FSCS Icesave and London Scottish compensation

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has already paid £1.7bn in compensation to Icesave and London Scottish Bank customers in respect of just over 58,900 fixed term deposit accounts that have already matured up to 26 March.

The FSCS expects to have assessed all outstanding claims by early May.

Jim Cramer V Jon Stewart

TV stock and investor pundit Jim Cramer of CBNC Mad Money appears on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show after a week of acrimony between the two over the reporting and lack of responsibility by  Stock market TV pundits.

These two videos give a clear indication of the backlash and real anger against Wall Street and Banks that is currently being felt by many Americans.

Jim Cramer V Jon Stewart

In the US the backlash against TV stock and investor pundits has erupted into a battle between two Jon Stewart of The Daily Show and Jim Cramer CBNC Mad Money Show of the . This the first video that sets the scene between these two TV personalities." If I had followed their advice I would have a million dollars today....... If I had started with a hundred million"

Investment Clubs

An investment club or share club consists of a group of people put who each invest an agreed amount of money to invest on the stockmarket.

Meetings are held regularly to decide on strategy and to pick shares.

Investing in shares through an investment club can be an fun as well as an education on how business and money work.

Risks and success are shared among a group of club members/investors.

Investments on the stock market the value of shares can go down as well as up. Like all investments you should only invest what you can reasonably risk and it is also wise to take a medium to long term view.

It is not difficult to set up a club as there is a great deal of help available.

ProShare is a non-profit making organisation which promotes share-based investment, including investment clubs.

Their manual is probably the most important document to help you start a club, how to run it, including rules and legalities, and advice and tips on how to go about investing your money. The Manual, which costs £28.00 . http://www.proshare.org.uk

Proshare also publish quarterly magazine if you register with them.

Online Share Dealing

Online Share dealing (also known as online share trading) isn't as complicated as it seems. Stockbrokers often use the internet to let investors buy and sell their shares more easily and more quickly than conventional methods would allow. In fact, it's exactly the same as buying and selling stocks and shares via a stockbroker but a share dealer uses online software to action the transactions almost instantly.

By the end of 2006 a report by The Compeer showed that there were over 766,540 people participating in online share dealing. Users register to specific companies which have a share dealing platform or interface and buy or sell shares through a website. Conventionally we would sell or buy shares through our bank, building society or stockbroker, but with online share dealing buying and selling shares is made much easier and faster.

Costs

The fees charged by online banks and brokers do vary. You may need to pay:

• 0.5% Stamp Duty on purchased shares
• A fixed transaction fee each time you perform a trade
• Regular subscription, administration or account charges

You must pay stamp duty reserve tax on all your share purchase transactions in the UK and any purchases over £10,000 will also incur a charge (the PTM levy) which is a flat rate of £1 and is collected by The Panel of Takeovers and Mergers.

If you choose to sell some shares you won't be charged anything for the privilege, but you could be charged capital gains tax on the money you receive. You could also have to pay costs associated with online share dealing such as account management fees.

Choosing a Stockbroker

The types of share dealing which consumers do online is called 'execution-only' trading, this means that what a share dealer chooses to buy or sell are the sole responsibility of the share dealer and your broker remains unaffected. There are huge risks associated with online share dealing as stocks can go down in value as well as up and as such it's important that you use online services which are reputable and reliable.

Each online broker will offer a different set of services and charge a different amount of money to provide these. Some brokers offer you the chance to invest in more than just the main market UK shares but might charge some higher fees for this whilst others appeal novice share dealers.

National Savings and Investments offers a range of savings accounts and bonds.

Originally known as the Post Office Savings Bank (set up in 1861) providing an easy way to encourage workers to save. It is backed by the Treasury, and is the UK's second largest savings institution, with more than 30 million customers.

These raise money for the government and pay the investor interest in return. Some investments with NSI offer tax-free interest, others are taxable.
A National Savings' investor lends their capital to the government and receives security for their investment in return. Interest rates may be fixed, variable or index-linked to the rate of inflation, depending on which type of account you choose.

There is a range of tax free fixed rate and index linked bonds. Index linked bonds promise to pay an interest that is above inflation Investors must agree to invest gor a fixed term (three to five years) All money invested in National Savings is capital protected, which means you get all your original investment back.
National Savings' children's bonus bonds,with around 140,000 accounts are a very popular children's savings account.

Premium Bonds are responsible for nearly 25% of all National Savings Investments. You can read more about Premium Bonds on our Premium Bond page.

National savings also offers a range of tax free fixed rate and index linked bonds.
Index linked bonds promise to pay an interest that is above inflation.In return you agree to keep your money invested for between three and five years.
All money invested in National Savings is capital protected, which means you get all your original investment back.

In addition, National Savings' children's bonus bonds are one of the most popular children's savings accounts in the country, with around 140,000 accounts opened.

You can visit the National Savings and Investments web site for more information.

http://www.nsandi.com/

 The FSCS and the Consumer

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms.

This means that FSCS can pay compensation if a firm is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it. FSCS is an independent body, set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

Services from the FSCS are free to consumers.

It is important to note that the FSCS is the "fund of last resort" if you are entitled to compensation you must first claim against the firm that originally arranged the product, investment etc. It is only if they can not meet your claim or have gone out of business and are declared in default by the FSCS can the FSCS then consider your claim.

You can read more about the FSCS here where there is also a link to the FSCS web site

Two £1 million jackpots every month
NSI run the Premium, Bond prize draw every month with two £1 million jackpots plus over a million other tax-free prizes.

The more Bonds you have, the better your chances of winning.
Many investors see premium bonds as a safe alternative to the National Lottery because they are only gambling with the interest - not with their capital (minimum investment is £100, the prizes range from £50 up to £1m).

The chances of winning are also considerably higher than the Lottery - with an estimated 1 in 24,000 chance of receiving a prize with a single bond in a single draw.

Investors can also withdraw the original capital investment at any time without penalty.

For more information vist the National Savings and Investment web site.

Have you won a Premium Bond prize?

If you are a Premium Bond holder then you can check to see if you have won at the National Savings and Investment website.

Every month around £100m is won in the Premium Bonds draw.

To check if you are one of the lucky ones then you will need to have your Premium Bonds holder number to hand.
Simply follow the link below and enter your number to find out if you are winner!

Check your Premium Bonds and see if you are a winner.

CFD (Contracts for Difference) Trading

Although CFDs are used by professional investment managers to hedge positions the vast majority of non professional investors use them to speculate. Please read the warnings from the CFD trading platforms with great care.

This page is being updated.