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Saving habit starts early at Alliance Trust Savings

3rd December 2012 Print

As Junior ISAs (JISAs) pass their first anniversary, analysis of Alliance Trust Savings customer data has revealed that nearly a third of JISA holders are one-year-old or under (29%), with 13 year olds the next most popular age (12%). The most common customer location is South-West London with 7.5% of JISA customers having a SW London postcode, while Edinburgh comes second with 5% of customers residing there.

Parents or grandparents that start  early and maximise the JISA subscription allowance each year with Alliance Trust Savings could build a substantial savings pot of £117,616 for their child over an 18 year period.  Alliance Trust Savings charges for administration on a flat rate fee basis and does not retain any commission payments from fund providers.

Garry Mcluckie, Head of Platform at Alliance Trust Savings commented: "It is great to see that parents are saving for their children from an early age. If parents start saving into a JISA from the time of their child's birth, they could build up a considerable nest egg by the time they are 18, which will come in useful for university fees or getting a foot on the housing ladder.

"It is also encouraging to see that parents with older children are taking advantage of JISAs, having missed out on Child Trust Funds. Whatever the child's age when the investment starts, JISAs offer the advantage of straightforward tax efficient savings that can lead to a tidy sum by the time they reach 18.

"We believe the Government should do more to encourage the take up of Junior ISAs and we would urge them to revisit the rules around Child Trust Funds and allow these investments to be transferred across to Junior ISAs. This will help to ensure a generation of children are not locked into defunct products that no provider is prepared to invest in, bringing about the very real prospect that these investments are potentially left to wither on the vine and result in consumers having less choice and flexibility"