Sold home, purchase fell through. Lump sum to invest

[Familymad]

Morning,

We sold our house last week and now have a sum of cash sitting in our standard savings account. This was thanks to an 11th hour declaration of knotweed at the house we planned to buy.

Anyways, I can’t see us finding another home for 6months minimum and wanted to put the monies somewhere sensible. Some growth would be welcomed and be protected. It’s £800k and feels like a waste where it’s currently located.

Any suggestions welcomed. My IFA is very pro Flagstone.

[LooneyTunes]

Familymad said:

Any suggestions welcomed. My IFA is very pro Flagstone.

If you want to consider one of the deposit aggregators, of which Flagstone is one, take a bit of time to understand the risks they present - the largest being tech related and the time it could take to recover money in the event of issues.

You can get full protection for that sum, and easy access, via NS&I.

[alscar]

100% of your cash if with one only bank will be still protected by the FCS temporary balance rule for 6 months.
Do you want to take any risk with any of it ?
If just cash then maybe look for an account which offers a few withdrawals for a higher annual rate or a combi of that plus a short term fix bond.
MS or MSE etc have lists of best savings accounts.

[Arrivalist]

When I was in this situation, I just put it in NS&I - safe and easy access.

[worldwidewebs]

I'd be looking to ensure that I didn't lose anything, rather than actually gaining. So on that basis I'd go for a Money Market Fund (such as Vanguard's Sterling Short Term MMF) as you'll get 'about' inflation levels of interest and easy access.

[Blue M5 Comp]

I have been very happy with Flagstone very easy to set up
As well got fast access to money and the app is easy to use and tracks all key factors like best rates and how your money is spread to be within the FSCS guidelines (£120,000 each account) so you can have multiple accounts.

Edited by Blue M5 Comp on Thursday 15th October 09:42

[LooneyTunes]

Blue M5 Comp said:

I have been very happy with Flagstone very easy to set up
As well got fast access to money and the app is easy to use and tracks all key factors like best rates and how your money is spread to be within the FSCS guidelines (£120,000 each account) so you can have multiple accounts.

Pedantic but important point: where payment aggregators are concerned "you" don't usually have actual accounts at the various banks with whom deposits are placed (funds can be co-mingled in ring-fenced accounts in ways that still sees them FSCS protected). The ability to untangle positions in the event of data or insolvency issues is one of the risks associated with payment aggregators. I am not suggesting that it would necessarily be impossible to resolve, but it does change the risk profile from what some people might think is happening.

[Familymad]

So are people saying Flagstone is to be avoided at all costs? Feels odd that they would be recommended by so many but the info that’s being shared on here seems quite deep and well above most people’s knowledge when selecting the platform. Investigating the other suggestions thanks

[127Sport]

I fear this may be about to happen to me too, and I'm going to stick it in NS&I if it does, in a monthly guaranteed cash account. The monthly interest will pay any rent I need to pay for a roof over our heads whilst looking for a house to buy.

[PM3]

Sold last year and entire proceeds straight into NS&d I while we go through the planning and other prep to do a build ( have done for us )
didn’t want risk, regular short duration access . Luckily rent is WAY lower than interest earning.

[Familymad]

What are the access allowances? Can you take it all out at anytime or limits ?

[LooneyTunes]

Familymad said:

So are people saying Flagstone is to be avoided at all costs? Feels odd that they would be recommended by so many but the info that s being shared on here seems quite deep and well above most people s knowledge when selecting the platform. Investigating the other suggestions thanks

Definitely not saying avoid at all costs, but there are risks with deposit aggregators that - in my view - should be made more explicit.

Another thing that is worth bearing in mind is that Flagstone, and probably others, pay introducers commission: https://www.flagstoneim.com/advisers/learn/wealth-...

linked article said:

Once your clients have signed up, not only can you view your clients’ cash deposits and keep up to date with the best interest rates on the platform, but also see upcoming maturities so you can inform and remind clients.

You will receive 15% commission from all your referred clients’ annual management fees. Commission is paid in January, in arrears.

That might have a bearing on whether or not someone recommends them. I don't have a dog in that fight.

[Far Cough]

Buy a suitably appreciating car like a lambo or Ferrari or some such. Have fun with it whilst your house shopping then sell when you need the cash - all tax free and if you pick right , make a load of cash

It is a car forum after all !!

[Familymad]

LooneyTunes said:

That might have a bearing on whether or not someone recommends them. I don't have a dog in that fight.

Interesting

[Familymad]

Far Cough said:

Buy a suitably appreciating car like a lambo or Ferrari or some such. Have fun with it whilst your house shopping then sell when you need the cash - all tax free and if you pick right , make a load of cash

It is a car forum after all !!

Oh it’s been discussed many times and the good lady was actually expecting it. Problem is I see the current price levels as a bit of a bubble.

[LooneyTunes]

Familymad said:

Interesting

Indeed. I wasn't surprised that a platform would be making commission payments (albeit I'd have expected a one-time fee instead of ongoing), but I'd be pretty annoyed about my account being visible to the referring adviser - especially if it had not been proactively disclosed.

[Blue_star]

Far Cough said:

Buy a suitably appreciating car like a lambo or Ferrari or some such. Have fun with it whilst your house shopping then sell when you need the cash - all tax free and if you pick right , make a load of cash

It is a car forum after all !!

We can save the police some time - it was his wife.

[dale-rp1ov]

We used insignis as an alternative to flagstone and it’s been nice and smooth. I also use HL for cash investing too, which I’d say it slightly simpler.