Not sure what to do with your Child Trust Fund?

Our ISA could be the answer

Remember the value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you originally invested. Pension and tax rules apply.

Transfer a matured Child Trust Fund

Turning 18 on or after 1 September 2020? Then you may be getting an extra birthday gift – your Child Trust Fund (CTF).

How much is in your CTF will vary. But one thing will be true. Keeping it in a tax-free account, such as an ISA, could help your one-off windfall grow to a lifelong nest egg.

At AJ Bell, it’s easy to open an ISA and we’ll do the hard work when you move your CTF to us. New to investing? Our range of investment ideas are here to give you a little help, or a lot.

AJ Bell Which

  • Why transfer your CTF to an ISA?

  • Your money stays tax-free

  • Enjoy an allowance of £20,000 a year with a Stocks and shares ISA

  • Earn a 25% Government bonus towards your first home or retirement with a Lifetime ISA

  • Choose from a huge range of investments, and buy or sell for as little as £1.50 with AJ Bell

New to investing? Learn how to get started with investing in three easy steps.

Which ISA is right for me?

Stocks and shares ISA

Cash ISAs and Stocks and shares ISAs are both tax-free. The difference lies in the returns you can hope to make. At the moment, most Cash ISAs pay interest of below 1%* – under the inflation rate. That means over time, your money won’t stretch as far.

A Stocks and shares ISA lets you invest your savings for the possibility of higher returns. Nothing is guaranteed with investing, and you could lose money as well as make it. But the longer you can invest for, the better the chance that your investments recover from short-term dips, and outperform cash.

Find out more about our Stocks and shares ISA

*https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa/

Lifetime ISA

Want to save for your first home? A Lifetime ISA gives you a generous Government bonus of up to £1,000 a year on what you pay in. You can also use the account to save for later life – so it can serve a dual purpose.

On the flip side, a Lifetime ISA is less flexible than a Stocks and shares ISA. If you take out money before age 60 that you’re not using to buy your first home, you’ll pay a Government withdrawal charge – which could leave you with less than you put in.

Also, if you choose to save in a Lifetime ISA instead of enrolling in, or contributing to, your workplace pension scheme you will miss out on the benefit of your employer’s contributions to that scheme and your current and future entitlement to means tested benefits may be affected.

Find out more about AJ Bell as a Lifetime ISA provider

You can only pay £4,000 into a Lifetime ISA each tax year. If there's more than that amount in your CTF, you could transfer £4,000 into a Lifetime ISA, and the rest into a Stocks and shares ISA so it stays tax-free.

How to transfer your Child Trust Fund

First, open a Stocks and shares ISA or Lifetime ISA – it only takes 5 minutes. To be eligible for an account with us, you must have already turned 18 and be resident in the UK.

To transfer your CTF, open an ISA below and download a transfer form during the application process.

Stocks and shares ISA

You can transfer in both cash and investments. The amount you transfer won’t count towards your £20,000 ISA allowance.

Open a Stocks and shares ISAView our ISA charges

Lifetime ISA

You can only transfer in cash – so you’ll need to sell your investments first, if you have any. The amount you transfer will count towards your £4,000 Lifetime ISA allowance.

Open a Lifetime ISAView our Lifetime ISA charges

Why AJ Bell?

  • For over 25 years, we’ve made investing easy and affordable. If you’re happy to go it alone, we’ve a huge range of investments for you to choose from. But if you're not sure which to pick? Our investment ideas can help you on your way.

    Save money – open an account for free, buy funds from £1.50 and shares for as little as £5.00. View charges

  • Invest regularly – grow your wealth gradually by putting in as little as £25 a month

  • Choose a trusted name – we’re an award-winning FTSE 250 company managing £54.3bn of assets for 282,000 customers

  • New to investing? Get to grips with the basics with our freeguide.

Have a question we haven’t answered here? You can start a webchat with one of our friendly experts, or why not just send us a message.