16 The Sunday Times October 27, 2019 MONEY Best Buys CURRENT ACCOUNTS FOREIGN MORTGAGES CREDIT INTEREST CURRENCY 2-YEAR FIXED RATES Provider Account name Account fee Interest rate 1 Balance Contact Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes Contact These are the interbank Co-operative Bank Current with Everyday Rewards None £4 a month – 0345 721 2212 Santander 1.21% Fixed to 02.02.22 40% £999 LV 0800 100 802 rates at 5pm on Friday, 2 Nationwide FlexDirect None 5% £0.01-£2,500 0800 302 010 which show where the Barclays 1.51% Fixed to 31.01.22 15% £999 LV 0333 202 7580 Halifax Reward None £2 a month – 0345 720 3040 market is trading. Leek United 2% Fixed to 28.02.22 10% £0 V 0808 169 6680 They are not indicative OVERDRAFTS * 3-YEAR FIXED RATES of the rate you will be Provider Account name Account fee Interest rate 3 0% overdraft limit Contact able to get. Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes Contact First Direct 1st Account None 15.9% £250 0345 600 2424 HSBC 1.44% Fixed to 31.01.23 40% £999 LV 0800 494 999 M&S Bank Current Account None 15.9% £100 0800 756 7777 EURO HSBC 1.84% Fixed to 31.01.23 15% £999 LV 0800 494 999 Starling Current Account None 15% £0 starlingbank.com GBP>EUR Barclays 2.03% Fixed to 31.01.23 10% £999 LV 0333 202 7580 FUND FOCUS 1 Based on funding of £1,000 a month. 2 Introductory rate for one year, then 1%. 3 Equivalent annual rate. * Based on overdraft of £500 for 15 days a month. LONG-TERM FIXED RATES JUPITER INDIA Some accounts require minimum funding/direct debits to open or receive rates shown. Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes Contact Santander 1.49% Fixed to 02.02.25 40% £999 LV 0800 100 802 What it does Diwali starts today, 1.16 Coventry 1.89% Fixed to 31.12.24 15% £999 LV 0800 121 8899 ushering in five days of AMERICA Virgin 2.25% Fixed to 01.03.25 10% £995 LV 0345 605 0500 celebrations across India CREDIT CARDS GBP>USD Barclays 1.89% Fixed to 31.01.27 40% £999 LV 0333 202 7580 — a gargantuan and growing economy. India INTRODUCTORY RATES TRACKERS */ DISCOUNTS hasn’t been a great place Provider Card type Introductory purchase APR 1 Reward Contact Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes Contact for investors in recent MBNA 0% Transfer & Purchase Mastercard 0% for 26 months 20.9% No 0345 606 2062 HSBC 1.34% Tracker +0.59% for 2 years 40% £999 ELV 0800 494 999 years, but this fund aims Barclaycard Platinum All-rounder Visa 0% for 25 months 19.9% No 0800 731 0200 Nationwide 2.14% Tracker +1.39% for 2 years 10% £999 ELV 0800 302 010 to benefit from the 1.28 country’s growing middle Sainsbury’s Bank Dual Offer Mastercard 0% for 25 months 20.9% Yes 0808 540 5060 Newbury 1.99% 2.46% discount for 5 years 25% £850 LV 0163 555 5777 class and the move SWITZERLAND Coventry 2.05% Variable for term 35% £999 ELV 0800 121 8899 BALANCE TRANSFERS GBP>CHF towards urbanisation. FIRST-TIME BUYER / LOW DEPOSIT Provider Card type Introductory purchase Transfer fee 2 APR 1 Contact Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes Contact What it invests in MBNA Long 0% Mastercard 0% for 29 months 2.75% (no min) 20.9% 0345 606 2062 HSBC 2.69% Fixed to 31.01.22 5% £0 PV 0800 494 999 The fund has an 8% Halifax 29-month Mastercard 0% for 29 months 3% (no min) 19.9% 0345 944 4555 weighting towards the Monmouthshire 2.95% Fixed for 5 years 5% £0 PV 0163 384 4351 Virgin Money 29-month Mastercard 0% for 29 months 3% (no min) 21.9% 0800 389 2875 Indian natural resources 1.28 Barclays 1.81% Fixed to 31.01.25 25% £749 PFV 0333 202 7580 company Hindustan CASHBACK CARDS BUY TO LET Petroleum, and this has 1 knocked returns amid a Provider Card type APR Cashback Contact AUSTRALIA Lender Rate Scheme Deposit Fee Notes Contact American Express Platinum Cashback 28.2% 1%-1.25%. Intro 5% for 3 months 0800 917 8047 GBP>AUD global energy downturn. Ipswich 2.95% SVR -2.79% for 2 years 20% £1,149 R 0330 123 0773 However, the fund is also American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday 22.9% 0.5%-1%. Intro 5% for 3 months 0800 917 8047 Post Office 1.59% Fixed to 31.01.22 25% £1,495 V 0800 077 8033 invested in consumer Santander All in One Mastercard 21.7% 0.5% 0800 389 9905 Virgin 1.95% Fixed to 01.03.25 40% £995 LV 0345 605 0500 brands such as Nestlé 1 APR = annual percentage rate, dependent on credit rating. 2 Fee charged on the amount of each balance transfer during the introductory period. Early repayment charge applies unless otherwise stated. * Most deals track Bank of England base rate. India and Gillette India, Source: Moneyfacts.co.uk Notes: SVR = Standard variable rate; E = No early repayment charge; F = Help to Buy or shared-equity scheme; L = Free legal work for which have performed 1.88 remortgages; P = Purchases only; R = Free valuation and legal work for remortgages; V = Free valuation. rather better. Source: landc.co.uk — 0800 373 300 Performance Jupiter India has returned SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 11.4% in the past year INSTANT ACCESS against 7.3% for its benchmark, the Provider Account name Min deposit Interest rate Contact CASH ISAS Investment Association Coventry 1 Triple Access Saver £1 1.46% coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk INSTANT ACCESS Specialist index. Over five Virgin Money 2 Double Take E-Saver (Issue 12) £1 1.45% uk.virginmoney.com Provider Account name Min deposit Interest Transfers in Contact years, its total return has Marcus 3 Online Savings £1 1.44% marcus.co.uk Coventry 1 Limited Access £1 1.46% Yes coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk been 45.9%, against a 35.2% benchmark. Virgin Money 2 Double Take E-Isa (Issue 11) £1 1.45% Yes uk.virginmoney.com NOTICE ACCOUNTS FIXED RATE What the manager says Provider Account name Notice period Min deposit Interest rate Contact Provider Account name Term Min deposit Rate Transfers in Contact “The long-term prospects Investec Notice Plus 95 days £10,000 1.79% investec.com OakNorth Fixed-rate Cash Isa 1 year £1 1.51% Yes oaknorth.com for India look positive,” Close Brothers Savings 95-day Notice 95 days £10,000 1.72% closesavings.co.uk said Jupiter fund manager Charter Savings Bank Fixed-rate Cash Isa 2 years £5,000 1.62% Yes chartersavingsbank.co.uk Charter Savings Bank 95-day Notice (Issue 27) 95 days £5,000 1.71% chartersavingsbank.co.uk Avinash Vazirani. “We 1 Rate includes 0.31% bonus until 31.01.21. Three easy-access withdrawals a year; 50 days’ interest charged on subsequent withdrawals. 2 Maximum two withdrawals a year. think the environment for FIXED-RATE BONDS Source: Savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354 business is changing for Provider Account name Term Min deposit Interest rate Contact the better.” Ikano Bank Fixed 1-year Saver 1 year £1,000 1.76% ikano.co.uk What the experts say Zenith Bank UK Fixed-term Deposit 2 years £1,000 1.85% savings.zenith-bank.co.uk Ben Yearsley at Shore Tandem Bank Fixed Saver 3 years £1,000 2% tandem.co.uk Financial Planning said: 1 Rate includes 0.31% bonus until 31.03.21. Three easy-access withdrawals a year; 50 days’ interest charged on subsequent withdrawals. 2 Maximum of two withdrawals a year. 3 Rate includes CHILDREN’S ACCOUNTS “I’m very positive on the 0.1% bonus for first 12 months. Provider Account name Account type Min deposit Interest rate Contact long-term growth outlook DEALS ARE LISTED ONLY IF THEY ARE COVERED BY THE UK FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME (FSCS) OR A EUROPEAN EQUIVALENT Halifax Kids’ Monthly Saver Regular saver £10 4.5% halifax.co.uk for India, which is similar Source: Savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354 to many other emerging Santander 1 123 Mini Current Account Current account £300 2.96% santander.co.uk markets but multiplied by Cambridge 3-year Fixed-rate Bond Fixed-rate bond £1,000 2% cambridgebs.co.uk its sheer size. Think of it as 1 Interest rates are tiered: 1% on balances of £100-£199; 1.98% on £200-£299; 2.96% on £300-£2,000. a decade behind China in JUNIOR ISAS terms of development. ENERGY DEALS Supplier Average annual bill Rate Contact Provider Account name Min deposit Interest rate Rate Contact Prime minister Narendra Modi’s re-election this Table shows the cheapest tariff from the 3three cheapest Utility Point £819 Fixed 0345 557 7878 Coventry Junior Cash Isa (1) £1 3.6% Variable coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk suppliers.Excludescheapest suppliers. fixed Excludes tariffs fixed of less tariffs than of 12 year is seen as good for months’less than duration. 12 months’ Excludes duration, tariffs tariffs that that do not have Green Energy £867 Variable 0345 222 2525 NS&I Junior Isa £1 3.25% Variable nsandi.com reform and deregulation.” nationaldo not have coverage. national Excludes coverage tariffs and tariffswhere payments Nabuh Energy £900 Fixed 0330 041 4902 arewhere taken payments in advance are takenof the in customer advance coming of the on TSB Junior Cash Isa £1 3.25% Variable tsb.co.uk Kate Palmer supply.customer F=Fixed coming rates on supply.V=Variable rates Source: TheEnergyShop.com — 01259 220 270 Source: Savingschampion.co.uk — 0808 178 5354 ICONS BY JAMIE JONES FBI turns up the heat on Tracker funds cut their fees as investors lose banks over Sim scams faith in stock-pickers

Kenza Bryan verify their customers.” Kate Palmer “The use of tracker funds market slides have shown, The NFIB is investigating a has been growing in many active managers fare as The National Fraud case where a victim in the UK A price war has broken out popularity recently,” said badly, or worse, than index Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) lost £78,000 because of Sim between providers of tracker Ben Seager-Scott, head of trackers, because active and one of the UK’s largest swapping. The money was It warned that Sim funds seeking to capitalise on multi-asset funds at wealth managers tend to “hug” the mobile phone networks, EE, transferred to the sort of swapping had become “a growing scepticism about manager Tilney. “People are index — in effect, operating have raised concerns about “mule” accounts commonly common tactic of cyber- fund managers in the wake of growing disillusioned with like tracker funds while banks’ growing reliance on used for money laundering. criminals seeking to the Neil Woodford scandal. active management.” charging active manager fees. text messages when Banks have been keen circumvent two-factor Vanguard, one of the Another advantage of Another disadvantage of authorising large payments. to shift the blame for this authentication”, citing the world’s largest providers of tracker funds is their trackers is that it is impossible The calls follow the release type of fraud on to phone case of an Irishman alleged to trackers, last week cut its fees transparency: you can see the to beat the market — you can of a declassified document by companies, which have been have used Sim swaps to help for 36 funds to bring them to constituents of an index at only ever track it. America’s Federal Bureau of accused of allowing victims’ steal cryptocurrency worth an average of 0.2%. The any time rather than having It is possible to build a Investigation (FBI) that warns phone numbers to be Eric Priezkalns, chief more than $2m (£1.6m). average annual charge for its to wait for a fund manager to tracker portfolio without about the risk of so-called Sim hijacked because they run too executive of the Risk & Conor Freeman was arrested exchange-traded funds — a release their interim having to pay for advice. swapping — the process used few identity checks. Money Assurance Group (RAG) of in Dublin in May. kind of tracker that follows accounts, which may only Many websites offer model by scammers to intercept has highlighted several such telecoms risk analysts, said The report said: “Consider the performance of a market happen twice a year. portfolios for free, which is a passcodes sent by banks via a cases in recent weeks. new EU requirements for a the practice of sending such using additional or more index — is now 0.15%, and its The downside is that you good starting point. text message. But one of the UK’s mobile “second factor” of vital codes by text was complex forms of multifactor FTSE All-Share tracker costs are not protected if markets As a rule of thumb, put The FBI described this as a phone networks, EE, has hit identification, other than a “simplistic” and “bonkers”. authentication for users and just 0.06% a year. fall. A fund manager may be more money into riskier “common tactic” used to get back, warning that people are traditional password, to be He said: “If Action Fraud administrators, such as By contrast, active fund able to mitigate losses by trackers (ones that invest in round the security measure more vulnerable to fraud if provided before any large [the UK fraud reporting biometrics or behavioural managers may charge 0.75% picking stocks that do not fall equity markets) when you are known as two-factor their banks rely on payment can go through. service] was to give sensible authentication methods, or more — with no guarantee along with the wider market younger, and move into safer authentication. Victims of the verification via text message The Co-op, Santander, advice to people, it would be though this may add that they can beat the — at least, that’s the idea. ones (such as those that scam have seen their bank (also known as SMS). Lloyds, TSB and Barclays all saying to check if your bank inconvenience to these relevant index. However, as previous invest in bonds) as you age. accounts drained: the British EE said: “While SMS admit to using the flawed has a mobile phone app that users.” Someone putting £1,000 Ready-made tracker anti-poverty campaigner Jack remains a great way for banks system, while HSBC says does not rely on SMS for two- UK Finance, the banking into a FTSE All-Share tracker portfolios, known as the Monroe lost about £5,000 and other businesses to that SMS is its primary factor authentication. It trade body, said: “Two-factor fund in June 2014 would be LifeStrategy range, are after her mobile number was communicate with verification method. would be the equivalent of authentication will add an sitting on £1,322 today. The offered by Vanguard, bought hijacked and her bank customers, we more often see As an alternative to SMS, the police encouraging you additional layer of protection Woodford Equity Income either from the company or account hacked this month. bank fraud involving mobile the Co-operative Bank gives to get a car with a decent for online transactions. The fund, which was set up in the via an investment platform The warning from across accounts happening with its customers the choice of alarm fitted.” industry is working hard to same month, would have such as Charles Stanley the Atlantic has prompted the banks that still rely solely on receiving codes by email; TSB Representatives from BT, implement these changes in a turned that £1,000 into £857. Direct, AJ Bell or IWeb, which

NFIB, the UK police unit SMS verification for financial offers the option of receiving Three, O2’s parent company way that balances both In July — a month after the offer low-cost versions. responsible for cyber-crime, transfers.” them over a landline call to a Telefonica and Tesco Mobile convenience and security, Woodford fund was frozen — Nutmeg and Wealthify also to raise its own concerns. Banks are increasingly home or work number; while sit on RAG’s governing with many firms rolling out the fund provider Xtrackers sell low-cost, ready-made Phillip Keating, senior sending text messages to Barclays will send customers committee in the UK. mobile app-based solutions cut its fee for some trackers; tracker portfolios, with the crime reviewer at the NFIB, customers that contain a card reader that works with “Banks are doing the bare or biometric technologies. in August, another provider, price including the platform said that he agreed with the one-off, time-sensitive an account-holder’s bank minimum to verify who you “We would encourage iShares, followed suit. charge. Such so-called findings of the FBI report, passcodes. The customer card to generate the required are before allowing a anyone concerned about The moves add to the robo-advice firms assess how which highlighted text needs to enter that code to security code. transaction to go ahead,” said their ability to verify online pressure on so-called active much risk you want to take messages as a weak link in the verify major app and online Newer banks such as Priezkalns. payments to speak with their managers to lower their fees. and then build a portfolio banks’ security chain. banking transactions. Monzo exclusively use The FBI document, which bank or provider, to ensure The fee difference might based on your answers. He said: “Banks should Texts cost banks an encrypted passwords sent was sent to a select group of their contact details are up to seem small in percentage consider what channels they average of just 1.5p to send. over wi-fi that cannot be cyber-security experts, called date and discuss what terms, but charges eat away See model portfolios for all use and whether they should However, codes over SMS obtained simply by gaining for more complex forms of alternatives may be at returns and can have a Could robots do better than ages at sundaytimes.co.uk be using a mobile phone to are just one way of meeting control of a mobile number. authentication. available.” devastating impact over time. an active fund manager? and in our digital editions