Child Trust Fund
On the child in your life’s 18th birthday, their Child Trust Fund will turn into a matured CTF account, meaning it will have the same benefits and charges as before, but it will be closed to any new investment. The matured CTF will remain the same as before until they tell us what they want to do with their investment.
We can’t accept new contributions into a matured account (even from you) so any direct debits will stop on, or before, their birthday but the annual charges on the account will remain the same as before (£25+VAT on a shares account or 0.7% of investments for a stakeholder account). We can help start direct debits up again if they transfer into a new account though.
Your child will receive a letter from us around the date of their 18th birthday asking them to make a decision about their investment. They’ll be directed back to this page, where they’ll find a form which they will need to fill out and send back to us whatever decision they take with the account. Please note this can only be done once they’ve turned 18, but they don’t have to make a decision right away.
We’ve listed the options available to them below, but should you or your child have any questions about the process or the options, you can contact us.
Let’s talk about risk
The value of your investments and any income from them can go down as well as up and you may not get back the original amount invested. Tax allowances and the benefits of tax-efficient accounts are subject to change and tax treatment depends upon your individual circumstances.
What options are available to my child when they turn 18?
Withdraw the investments
They are able to withdraw the money that’s been invested, without paying a fee.
A combination of both
You can also transfer some of your shares into one of our adult plans and withdraw the rest.
Alternatively, they can also transfer the account to a savings plan with another provider.
BMO Individual Savings Account (ISA)
- Invest up to £20,000 in the 2021/22 tax year.
- No income tax or capital gains tax on any profits made.
- Annual charge – £25 + VAT*
BMO General Investment Account (GIA)
A great way for long-term investors to benefit from the potential of the stock market. Offers flexible investment options with no annual limit.
- No investment limits
- Great option if you’ve already maxed out an ISA.
- Annual charge – £25 + VAT*
BMO Lifetime ISA
For those aged 18-39, a Lifetime ISA could help towards purchasing your first home up to £450,000 or retirement in later life. Benefit from tax-efficient savings as well as a government bonus.
- Invest up to £4,000 as part of your ISA allowance.
- Receive a £35% government bonus up to £1,000 per year.
- Annual charge – £25 + VAT*
Another option they have from their 18th birthday is to withdraw the money that’s been invested. There’s no charge to withdraw but they wouldn’t be able to put the money back into a CTF. If they decide at a later date to put the money into an ISA, it would be treated as a new subscription.
We recognise that to most 18-year-olds a house deposit, wedding costs or – even more outlandishly – a retirement pot are goals that seem a lifetime away. They practically are! Take a step back though and we firmly believe that it’s better to prioritise longer-term goals over a short term retail fix.
A combination of both
Do nothing
Your child may not know what they want to do with their account when you turn 18 or perhaps need more time to decide. Rest assured they don’t have to tell us their decision straight away. Their CTF will continue as a “matured CTF” – the account will stay in the same funds as it’s currently held in. They just can’t make any new investments or change the ones they already have. The fees will continue at the same level as a Child Trust Fund and will be taken from the funds in the account and will depreciate the overall value of their holdings.
What happens next?
Between now and their 18th birthday, they should have a think about what they want to do with the money invested. As a parent or guardian, you could play an important role in their decision making process so it would be beneficial to discuss their options with them.
Firstly, download the CTF maturity form, which is designed for your child to fill in so that we can keep in touch with them regarding the account and also to provide details of anyone they’d like to help with the account once they’ve turn 18, should you wish. It’s important we have their correct contact details in order to update them with any actions they may need to take regardless of which option they decide to choose.
They’ll also need to prove their identity and where they live in order to make an instruction on your account. This is an important step to make sure that we know who they are and that only they have access to the funds that have been built up. It’s important to provide this as soon as possible as without proper verification we can’t accept any instruction, whether that be a further investment or withdrawing money from the account. We’ve provided some more information on this below.
In accordance with UK anti-money laundering regulations, financial firms are required to verify the identity of anyone connected with an account. We need to see certified copies of two documents which confirm your identity, one from each of the lists found further down. These also state who can certify your documents.
Certified means that the person who copies your original document needs to confirm that they have seen the original document(s).
To certify a document, the certifier takes a copy of the document.
On each page they need to include
- The statement (it can be stamped or handwritten) “I hereby certify this is a true copy of the original”
- The date (the certification must be within the last 6 months)
- Their signature
- If the copy of your photographic identification (e.g. passport) is not clear, they should also state that it is a good likeness of you.
They also need to provide their full name and designation (e.g. job title), badge/reference/registration number if applicable and clearly note their full address details and telephone number. This is because we need to be able to separately confirm their identity e.g. through a professional register.
To verify your identity, we can accept
- Valid passport
- Valid photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
- Recent evidence of entitlement to a state or local authority-funded educational or other grant
- Most recent HM Revenue and Customs Tax Coding Notification, Assessment or Statement (dated within the last year). If you are working and paying tax, the HMRC will send you a copy of your tax coding notification on request.
- A government-issued document that incorporates your full name and photograph and either your residential address or your date of birth.
We then need something that has been sent in the post to your residential address.
- A bank or debit card statement which has been issued within the last three months (but not ones printed off the internet). If you don’t normally get these sent in the post, if you contact your bank, they can usually send you a one-off statement.
- Utility bill issued within the past three months (but not ones printed off the internet)
- Valid photocard driving licence (full or provisional)*
- Recent evidence of entitlement to a state or local authority-funded educational or other grant*
- Most recent HM Revenue and Customs Tax Coding Notification, Assessment or Statement (dated within the last year)*
- A government-issued document that incorporates your full name and photograph and either your residential address or your date of birth*
* We need two documents so you can’t use the same document to confirm both your identity and your address.
To verify your bank details, we need something from your bank which has your sort code, account number and account name printed on it e.g.
- A bank statement which has been issued within the last three months (but not ones printed off the internet). If you don’t normally get these sent in the post, if you contact your bank, they can usually send you a one-off statement. We can accept the same statement as both proof of your bank details and proof of your address.
- A voided cheque (in other words, one that you have scored through and written VOID across it so that nobody could use it)
- A pre-printed pay-in slip
We don’t recommend that you send us originals of personal documents in the post. However, you can send us certified copies instead.
We can only accept documents certified by people with certain professions. They cannot be someone related to you. They could be a family friend and they need to be currently practicing (e.g. not retired)
The certifiers we can accept are:
- A judge or a magistrate
- A senior civil servant
- A serving police or customs officer
- A commissioner for oaths
- An officer of an embassy, consulate or high commission of the country or territory of issue of documentary evidence of identity
- A lawyer, notary public or legal executive who is a member of a recognised professional body
- An actuary who is a member of a recognised professional body
- An accountant who is a member of a recognised professional body
- A member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
- A director or officer (working within the Legal or Compliance office) of a regulated financial firm
- The UK Post Office certification service, with details of the individual certifier
The certifier should sign and date each document, and state on each document
- Their name, address and telephone number
- The capacity in which they are certifying the documents
- Their firm if applicable
- Their badge/reference/registration number if possible
The account will remain open and any funds already received will remain invested. You can transfer to another account within BMO. However, you cannot add further payments to or withdraw funds out of the account (including transferring to another provider). Online access to your account may also be restricted.
If we don’t have proof of your bank details, then if you make a withdrawal, we send the proceeds to you by cheque to your registered address.
Why choose BMO?
Responsible Investment
For over 35 years, we have led the way in responsible investment. We’ve engaged with over 5,500 companies to ensure that generating returns for our investors does not come at the expense of the real world in which we all live.
Helpful content
Financing further education
Got questions?
Give us a call on
Email us at
“I was completely happy with the entire process your colleague was very clear. I had no unanswered questions so thank you very much.”
John, London
*Product charges will be £25 + VAT until you turn 21, at which point you will be subject to the full annual charge for each product. ISA – £60 + VAT, GIA – £40 + VAT