Pete Matthew

You do not say how old your other two daughters are and therefore I have no idea of time scale. The longer the time the scale the more you may want to consider taking some risk because the variablilty of returns, (volatility) reduces with time. However, it is important to remember that the range of outcomes and therefore the risk increases with time.

Sadly, there is no investment plan that give a high return with relatively low risk. Risk and return are closely related. Some structured products purport to give the high returns with low risk, but all you have done is to swap market risk for counterparty risk and, if the counterparty goes bust, you may have lost all of your money rather than just some.

I would have thought that a well constructed portfolio of low cost, index tracking, investments could be what you need. This would be predominantly in fixed income assets and you would want them to be index linked and of short term duration to avoid inflation and interest rate risk as much as possible.

Speak to an Independent Financial Adviser.

Being a trustee is an onerous duty. There are powers and duties which must be adhered to, and a professional trustee such as a solicitor knows all these and is qualified and insured to do the job. Having an independent, knowledgable third party can also be useful as tensions can often arise when trusts are run by family members who are laymen.

It does depend on the complexity of the trust and what its intentions are, but the duties mentioned above apply to all trusts. If you wanted a solicitor to act as trustee, then in my experience it is usually the partners of a practice who act as such. Unfortunately this means they are the most expensive. Expect to pay between £100 and £200 per hour.

Happy to give more detail if you can let me know what kind of trust you are talking about

Totally understand where you're coming from Danny - new equipment is worth saving for, and it's to your credit (so to speak) that you haven't succumbed to the easy method of putting the amp purchase on a credit card. The amp will sound better when you know it's yours and not on tick.

Anyway. I presume the reason you want an account in Hertfordshire is because you want a high street branch rather than internet banking? Or maybe it's because you want to support a local business? If the latter, the Harpenden Building Society might fit the bill, but their interest rates are nothing special.

For a decent independent comparison of savings rates from most if not all banks and building societies, you could check out the Money Made Clear website at http://www.moneymadeclear.org.uk/tables/ and click on Savings.

The percentage of your income that you pay away in tax depends upon your total income - there is no single 'rate' that covers everyone. The method of calculation is, though, reasonably straightforward. Income tax rates change each year, but for this year the calculation is as follows.

Think of your earnings as a tower of children's building blocks. The lowest block is where your earnings start, and is up to £6475 high - and you pay no income tax at all on that figure - if that is all you earn: no tax to pay. The figure of £6475 is this year's 'personal allowance'

The next block is up to £37,400 high. All of your income sitting in that block is taxed at the 'basic rate' of 20%. For example, if your total earnings are £16,475 then you pay no tax on the first £6475 (which sits in the lowest block: your personal allowance). This leaves another £10,000 which sits in the 20% block, leading to a tax charge of £2000.

The next block - the third one up - is the higher rate which goes right up to £150,000, and earnings which sit in that block are taxed at 40%. If any of your income sits in that block you are known as a 'higher rate taxpayer'. If you earn more than this you will pay 50% on the extra.

Your personal allowance is in practise spread throughout the year, and the pay as you earn system (PAYE) is designed to equalise your tax across your weekly or monthly paydays.

Careful! This simple example by no means covers all of the possible options. Your personal allowance may be different if you have a disability, or are over 65 years of age, and it gets more complicated if you have income from investments or savings, for instance. And do not disregard National Insurance contributions, which are really a tax on income.

Follow this link for more information: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/PreBudgetReport2009/DG_183037

And the 'Why?' To run the country: police, prisons, armed forces, education, health services, politicans' expenses....