Britain's 38 million savers have been urged to invest their money in the stock market after being warned that for many of them it is now a "waste of time" putting their cash into a savings account.
The warning came after official figures indicated that the cost of living had increased once again in November, making it nearly impossible to earn a real rate of return on any bank or building society savings product.
As the London stock market closed at a two-and-a-half-year high, experts said that for many savers taking the risk of abandoning a deposit account and placing it in a high-yielding collection of shares was a more sensible option.
The dearth of decent savings products was laid bare by figures from the personal finance website Moneyfacts which showed that there were just three accounts â out of a total of 2,203 on the market â that paid a real rate of return, and only one for higher-rate taxpayers.
Darius McDermott, the managing director of Chelsea Financial Services, an independent financial adviser, said: "The simple fact is if you have £1 and you invest in cash, you will lose out once you take into account tax and inflation. Most savings accounts are just a waste of time.
"But if you put that £1 into to a good high-yielding fund you will make a return. Of course your capital could increase or it could fall. That's the risk, but I would put my £1 into equities every single time."
Complete article-:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-forget-savings-accounts-think-of-shares.html
The warning came after official figures indicated that the cost of living had increased once again in November, making it nearly impossible to earn a real rate of return on any bank or building society savings product.
As the London stock market closed at a two-and-a-half-year high, experts said that for many savers taking the risk of abandoning a deposit account and placing it in a high-yielding collection of shares was a more sensible option.
The dearth of decent savings products was laid bare by figures from the personal finance website Moneyfacts which showed that there were just three accounts â out of a total of 2,203 on the market â that paid a real rate of return, and only one for higher-rate taxpayers.
Darius McDermott, the managing director of Chelsea Financial Services, an independent financial adviser, said: "The simple fact is if you have £1 and you invest in cash, you will lose out once you take into account tax and inflation. Most savings accounts are just a waste of time.
"But if you put that £1 into to a good high-yielding fund you will make a return. Of course your capital could increase or it could fall. That's the risk, but I would put my £1 into equities every single time."
Complete article-:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-forget-savings-accounts-think-of-shares.html