Stocks and Shares ISAs: How to make your savings safer

Those who aim to become more tax efficient often turn to ISAs as an ideal investment instrument, but an increasing number of people are growing weary of investing in cash accounts that provide dramatically low returns. With interest rates continuing to lag, the new £15,000 account limit seems less and less like the solution they’re searching for.

This is why an increasing number of people are turning to stocks and shares ISAs instead. Although these inarguably carry a greater level of risk than their cash alternatives, they also provide an opportunity to engineer much higher returns.

Yet the investors who feel strong-armed into sinking their capital into stocks and shares ISAs are usually in search of the safest investments on the market, and shy away from a more traditional approach to investing. If you’re among them, here are three golden rules to help you achieve your goals and lower your risk levels…

1. Look for providers who offer structured investments

For those who have been driven to invest by continuously low interest rates, you’ll wish to avoid exacerbating your risks as much as you can, and providers who offer structured investments are a great place to start. The danger of stocks and shares ISAs is that the value of your capital can decrease as easily as it can increase. However, those who offer structured investments take this risk away, guaranteeing the return of your money should the financial markets go awry. Although their services are much sought after, however, it’s important to ensure that your provider is properly covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme before you make your final decision.

2. Diversify

As any experienced investor will tell you, diversification is the surest way to create a balanced portfolio and protect your interests. Diversification works by investing funds in more than one asset, preferably across multiple financial markets. This means that savvy traders will sink their capital into interests as diverse as forex, property, shares, and even precious metals in order to ensure that their money is protected. In doing so, they avoid leaving themselves vulnerable to any market disasters with the capacity to destroy their savings, as even if their interests in one market fail, they’ll often find that their interests in another thrive.

3. Tailor your risk level

Many of those who are inexperienced in the art of investing will choose not to make all of the decisions themselves. Instead, they will look to account providers who have ready made options for them to invest in, and you’ll find that some of these offer tailor made packages to suit every personality. Indeed, many will allow you to simply decide on the level of risk you would like to run, and will then invest funds accordingly on your behalf.