Cyprus-Forum.com

[Sotos]

Thanks Jerry. Do you know if it is possible to open a bank account in the UK while being in Cyprus ... or do I have to go there personally? And is UK address or anything else needed?

[Lordo]

you know you want to.

Bank Branch Founded Interest Rate Change Currency Last Updated
Garanti 921 9.50% - TRY Feb 2015
Ziraat Bankasi 1888 8.00% - TRY Feb 2015
HSBC Turkey 307 1990 5.50% - TRY Feb 2015

[B25]

Thanks Jerry. Do you know if it is possible to open a bank account in the UK while being in Cyprus ... or do I have to go there personally? And is UK address or anything else needed?

Soto, I believe you need a UK address to have a UK bank account. Note also that some banks will not send info, cards, statements to Cyprus, so worth asking before you commit.

[Maximus]

I did a search for you Sotos.

It seems that you can get the highest return through peer to peer lending. I have seen interest rates as high as 7% gross per annum but your savings are not protected by the FSCS compensation scheme in case of default. The median interest rate seems to be at around 4-5%.

The next best thing I could find regarding interest rates are fixed rate bonds. Around 2% interest.

Savings account are offering poo.

Don't convert your euro to sterling if that is what you are thinking of doing. Its the worst time.

Thanks. I would only deposit in a reputable bank. The main reason I will be doing this is because I want to reduce the risk.

Take a look here, http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/ or "money supermarket" best rates are actually current accounts 4% Lloyds, 3% Santander but there are conditions.

A lot of these are non secured deposits so just be careful what you recommend!

If you ask me, I don't see the point in putting these large amounts of money in banks. Why not a yielding blue chip share portfolio?

All UK-regulated current or savings accounts and cash ISAs in banks, building societies and credit unions are covered by the Government-backed Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). So if the bank fails, you'd get back up to £85,000 per person, per financial institution. The majority should get it within seven days.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/safe-savings

Up to the guaranteed sums your cash will never shrink, that is not the case with blue chip investments. Tesco, Marks and Spencer and UK banks shares themselves in recent years are examples of huge losses in "safe" blue chip share value.

Not necessarily,

Historically speaking, the stock market returns on average 10% per year. That excludes dividends. If you buy and hold for long enough you should be all right. like a 10-15 year time horizon. Historically, this has been the case.

[Jerry]

Thanks Jerry. Do you know if it is possible to open a bank account in the UK while being in Cyprus ... or do I have to go there personally? And is UK address or anything else needed?

Yes you would need a UK address, a trusted relative in UK could probably open the account for you I guess. Many accounts can be operated via internet but I don't know if you could do that from Cyprus

[Jerry]

Not necessarily,

Historically speaking, the stock market returns on average 10% per year. That excludes dividends. If you buy and hold for long enough you should be all right. like a 10-15 year time horizon. Historically, this has been the case.

Long term you may be right but you only need one PLC to go broke and your portfolio could show negative returns. Lloyds bank shares were about £3 before the crash, they dropped to 15p (they would have been worthless without government guarantee) and are still only 75p after 7 years. Depends on your age really, at my age I don't want growth, just security. Younger people should spread investment risk, some in shares, some in cash and some in property.

[Paphitis]

Not necessarily,

Historically speaking, the stock market returns on average 10% per year. That excludes dividends. If you buy and hold for long enough you should be all right. like a 10-15 year time horizon. Historically, this has been the case.

Long term you may be right but you only need one PLC to go broke and your portfolio could show negative returns. Lloyds bank shares were about £3 before the crash, they dropped to 15p (they would have been worthless without government guarantee) and are still only 75p after 7 years. Depends on your age really, at my age I don't want growth, just security. Younger people should spread investment risk, some in shares, some in cash and some in property.

Yes but that is why you diversify your portfolio. If you bought 5000 worth of shares in 20 companies, then even if you were unlucky enough to invest in one company that has basically collapsed, then you only lose 5% of your total money.

Historically speaking, money will double every 5 years.

[Jerry]

Not necessarily,

Historically speaking, the stock market returns on average 10% per year. That excludes dividends. If you buy and hold for long enough you should be all right. like a 10-15 year time horizon. Historically, this has been the case.

Long term you may be right but you only need one PLC to go broke and your portfolio could show negative returns. Lloyds bank shares were about £3 before the crash, they dropped to 15p (they would have been worthless without government guarantee) and are still only 75p after 7 years. Depends on your age really, at my age I don't want growth, just security. Younger people should spread investment risk, some in shares, some in cash and some in property.

Yes but that is why you diversify your portfolio. If you bought 5000 worth of shares in 20 companies, then even if you were unlucky enough to invest in one company that has basically collapsed, then you only lose 5% of your total money.

Historically speaking, money will double every 5 years.

Diversify yes but you can't always expect your money to double every 5 years. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/inve ... ssets.html

In this instance investing at 5% would have exceeded the footsie 100 return in 9 years without any risk.

[Paphitis]

Not necessarily,

Historically speaking, the stock market returns on average 10% per year. That excludes dividends. If you buy and hold for long enough you should be all right. like a 10-15 year time horizon. Historically, this has been the case.

Long term you may be right but you only need one PLC to go broke and your portfolio could show negative returns. Lloyds bank shares were about £3 before the crash, they dropped to 15p (they would have been worthless without government guarantee) and are still only 75p after 7 years. Depends on your age really, at my age I don't want growth, just security. Younger people should spread investment risk, some in shares, some in cash and some in property.

Yes but that is why you diversify your portfolio. If you bought 5000 worth of shares in 20 companies, then even if you were unlucky enough to invest in one company that has basically collapsed, then you only lose 5% of your total money.

Historically speaking, money will double every 5 years.

Diversify yes but you can't always expect your money to double every 5 years. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/inve ... ssets.html

In this instance investing at 5% would have exceeded the footsie 100 return in 9 years without any risk.

Blue chips reh Jerry. I would never recommend normal stocks to someone who has no idea.

Blue Chips alone - banks are normally good but it depends.

You can make money from small caps pretty quickly but you can also lose quick. Blue chips are much safer.

[Paphitis]

Oh and don't forget to get advice before you dive in!!

Very important for those that have no clue, otherwise you're gambling.