💬 Anna's two pence worth (#20): Cash is a safe haven once again

Anna Bowes is a regular contributor to the BBC’s Money Box, Breakfast and News programs, as well as the national press, providing expert analysis and commentary on the UK savings market. Anna has worked in the financial services industry for more than 20 years and for most of that time has been helping people to make the most of their savings.

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has been back in the savings news this week as it’s been announced that the minimum on the ever-popular Premium Bonds has been reduced. With a chance to win up to £1million every month, it’s little surprise they’re so popular, even if you could also win nothing at all.

🔖 Read: Minimum investment into NS&I Premium Bonds is reduced

And our Ask Anna this week is also about Premium Bonds. One of our readers wants to know if they can be transferred to another person, without being encashed.

🔖 Read: Ask Anna: Can I transfer Premium Bonds to someone else?

It’s possible it passed you by, but this week saw another base bate announcement which - came and went without any changes yet again. No surprises there.

But why wait for a base rate rise to improve your rate? Rates on older accounts have been falling for years without movements in the base rate, yet best buy rates are on the rise.

Holding out could be costing you dearly. In fact, depending on the outcome of the Brexit deal, things could go either way - so is it worth protecting at least some of your cash now while rates seem to be on the up?

🔖 Read: MPC keeps base rate at 0.75%

Movements in the pound continue to keep us all on our toes with Brexit just around the corner. The slightest thing can have a big effect, which our guest writer and partner moneycorp explains in its regular Economic Overview.

If you’re looking to exchange money, especially larger sums, it’s wise to try and get your timing just right.

🔖 Read: Economic Overview from moneycorp – difficult start to the year

Cash is looking more and more appealing. With jitters in the stock market, it seems that many - especially the wealthy - have been moving money into cash as a safe haven once again.

Although we wouldn’t advocate doing so without expert financial advice, it’s clear from reports that many people have already 'cashed in'. And now it seems that cash is even beating property growth, as that market is slowing down in some areas.

🔖 Read: Return on cash surpasses house price growth

It’s been a slow week for savings news, but some competitive rates are still worth a look. Take a sneaky peak at our regular Rates Rundown to see how much interest you could be earning.

That’s it for this week. If you haven’t already seen our new guide to Cash Savings Platforms, why not take a look. This latest innovation has a lot to offer, especially if you hold more than £85,000 in cash!

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