Boost for children’s savings pots

INVESTMENT platform Hargreaves Lansdown has made it easier for parents to save on behalf of children.

Existing and future Junior Isas (Jisas) will no longer be subject to platform or share-dealing charges.

Hargreaves says its move is designed to ‘encourage younger generations to save and invest to improve their financial resilience’.

Currently, £9,000 per tax year — April 6 to April 5 — can be invested or saved into a Jisa. Anyone can contribute, but the account must be opened by a parent or guardian. A child can take control of the account at age 16, but cannot access it until 18.

Hargreaves has more than 165,000 Jisa clients. Before the price change, someone investing £5,000 every tax year into a Jisa for 18 years would have ended up with £137,582, based on annual investment growth of 5 pc. Under the new pricing regime, they would build a bigger pot of £144,020.