Foreign & Colonial (F&C) Child Trust Fund Reviews

Website: www.fandc.com
Good Points: Stocks are flourishing
Bad Points: Snail-mail required to change address details
First reviewed on 14 July, 2009 by Ami
My partner chose F&C after spending hours and hours online reading through the various 'blah-blah' of all of the trust funds. There are so many out there that it can be hard to know who is best, but they had the best rates and prospects. What makes it most confusing are all the offers for £20 of vouchers or £10 extra. Luckily there are compare websites, such as moneysupermarket and money saving expert that can help you to compare all the small print as this is what is important. You need to make sure, if you chose stocks, that you get a good price per stock!
Our stocks are doing REALLY well at the moment and although the market is not at it's best, remember that the money is with them for 18 years, so there is more than enough time for the market to boom!
Our only problems with F&C has been that we moved address and the only way to change our address details was via 'snail mail' a.k.a write a letter with our twins account details and our new address etc. Not really what we want to do in the age of computers!
Overall, however; I am really happy with F&C! .
Ami's Golden EggNest Rating (5 out of 5): 

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Website: www.fandc.com
Good Points: The staff were a great help, giving me plenty of advise.
Bad Points: documention took a while to be received 
First reviewed on 03 July, 2009 by Louise
Overall rates & customer service was goodshares.
Louise's Golden EggNest Rating (2 out of 5): 

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Website: www.fandc.com
Good Points: A company that has a good track record with investments.
Bad Points: More geared toward the business market, than family. Poor admin.
First reviewed on 23 April, 2009 by Amanda
Following the advice of a financial advisor 6 years ago I have since placed all three of my childrens CTF's with F&C. I found their customer service was ok-ish but sloppy. They were always very friendly when rectifying numerous administrative mistakes! I felt their information on investments was geared more towards the business market, as opposed to the family user. They have, more recently, been inserting a leaflet that is more child-trust-fund orientated, which is helpful, but still manages to be very business worded. Not ideal for someone like me who has no background in business, or stocks and shares.
Amanda's Golden EggNest Rating (3 out of 5): 

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Website: www.fandc.com
Good Points: Low costs, easy and flexible
Bad Points: Can't think of any yet!
First reviewed on 20, Feb 2008 by Duncan
Really Very quick and easy to set up. Lots of investment choices :- Cash, Stakeholder or Share funds. Choice of several Investment Trusts. Allows small monthly direct debits and irregular top ups by anyone else, eg: Grandparents.  Good performance so far relative to its competitors.
Duncan's Golden EggNest Rating (5 out of 5): 

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Website: www.fandc.com
Good Points: prompt amd efficient set up, regular communication
Bad Points: none so far
First reviewed on 14 Aug, 2007 by lodgie32
Really prompt set up, which was essential as i was pushing it to meeet the deadline. had been following the results of ctf in the broadsheets, felt f&c perfomed well, get very clear communication from them. small hitch in early stages ( somehow ended up with 2 government vouchers going in..soon remedied. Have not as yet put in further fumds in addition to monthly direct debit, hope to do so around anniversary. Feel confident this will be a good investment; reassured they don't give away freebies to try to lure you in, the product should surely speak for itself.
lodgie32's Golden EggNest Rating (5 out of 5): 

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Website: www.fandc.com
Good Points: Low costs/fees
Bad Points: Statement not clear 
First reviewed on 21 Jun, 2007 by 7676dragon
Signed up for this as it seems a good deal and is very flexible. One grandparent wanted to pay a small monthly direct debit and another grandparent gives a lump sum on our son’s birthday and these work well with the account. No dealing fees or annual charge and only 0.5% stamp duty. We have had to change some investments due to changes in the company though and certain trusts being made unavailable. Statements are regular but not very easy to understand although you can always see what the total value is. One black mark was when they sent a letter regarding another customer to us in the same envelope as ours but this was investigated and found to be human error – still no apology letter though.
7676dragon's Golden EggNest Rating (3 out of 5): 

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MyEggNest's Recommendations Alternatives to CTFs - Tax-Exempt Savings Plans Did you know there are alternatives to the CTF that offer the same tax-free savings? Tax-Exempt Savings Plans (TESPs) can help you build up a lump sum for your child through small, regular payments. Your fund grows free from any income or capital gains tax, and can be used to save for children of all ages. Click here for more information about TESPs, and specific plans offered by friendly societies.

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