommend putting a small part of the sum into premuim bonds as a risk-less gamble which , if it pays off would make you even more popular . As an example, my grandfather bought £5 worth of bonds for me in the late fifties. In 1962 ERNIE stumped up £1000, which was shared with my brother, invested and used to pay for school trips etc.

 

[verytalldave]

Have you considered Premium Bonds?
It was calculated that the POTENTIAL return is equal to a semi-reasonable building society interest rate.
Please note the word POTENTIAL.
My Grandmother had some and won nothing over a period of about 20 years.
Then again, I had a colleague at work who was always picking up wins of £50 and £100 regularly.

And of course you CANT lose the original sum invested.

 

[travelininstyle]

Have any of our financial whizz kids any observations to make regarding Nationwide?

I have been asked to consider placing a largish sum of money into a two year bond with this building society and I'm loath to act in haste (I'm a trustee for a fourteen year old child)

Any advice will be appreciated.

Regards
John

Without a doubt,HSBC - they have deep pockets and have emerged in good fettle during the current debacle.

Alex

 

[carnut]

Thanks very much for your thoughtful post.

I discussed this with our family solicitor and he has also spoken with the consultant. The building society bond was recommended and I voiced my concerns. The solicitor then took my observations onboard and has gone back to the consultant.

This is all way beyond my expertise and I am asking for observations to help give me a better picture.

I MUST act responsibly, BUT that is a two edged sword and in today's climate loosing money appears to be a huge danger.

At present the money is being held by my family solicitor.

Regards
John

Where is he/she holding this money and how safe is it? I guess it should be in a client account and cant be raided but this as happened to some. Is your Family Solicitor sole practice, or a firm that could go bust...ohh it just goies on doesnt it.Is it currently in cash and where ( not Channel Isles I hope).

Its a worrying time as we cant actually give any reassurance to a safe course of action

PS dont put all eggs in one basket anyway

 

[travelininstyle]

Where is he/she holding this money and how safe is it? I guess it should be in a client account and cant be raided but this as happened to some. Is your Family Solicitor sole practice, or a firm that could go bust...ohh it just goies on doesnt it.Is it currently in cash and where ( not Channel Isles I hope).

Its a worrying time as we cant actually give any reassurance to a safe course of action

PS dont put all eggs in one basket anyway

Carnut has a point here,it is always advisable to spread some risk - maybe Lloyds/hsbc and an Irish Bank

 

[smartbrabus]

Nationwide currently has an Standard & Poors credit rating of A+, which is by no means bad, but could be better (AA / AAA).

Best bet for security would be a nationalised bank eg. Northern Rock, or something like a NS&I bond, as already mentioned.

 

[glojo]

Where is he/she holding this money and how safe is it? I guess it should be in a client account and cant be raided but this as happened to some. Is your Family Solicitor sole practice, or a firm that could go bust...ohh it just goies on doesnt it.Is it currently in cash and where ( not Channel Isles I hope).

Its a worrying time as we cant actually give any reassurance to a safe course of action

PS dont put all eggs in one basket anyway

Just been speaking with the solicitor and we will be splitting the trust between governmentbonds and the Nationwide bonds.

This is a group of solicitors and are extremely well established. Tney will be holding the bonds in their vault.

Regards
John

 

[Smiley]

Just been speaking with the solicitor and we will be splitting the trust between governmentbonds and the Nationwide bonds.

This is a group of solicitors and are extremely well established. Tney will be holding the bonds in their vault.

Regards
John

In any event make sure it is not more than £50k in the Nationwide - no matter how good and safe it looks today. Up to £50k is 100% protected as you already know.

 

[glojo]

In any event make sure it is not more than £50k in the Nationwide - no matter how good and safe it looks today. Up to £50k is 100% protected as you already know.

Yup,
Thanks for that and it is something we are aware of. The important things were that I listened to the experts, I listened to what was said here and then I made a decision that not only makes me happier, it also rests easy with our solicitor. I do NOT want to go against any professional advice, but I want to do what is best for this fourteen year old child.

A big thank you to everyone for all the excellent advice.

Yours sincerely
John

 

[DITTRICH]

I am the trustee of a large sum of cash. I have sought the advice of an Independant Financial Consultant but I never take anyone at face value and when he mentioned 'building society' I cringed.

I have a responsibility to ensure the capital is safe and this must be the over riding factor, I must confess to be leaning towards Government Bonds but the above posts have all been reassuring.

Thanks very much

Yours sincerely
John

Under the current circumstances, there are some points to note:-

1 The current situation developes from day to day and hour to hour.
Places that look "safe" today - may not look safe tomorrow.
2 It would be unwise to tie into any deal that was fixed for any period at present. My family's funds are held on call and can be moved at a moment's notice.
3 Government bonds would be the most attractive option if you wish not to worry about the money every day.
4 if you have to keep cash, keep it in any one of the institutions which are currently benefitting from Uk government "assistance".

Les

 

[Smiley]

Yup,
Thanks for that and it is something we are aware of. The important things were that I listened to the experts, I listened to what was said here and then I made a decision that not only makes me happier, it also rests easy with our solicitor. I do NOT want to go against any professional advice, but I want to do what is best for this fourteen year old child.

A big thank you to everyone for all the excellent advice.

Yours sincerely
John

Good. I think you have decided wisely in these uncertain times - and as long as it is less than 50k in the Nationwide bond. There is no guarantee that there will be a recovery within the 4 yr window that you are responsible for.
A couple of things - I hope it was made clear to you that Govt bonds (I assume this means GILTS) will rise and fall in value - not in a volatile way like shares but they will still go up and down in an inverse correlation with interest rates and interest rate expectations. Their value could also be affected if the Govt issues large new tranches of GILTS; er cough, to pay for money it has committed to things like bank bail outs. My view is that interest rates will fall over the next couple of years as recession bites and this will be good news for your GILTS. If inflation rears its head - as it could do in 18 - 24 months time then interest rates may need to rise again and this would be bad for GILTS.
I guess what I am saying is review the position every 6 months or so and be happy again; dont just leave it 4 years.
PS I am not a financial advisor so pls do not rely on the guy on the Internet!