The Children's Mutual Baby Bond Choice Reviews

Average Golden EggNest Ratings from  3 reviews (5 out of 5)

Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Choice of Stakeholder and Non Stakeholder Child Trust Funds. Stakeholder fund offers 1 investment funds. Non Stakeholder fund offers a range of investment funds from 4 different providers -Insight, Gartmore. INVESCO Perpetual and UBS. Vouchers paid for setting up and increasing direct debits. Friends and family can also top up the investment.
Bad Points: You can lose money depending on the share price and the account chosen.
First reviewed on 12 Oct, 2008 by Martin
I opened my sons Child Trust Fund with the initial investment of £250 and a direct debit of £50 per month. Gradully over the two years I have increased the £50 per month to the point where I pay the maximum amount possible. Childrens Mutual paid me a £20 mothercare vouchers (this amount has been recently increased to £40) for paying in the initial amount and setting up a direct debit arrangement. They have also been kind enough to pay an additional £20 voucher for each increase in the direct debit. I chose to invest into the non Stakeholder Child Trust Fund because of the reputation of one of the panel fund managers and saw a good return on my sons money for the first year unfortunately the return has not been so good in year 2 due to fund performance. I would expect however a greater return than cash deposits over the next 14 years.
Martin's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5):    

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: quick and easy to set up
Bad Points: already lost money.
First reviewed on 17 Aug, 2008 by Zoe
We read around CTF's before makinga decision and the process for opening a childrens mutual seemed quite straightforward - which appealed to us. The information talked about thepossible amounts that can be achieved with and without additional contributions and also made us aware of how much we might make with the shares, savings accounts. The service was easy to set up and all correspondence arrived quickly once I had completed the application forms.  It's only been open 10 months though, and has already lost money . We are hoping that over the next couple of years it changes and makes some money. The information we received through was detailed so we knew the options available before we committed to a specific account..
Zoe's Golden EggNest Rating (4 out of 5): 

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Website: www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
Good Points: Easy to set up. Range of investment funds. £20 Mothercare vouchers for setting up a regular direct debit payment.
Bad Points: Performance hasn't been great so far, but this should be viewed as a long term investment.
First reviewed on 05 Aug, 2008 by Trevor
We now have two of these accounts, one for each of our children. The process of setting up the accounts is easy. We requested an information pack online, completed the form that comes in it and returned it with the £250 voucher.  We believe a stocks and shares CTF account should offer better savings potential than a cash CTF over the life of the product. In any case, there are very good children's regular saver accounts available outside of the CTF rapper. We have non-CTF cash accounts with the Halifax which gives us a more diverse savings portfolio.  We like the fact that you can chose an investment fund (or funds)of your choice from a list of established fund managers. We also like the free £20 Mothercare vouchers that they give you when you set up a regular direct debit payment into the account. This doesn't have to be done when you open the account, we set up this a year later and still got the vouchers.  We can't think of too many negative things to say. The performance hasn't been great over the last couple of years, but over time I think the risk vs cash should pay off.
Trevor's Golden EggNest Rating (5 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.

Radcliffe & Newlands Lump Sum Investments Puzzled by lump sum investing? Get help from qualified investment professionals. Click here for more information.

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