Information for
parents and guardians

This is not unusual as it’s 18 years since it was invested.

HMRC have a tracing service which can be accessed here.

The Share Foundation, a national charity that promotes financial well-being in young people work with a large number of providers, but not all, and they may be able to help trace a lost Child Trust Fund. They estimate that they can trace 60% of CTFs within 24 hours. They can be contacted here.

The Share Foundation website also includes lots of advice for young people on managing their money.

After the young person turns 18 only they will be able to access these services.

Both of these tracing services are free. We have become aware of claims management companies contacting young people offering to trace their Child Trust Fund for a fee, which can be up to 25% of the value of the fund. It’s important to talk to young people about how to find their Child Trust Fund so that they are not taken advantage of and incur unnecessary costs.

If your child’s CTF was allocated to Healthy Investment by HMRC or if you chose to invest in the Stakeholder Child Trust Fund their money will be invested in the Healthy Investment All Share Unit-linked Life Fund.

The fund invests across the UK’s top 600 companies in order to spread the risk of one company or one sector under-performing. The performance of the fund tracks the FTSE (Financial Times Stock Exchange) UK All Share Index.

At age 18 a Healthy Investment Stakeholder Child Trust Fund will automatically transfer to a adult Healthy Investment All Share ISA. It will continue to be invested in the same fund and there will be no change to the main terms and conditions of the investment.

You can find out more information about the Healthy Investment All Share Unit-linked Life Fund here

If you chose to invest your child’s CTF in the Healthy Investment Ethical Child Trust Fund it is invested in the Healthy Investment Ethical Unit-linked Life Fund.

This invests mainly in stocks and shares of leading global and UK companies, as well as some company and government bonds, alternative investments and cash deposits.

At age 18 a Healthy Investment Ethical Child Trust Fund will automatically transfers to a adult Healthy Investment Ethical Unit-linked ISA. It will continue to be invested in the same fund and there will be no change to the main terms and conditions of the investment.

You can find out more information about the Healthy Investment Ethical Unit-linked Life Fund and where it is invested here

On their 18th birthday the Child Trust Fund will automatically transfer into an adult ISA. It will continue to be invested in the same investment fund and the key terms and conditions will not change. You or your ‘child’ don’t need to do anything, this will happen automatically.

We will write to your ‘child’ on their 18th birthday to explain more about their investment, how they can track its performance and how they can, when needed for something important, withdraw part or all of the investment.

We’ll tell them the value of their investment, how many units they have, and how to track the performance of their investment.

After they are 18, we can only take instructions and share information with the young person, unless they give us specific permission to share information with their parent or carer. That’s why it’s important to talk to them about how they should continue to save or invest for their future and use the proceeds of their Child Trust Fund for something important.

We know that talking about money can be a challenge for many people and lots of young people are not getting financial education through school or university.

Deciding to withdraw or leave invested their Child Trust Fund will probably be the first financial decision many young people will have made, and it’s an important one for their future.

We know that starting at university, learning to drive, or saving for a flat deposit are all expensive and the proceeds of their Child Trust Fund can help.

Encouraging your ‘child’ to think carefully about the difference the investment can make to their future plans is a good starting point.

There’s lot of advice from the government backed Money Helper website which you can access at Moneyhelper.org.uk

You can also encourage your ‘child’ to talk to one of the team here at Healthy Investment. They will be able to explain more about the investment, their options when they turn 18 and their experiences of managing their own money.

You can top up the Child Trust Fund before they turn 18 online here, or you can contact us for our bank details.

After the CTF holder has turned 18 you can continue to invest for them.

You can set up a regular direct debit, make an online investment, or make a payment direct to our bank account.

Before you can invest for them after they have turned 18 they will need to register with us as the ISA holder by downloading the Registration Form at the bottom of this page. Alternatively, you can contact us and we will be able to help you.

If the young person lacks mental capacity to access their Child Trust Fund, you may need to make an application to the Court of Protection to obtain authority to access this money on their behalf.

Some young people may only need support to deal with their finances, in which case they may be able to make a Lasting Power of Attorney, which will give you the authority to access the account for them. Acting as an appointee for benefits will not give you legal access to the matured Child Trust Fund.

You can find more information about how to manage the finances on behalf of someone who lacks mental capacity, including applying to the Court of Protection or supporting someone to make an LPA here.

You can also talk to us about this if you require any help.

If we hold a Child Trust Fund for a child that you have adopted, it’s important for us to ensure that we are aware of details that might have changed when the adoption took place.

Please don’t assume that HMRC, who administered the CTF scheme, will have passed on a change of name or registered contact.

Contact us and one of our CTF specialists will be able to talk you through what you need to do. You can telephone, email, or use the webchat facility. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm.

Whatever happens after 18 will be your ‘child’s’ decision.

They can leave the money invested and it will continue to be exposed to the risks and rewards of a stock market investment. If this is their preferred option they don’t need to do anything, it will automatically transfer at age 18 and continue to be invested.

They can transfer it to another investment or a bank or building society account. If they want to transfer it to another ISA they should ask their new provider to transfer the ISA rather than withdraw it and re-deposit it, as this will affect the amount of their ISA allowance used within the tax year.

They can of course withdraw part or all of the investment and spend it.

The Healthy Investment All Share ISA and the Healthy Investment Ethical Unit-linked ISAs are investments, and the value of their investment can increase and fall based on the performance of the investments within the fund.

Each ISA is made up of a number of units, each of which has a value, which when multiplied together equates to the value of the investment. For example, if the Child Trust Fund or ISA has 100 units and the value of each unit is £1.50 then the value of the investment is £150.

You can find the number of units held in the Child Trust Fund on your last statement and it’s included clearly on the letter we send to your ‘child’ on their 18th birthday.

When the young person needs to withdraw all of part of their investment, they will need to complete a withdrawal form and send it to us along with proof of identification and a copy of their bank details.

We ask for these to ensure that the funds are only sent to the right person.

The value of the investment when its cashed in can only be sent to the young person. It cannot be sent to a parent, guardian, family member or friend.