Established almost 200 years ago, Shepherds Friendly is a mutual organisation that offers its members a range of products, including savings, income protection plans and over-50s life insurance.
Shepherds Friendly’s main features:
The Shepherds Friendly stocks and shares ISA is a personal account where you can invest up to £20,000 alongside other ISAs, including help to buy, lifetime and cash ISAs in the tax year 2021/2022. This means that you can invest up to £20,000 without being taxed on the profits you make.
You can open an ISA with the Shepherds Friendly app. You can save from £30 per month or make single lump sum payments.
You’ve got a couple of different options for your ISA:
You can also save into junior versions of adult ISAs for your children. They’re virtually the same, except the annual allowance is £9,000 in the 2021/2022 tax year. The money you save up is locked away until your child turns 18, when they’re able to access it.
Pay between £100 and £200 a month into an account for your child. You can save an extra £2,400 per year without paying tax on profits, on top of the annual JISA allowance.
The plan includes sickness benefits of up to £200 a week if your child falls ill and can’t attend school.
When you want to start cashing out, you can either give the child a lump sum or stagger payments.
This is an investment plan for a minimum of 10 years (or there’s an early repayment charge). You can save between £10 and £25 each month tax free, on top of your annual ISA allowance.
You can apply to Shepherds Friendly on its website. You’ll then be able to download the app, where you’ll need to provide:
Shepherds Friendly is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It’s also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means that if Shepherds Friendly were to go bust, your investments are covered for up to £85,000.
Overall, the reviews posted on Trustpilot are positive. Current and previous members have reported receiving a good level of customer service from Shepherds Friendly’s staff.
Members of Shepherds Friendly said that the website was easy to navigate, and their accounts were straightforward to set up. However, members frequently mentioned that they received reductions – commonly 10% – when withdrawing their investment. The policy and reasoning behind the reduction were well and clearly explained by the Shepherds Friendly customer service advisors.
On Trustpilot, Shepherds Friendly has 4.2 out of 5 stars and a rating of “Great”, based on more than 200 reviews. The organisation has 4.7 out of 5 stars on Reviews.io, based on 2,490 reviews (last updated: August 2021).
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
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