Investment Types - Friendly Societies
Friendly Societies
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Friendly Societies

Friendly societies are member-owned organisations that operate on the premise that if they can rely on it for assurance in times of need and reap the rewards of their saving. They date back as far as the Roman times, but really came into their own in the 1800s and early 1900s, where there was no welfare state and friendly societies provided the only financial assistance available if members fell into ill health or poverty.

Once the welfare state was introduced, they became less crucial and the numbers of friendly societies has rapidly dropped. They suffered hugely from the mis-selling scandal surrounding with-profits policies, as this became their lifeblood in recent years, and from general mismanagement. When savers shunned with-profits policies, which failed to deliver the returns promised to investors at the outset, friendly societies went into a decline and had to be closed or merged with building societies.

However, some have evolved into institutions much like banks, offering a range of savings and investments products, but with an ethical and community-minded stance.

Friendly societies are now slanted towards offering childrens savings and investment plans. They can offer such plans tax-free and now sell many of the newer childrens products available, such as Junior Isas and Child Trust Funds.

They may appeal to parents who want an ethical savings or investments plan or Junior Isa for their child. However, many of these products are still investing in with-profits funds so parents need to be aware that they won't neccessarily get a return at the end of the product's term.  

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