Help! This CTF business and opening an account for my daughter is really making my head fuzzy. I keep reading all the litterature about stakeholder/non stakeholder/savings/inflation/costs of trading/per transactions etc... and I am still non the wiser. I have this voucher and obviously want to cash it. However, I don't know whether to invest this in any account like Boots/mothercare/or one of these specialist ones on moneysupermarket... and just leave it and then open a child bank account (although which one?) and invest money monthly into that...or do I use the voucher and take the risks and put money in that for her? ARRRRHHH It says that over any 10 year period, shares always outstrip cash and savings...Ideally, I want to put a voucher into an account, invest money into it, let other more intelligent people use that money and then in 18 years time, she will have a lovely nest egg to probably go out and splash out on clothes!!! Any advise - but please, keep the terminology simple!!! Thanks!

a quick google has turned up this page at the abbey. It clearly explains the difference (in risk and potential return) between stakeholder and non-stakeholder investments.

here (http://www.abbey.com/index/future/child_trust_fund_ctf_index.htm)

The way i understood it (although i am not an expert) was this:

A stakeholder account will probably (NOT guaranteed!) make more money over the 18 years but there is also a small chance you could get back less than you invest.

A savings account definately make money in interest, although probably less than a stakeholder will, but you are guaranteed to get more than your money back at the end of it.

I went for a savings account for my daughter as i didn't want to take even the small risk with a stakeholder.

As for regularly saving for her i opened a separate account which is in my name as when she gets to 18 she can do whatever she wants with the money in the child trust fund. Hopefully she'll have the sense to use it constructively but you never know! However, with the separate savings account i opened i have some control over what she uses it for.