CAT marked ISAs?
A standard awarded by the Government to ISAs that adhere to guidelines concerning charges, access and terms. Guidelines for Cash ISAs differ slightly to those for Share ISAs.
What makes an ISA CAT marked?
Cash ISAs must...
- Guarantee interest rates are never more than 2% below base rate. Upward rates must follow the base rate within 1 month. Downward may be slower.
- No one off or regular charges (except for duplicate documents)
- Minimum transaction size to be £10, with 7 working days notice or less.
Remember that any Cash ISA that is not Cat marked carries no guarantees on interest rates
Guidelines on equity ISAs only cover fair charges, not investment charges. This is not all bad as it means that you could get higher returns, for higher risks, than with a non-Cat marked Share ISA.
To earn a Cat mark a Share ISA must not charge more than 1 % per year, or set a minimum investment level of more than £500 per year/£50 per month.
As with PEPs, Cat marked share ISAs insist that 50% of your stocks and shares are invested in the EU market.