As such, an ISA is not a type of investment; it’s just a neat way of sheltering money you’re saving or investing in a tax-efficient account. In fact, there are two main types of ISA, which include: Cash ISA and Stocks and Shares ISA.

Cash ISAs are similar to ordinary savings accounts, however, with no tax to pay on the interest. Therefore, if you already have some money in a savings account, you may be better off transferring it into an ISA, as you can shelter up to £7,200 in an ISA in the current tax year, but only £3,600 of that can be cash. But, there is one catch with cash ISAs: once you’ve paid in the maximum annual limit, you cannot top it up again if you withdraw some of the money. So, it is important to consider what you want from your finances, before proceeding with such a move.

Furthermore, getting a good interest rate on your ISA is vital and a quick look on the internet will show you that interest rates vary widely. In fact, some ISAs will match the Bank of England base rate for a specified period, which means that if the Bank of England changes interest rates, your ISA rate will follow.

It is also important to consider investing for the longer term. Indeed, the stockmarket can behave very turbulent and possibly put you off investing in stocks and shares, but if you can accept the fact that shares will always have ups and downs (sometimes very dramatic ones) it may be worth considering. Ideally, you should be able to leave your money invested for at least five to 10 years to reduce the risks.

In addition, most stocks and shares ISAs invest in share-based funds, where instead of buying shares in one company, your money is split between many different companies (to spread the risk). However, it is important to understand that you should not invest in a stocks and shares ISA to get the tax break, particularly if it means taking on more risk than you would otherwise be happy with. But, if in doubt, consult an independent financial adviser.

Investing through an ISA also means you won’t have to pay capital gains tax when you cash it in. You can invest up to £7,200 in a stocks and shares ISA in a single tax year or – if you already have a cash ISA in the current tax year – up to £3,600 in a stocks and shares ISA.

But it is also important to understand that ISA rules have changed in 2008, which include:

• The overall ISA subscription limit has increased to £7200;
• You can now save up to £3600 of the overall ISA limit in a cash ISA;
• There is now more flexibility about how you split your money. For example, you can save £1000 in a cash ISA and invest the remaining £6200 in a stocks and shares ISA, or you can split it £2000/£5200, etc up to £3600/£3600;
• If you have saved money in cash ISAs from both the current and previous tax years, you can transfer them into a stocks and shares ISA and it won’t affect your annual allowance;
• You are no longer able to transfer money from a stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA;
• Mini and maxi ISAs no longer exist; instead you can take out one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA each tax year.

The changes to ISA rules are not as complicated as would first seem, the only difficulty you may encounter is actually deciding which option is most suitable for your own personal needs.
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Victoria Cochrane writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.

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So, the question is, what do you do? There are various choices for those with endowment policies that continue to disappoint.

Firstly, look at the bigger picture. It is important that you assess the continued suitability of your endowment in the light of its total performance over the term of the plan and not just for the previous few years. If the endowment is more or less on target to pay off your mortgage at maturity and it’s only in recent years that performance has been particularly poor, then waiting out what is hopefully a short-term, dip in performance may well be the best thing.

Alternatively, investigate other investment funds within the range offered by your insurance company. If your insurance company offers a wide range of investment funds you may wish to look at other funds offering greater prospects for investment growth. You will, however, have to balance risk with reward; afterall, it’s no good investing in a fund you are uncomfortable with, and is very volatile just because it has had good performance. You have to match the level of risk that you are willing to take with the level of returns that you require. If the level of risk required is above that with which you are comfortable, this option probably isn’t for you.

Another option would be to increase your contributions or set up a separate additional investment, such as an ISA or unit trust.

You could also look at the other options available to you with regard to your mortgage. If your plan has no chance of being able to pay off your mortgage, look at the option of switching part or all of your mortgage to repayment. This may cost you more initially but will guarantee that part of your mortgage is paid off.

If you do change your mortgage to repayment, then you can either surrender your endowment policy back to the insurance company or you may be able to sell it on the second hand market.

If you have a unit linked endowment, your only option will be to surrender it to your insurance company and the value that you get will be the value of the units you have accumulated on the day you surrender your plan.

If you have a traditional with profits policy, your options extend to selling it on the second hand market. Surrendering it back to your insurance company could well mean that not only do you benefit from any terminal bonus but the insurance company apply what is known as a “market value reduction” and this is particularly the case in times of poor investment returns. A market value reduction will reduce your surrender value to more accurately reflect the value of the underlying assets. What this means in practice is that you may not get all the bonuses that have been added in the past.

There is vibrant market in second hand endowment policies which can be bought by private and institutional investors alike. The amount received by selling your with profits endowment can be as much as 45% higher than the surrender value. However, not all policies are saleable and the amount that you receive for your endowment will be dependent upon factors such as which insurance company the plan is with, monthly premiums, bonuses to date and length of term left to run.

Daniel Collins writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients. As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.