16 August 2024
- RBC Brewin Dolphin used a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to obtain data revealing children’s six-figure stock market fortunes
- Number of children sitting on £100,000+ pots has more than trebled year-on-year to around 2,000
- Approximately 420 children have built pots worth £200,000+, a sharp rise from just 40 last year
London March 2024 – The UK’s top Junior ISA investors have amassed fortunes in excess of £750,000, according to figures released today.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by RBC Brewin Dolphin to HMRC has revealed that the top 50 child investors are sitting on pots averaging £761,000 – putting them firmly on track to join millionaires’ row in their 20s.
According to the figures for 2021-22, the number of children with £50,000+ saved has more than doubled year-on-year from 8,130 to 16,420, while investors with £100,000+ pots more than trebled from 540 to 1,910. Of those, there were 370 pots in excess of £200,000, compared with just 40 the year before.
Rob Burgeman, investment manager from RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: “Junior ISA wealth is booming as more and more families take steps to help the next generation navigate a world of costly tuition fees and ballooning house prices.
“The annual £9,000 JISA allowance is less than half of its adult counterpart, and for that reason very few people ever imagined that there might be schoolchildren sitting on pots of £750,000 or more.
“HMRC’s figures, however, underscore the value of long-term planning and the power of compounding.
“And while not every family will have the means to amass £500,000 by the time their children head off to university, a more modest pot of £50-£100,000 will certainly be within the reach of many.
“Starting at birth, a £50,000 pot could be built by the child’s 18th birthday on contributions of roughly £150-a-month, assuming annualised returns of 5% after charges.
“Increase the contribution to £300-a-month, and the Junior ISA will be looking at a windfall of around £100,000.
“HMRC’s data illustrates how patience is a virtue when it comes to investing. Start early and you are more likely to reap the rewards.
“It may only be a matter of time before HMRC confirms the existence of the UK’s first Junior ISA millionaire.”
The data on JISA wealth is the latest in a series of RBC Brewin Dolphin releases which shed light on the phenomenal returns achieved by some UK investors using tax wrappers like ISAs and pensions. Last year an FOI request revealed the country’s largest pension pot tracked by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) stands at £11million. A separate dataset released by HMRC to RBC Brewin Dolphin last March revealed the country’s largest adult ISA pot stands at more than £11.6m.
Investing legends
| Uk’s top pension pot | £11m* |
| UK’s top ISA pot | £11.6m+** |
| UK’s top JISA pot | £761,000*** |
Junior ISAs – known as JISAs – were first launched in 2011 for children under the age of 18 with a choice of cash JISAs or stocks and shares JISAs.
Initially, the amount that could be paid into a Junior ISA was limited to just £3,600-a-year, but today the annual ceiling stands at £9,000.
The improved Junior ISA allowance means that a family-of-four can now pay £58,000 annually into ISAs – £20,000 for each adult and £9,000 for each child – and watch them compound free of capital gains of income tax.
A family maxing out their allowances could build a £1million family fund in a stocks and shares JISA in around a dozen years assuming 5% annualised returns, after charges.
While mothers and fathers can pay into a JISA for their children, money can also be gifted by extended family and friends.
Unlike an adult ISA, the savings cannot be touched until the child turns 18, at which point the funds can either be withdrawn by the holder or transferred into an adult ISA.
A £50,000 pot could potentially help an undergraduate complete their degree without taking on debt, or alternatively cover a first-time buyer’s deposit.
Tuition fees plus living expenses for a three-year degree usually costs between £35,000 to £40,000[i].
The average cost of a deposit for first time buyers is currently £53,414[ii], and represents around 19% of the average purchase price. The average cost of a UK home is approximately £288,000[iii].
While some children can look forward to six-figure windfalls, the majority of Junior ISA holders are relatively small investors. According to HMRC’s figures, around 1.6 million children are sitting on pots less than £10,000.
While the JISA was only launched in 2011, parents were also allowed to transfer in any savings from its predecessor the Child Trust Fund (CTF) which ran for six tax years prior.
It’s believed the top Junior ISAs recorded in HMRC’s 2021-22 figures will incorporate both CTF and JISA contributions made over a 17-year period beginning when the CTF was launched in 2005-2006.
The young investor could have built a war-chest of £761,100, beginning in 2004-05 when CTFs were still available, and ending in 2021-22. It would have required extraordinary, annualised returns of just under 32% to turn total contributions of £63,436 into £761,100 over this time frame. Total gains would have amounted to a staggering £697,667.
Rob Burgeman, investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, commented: “This kind of turbo-charged growth simply can’t be generated through patient cash saving.
“The lesson to be learned is that the stocks and shares JISA has rewarded investors with far better returns over the long-term than the cash JISA.
“In fact, over the same time period, the cash JISA could have grown to approximately £66,000.”
Rob Burgeman commented: “The JISA can be great way of helping someone get their foot on the property ladder or help with university fees.
“But it can also be used to fund some of life’s more fun adventures, like a gap year backpacking your way around the world, or a honeymoon to remember.
“Whatever your plans, the JISA has become an essential part of family wealth planning, empowering families to plan for the future with confidence.”
| Pot size | Investor number |
| £0 – £9,999.99 | 1,663,350 |
| £10,000 – £19,999.99 | 132,630 |
| £20,000 – £29,999.99 | 47,120 |
| £30,000 – £39,999.99 | 22,690 |
| £40,000 – £49,999.99 | 13,360 |
| £50,000 – £59,999.99 | 6,610 |
| £60,000 – £69,999.99 | 3,840 |
| £70,000 – £79,999.99 | 2,200 |
| £80,000 – £89,999.99 | 1,150 |
| £90,000 – £99,999.99 | 710 |
| £100,000 – £109,999.99 | 470 |
| £110,000 – £119,999.99 | 290 |
| £120,000 – £129,999.99 | 220 |
| £130,000 – £139,999.99 | 160 |
| £140,000 – £149,999.99 | 120 |
| £150,000 – £199,999.99 | 280 |
| Over £200,000 | 370 |
| Over £500,000 | 50 |
Trusts
Some parents worry that their children will not be emotionally mature enough to handle a sudden JISA windfall responsibly. For those guardians who want more of a say in how the money is spent, another tax-efficient method of passing wealth to the next generation is the use of a trust. A trust allows donors to give away assets indirectly. Typically, a trust is held and managed by a third party known as a trustee.
Often, grandparents will set aside money for grandchildren with the parents as trustees. Money is typically released when the grandchildren are mature enough to make prudent financial decisions. Though this is at the discretion of the trustees and there is no obligation to wait until the child turns 18 or 21.
Rob Burgeman commented: “There are many types of trust but a discretionary trust is perhaps the perfect vehicle for families to pass wealth on in a tax-efficient manner at a time of their choosing.
“Unlike the JISA, children and grandchildren don’t have an absolute entitlement to the funds even when they reach the age of 18.
“Discretionary trusts offer flexibility in terms of who benefits, when, and by how much.
“A discretionary trust allows the trustees, in accordance with the donor’s wishes, to use the funds for other purposes and change the beneficiaries throughout the life of the trust. This is particularly useful if planning for grandchildren who have not been born yet.”
Pensions
Another option for parents and grandparents looking to invest in a child’s future is the use of pensions.
Rob Burgeman commented: “It’s not commonly known that you can open a pension for someone at any age, and they don’t need to have joined the workforce.
“Parents or grandparents can contribute to a junior pension, usually up to £2,880 per tax year. Contributions benefit from 20% income tax relief, which boosts that £2,880 to £3,600.
“Contributions to a junior pension count as gifts for inheritance tax purposes. However, the gift might fall within your annual gifting allowance of £3,000.
“Under current rules, someone who is a child today won’t be able to access a pension pot until they turn 57. There is an expectation that may increase to 58 in time.”
-ENDS-
Disclaimers
The value of investments, and any income from them, can fall and you may get back less than you invested. This does not constitute tax or legal advice. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future. Neither simulated nor actual past performance are reliable indicators of future performance. Performance is quoted before charges which will reduce illustrated performance. Investment values may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations. Information is provided only as an example and is not a recommendation to pursue a particular strategy. Information contained in this document is believed to be reliable and accurate, but without further investigation cannot be warranted as to accuracy or completeness. Forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future performance. RBC Brewin Dolphin is a trading name of Brewin Dolphin Limited. Brewin Dolphin Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register reference number 124444) and regulated in Jersey by the Financial Services Commission. Registered Office; 12 Smithfield Street, London, EC1A 9BD. Registered in England and Wales company number: 2135876.
For more information, please contact:
Gary O’Shea gary.oshea@powerscourt-group.com
078 14658271
Or Sian Robertson PR Manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin on sian.robertson@brewin.co.uk
Notes to editor:
HMRC have rounded data to the nearest ten
Records may contain some duplication across providers
NOTES TO EDITORS
About RBC Brewin Dolphin
RBC Brewin Dolphin is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading wealth managers and traces its origins back to 1762. With £51.8* billion in assets under management, we offer award-winning, personalised wealth management services from bespoke, discretionary investment management to retirement planning and tax-efficient investing.
Our qualified investment managers and financial planners are based in 33 offices across the UK, Jersey and Republic of Ireland. They are committed to the most exacting standards of client service, with long-term thinking and absolute focus on our clients’ needs at the core.
As part of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), we are now able to draw on the strength of a global financial institution to continue to improve the service we provide to our clients and drive further innovation across our business.
*as at 31st October 2023.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 94,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.
We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.
[i] How much does it cost to study in the UK? | Student (timeshighereducation.com)
[ii] How big a deposit do first-time buyers need around Britain? | This is Money
[iii] How big a deposit do first-time buyers need around Britain? | This is Money