Money matters

Mortgages

The cost of fixed rate mortgages is creeping up, according to analysts who suggest homeowners can expect to pay £750 more over three years.

Rachel McKay, mortgage analyst at moneyfacts.co.uk says: "Over the past few months we have seen many lenders tweaking their fixed two and three-year ranges, mostly with minor rate increases of 0.10%. Over the last week our researchers have seen several lenders step up a gear, increasing rates on three-year deals by up to 0.31%."

She says a 0.25% rise to a repayment mortgage (£150,000 over 25 years) adds around £21 a month or £750 over three years. The largest increase seen recently of 0.31% adds an extra £900.
Miles Brignall

Credit cards

Capital One has launched a new credit card offering 0% interest on balance transfers for 16 months, making it one of the longest interest-free cards on the market.

The Capital One Platinum Card offers 0% interest on balance transfers until August 1 2007 and 0% on purchases for the first three months. There is an uncapped fee of 2% on all balance transfers. Customers are not required to spend a fixed amount to receive the 0% rate. Once the introductory offers expire, the standard annual interest rate is 15.94%, variable for both. The standard rate for cash withdrawals is 21.94% a year. For more info call 0800 9525252 or go to capitalone.co.uk.
Miles Brignall

Bonds

Leeds Building Society - Britain's eighth largest - has come up with a 5% bond fixed for three years.

The limited issue aims at savers with at least £5,000 to invest - with a maximum £250,000. It's available by post or via the internet. Details on 08450 540 995 or at leedsbuildingsociety. co.uk The 5% rate is 0.1% lower than the best buys in our table on page 9.

But in return, savers have the option of accessing some of their money if they need it in an emergency. Provided the cash is left intact until May 2007, bondholders can withdraw up to 25% of their original capital without penalty or notice over the next two years.

The 5% interest is paid annually.
Tony Levene

Investments

Fund manager Investec is offering its Target Return Fund to investors with a minimum £1,000.

The fund, originally launched in November and aimed at big investors, targets annual returns around 3% to 4% ahead of bank deposit rates, regardless of investment market conditions. It invests funds in a mix of interest bearing assets and derivatives - futures and options based on money market rates.

Fund manager John Stopford says his fund has the freedom to use derivatives to help it gain when markets go down as well as up. Traditional bond and currency funds depend on rises.

The fund has annual charges set at 1.5%, plus a 4.5% up front entry fee.
Tony Levene

Pensions

Legal & General is launching the Portfolio Plus Sipp, a self-invested pension plan focusing on managed funds.

The Sipp offers more than 250 funds from 42 fund management companies. These cover most risk profiles from emerging markets and Pacific growth to property and bond funds. But it's not intended for individual shares or investment trusts.

The target market is the so-called "mass affluent" - it starts at £200 a month or a £5,000 lump sum. The annual management charge is 0.6% but that drops to 0.1% when the fund tops £25,000. Investors also have to pay upfront and annual charges on underlying funds - these range from 0.2 to 2.4% depending on the fund selected. Available from IFAs via Co-Funds scheme.
Tony Levene