pep news in brief

The Government's decision on ISAs (see our front-page story), removes fears by many fund managers that the cost of transferring their existing PEPs into ISAs could reach hundreds of millions of pounds.

It also paves the way for a sales bonanza in which PEP providers will compete to sell PEPs until the April 1999 deadline. Watch out for low- cost bargains in the coming months as the market hots up. But don't buy just on price alone: your PEPs, once bought, will probably remain invested for many years. Research the market and choose on performance too.