TEACHING YOUNG FOOTBALLERS ABOUT SAVING
The importance of investing in an ISA
The copy below formed part of a 13-week email campaign explaining the basics of investing to a young (17-25 years old) audience of professional footballers.
THE BRIEF
The brief (from a leading London-based wealth manager) was to come up with compelling and readable copy that would be easily understood by an audience of young professional footballers, with no previous financial knowledge. As such, the key was to keep the copy concise and clear and pitched at a very basic level, so as to ensure high levels of engagement with the content.
EXTRACT FROM EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Introducing ISAs
An ISA is an Individual Savings Account. The best thing about ISAs is they are tax-free!
So, any money you put into an ISA will not be subject to tax, enabling your money to grow faster over the long term. You can save up to £20,000 per year in an ISA. You can open most ISAs once you’re 16.
There are two main types of ISA, Cash ISAs and Stocks & Shares ISAs, with the government having also recently launched a third option, the Lifetime ISA, only available to under-40s.
Cash ISA
A Cash ISA works very much like an ordinary savings account at a bank or building society. However, the benefit of an ISA is that any interest you earn on this ISA is tax-free, so you keep all of your investment.
Within Cash ISAs, there are again two types. Instant access, which as the name suggests allows you to pay in or withdraw funds at any time, and Fixed-rate, which tends to be best if you have a large lump sum to pay in, and are happy to leave it invested for a couple of years.
All Cash ISAs are low risk and an Instant Access ISA allows you to have access to your money at all times, with no management fees charged in most cases.
Stocks & Shares ISA
A Stocks & Shares ISA invests your money in the stock markets of the world. Again, any interest or investment returns you make on a Stocks & Shares ISA are tax-free, so you keep all of your investment.
Stocks & Shares ISAs are higher risk than Cash ISAs, but they do also offer better returns over the long term. We would suggest that you should look to hold on to a Stocks & Shares ISA for 5-10 years, in order to benefit from the higher returns that can be on offer from stock market investment. Stocks & Shares ISA also charge management fees, which vary between providers.
Lifetime ISA
Lifetime ISAs are a new type of ISA designed specifically for 18-39 year olds. You can save up to £4,000 per year with a Lifetime ISA, with the government adding a 25% bonus to whatever you put in. So, if you put in £4,000, the government will top that up with a further £1,000. You can hold Cash and/or Stocks & Shares in your Lifetime ISA.
Lifetime ISAs are a good way to put money aside for your pension, or to help with buying your first home. If you want to take money out of your Lifetime ISA for another reason, then there is a 25% charge on any money you withdraw.