Are Stocks and Shares ISAs a better alternative to a cash ISA?

I recently acquired, after dabbling in stock chatter with my uncle (an investment banker), a stocks and shares ISA with prestige investment service Hargreaves Lansdown. As I trawled through share tip after share tip, figures manifesting into equivocal predictions, forthcoming revolutions in technology morphing opinions of those classed as the very best in this field, I realised, whats the point? In effect, it is all a gamble, a game of long term roulette. Who is to say that when Twitter or the Royal mail floats in the impending months the share price won’t fall in the first term due to failure to reach whisper numbers? Whisper numbers being the figures in which those on Wall Street expect the share price to rise too. Very plausible. Your money is therefore at risk, not in your own hands, inanimate.

A cash ISA is far less hassle, you keep track of your money, can leave it be for years on end until needed. Easy. Untaxed interests and good rates. A 3% AER cash ISA yields the same interest as a normal savings account with 3.75% AER for a basic rate taxpayer, something that seems unattainable in the current economic climate. The perfect savings account.

At the end of the day it comes to the individual, a Warren Buffett or someone who would prefer to buffet against the time consuming baggage of share researching? High risk with substantial rewards or stressful losses depending on how you play it or how the dice is rolled. Personally, as a budding economist, I like the risk.