The Final Countdown for the Austerity ISA

LONDON, February 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Less than One in Eight Investors to Use Full ISA Allowance

With only five weeks of ISA season left, new research from financial planning business rplan.co.uk reveals that just 12% of ISA investors plan to use their full ISA allowance by the end of tax year.

In its frenzy to attract last minute ISA custom, often with a range of tempting gimmicks and up front offers, the investment industry has overlooked evidence of a sea change among savers and investors, as the combination of cost of living hikes, low levels of trust and market uncertainty take their toll.

In a poll of more than 2,000 adults last week, rplan.co.uk found that whilst 14% of people claimed to hold a stocks and shares ISA and 52% a cash ISA, there seemed little appetite among stocks and shares customers to make full use of their ISA allowance. 31% claimed they won't have used any of their ISA allowance by the end of tax year, and 17% said they planned to have just £2,499 or less invested. Only 12% said they would have invested at least £10,000.

Andy Creak, Director at rplan.co.uk commented: "2012 could well prove to be the year of the austerity ISA. With around one in seven households finishing 2011 saying they were £500 or more worse off a month than three years ago, many people seem to be finding it harder to find money to put away. Given the changed world we live in, the investment industry also needs to change the record. Rather than bombarding the consumer with predictable incentives and gimmicks, as always seems to be the case in ISA season, it is perhaps time for the industry to promote less and listen more. At rplan.co.uk we have done this and we are building a new offer based on what people tell us they want.  We can save people up to 70% of the opaque and hidden charges they could pay. Openness and transparency are not hygiene factors, they are building blocks to the industry earning back trust and they may prove powerful in giving people reasons to invest more."

Stocks and Shares ISA holders: How much of their ISA allowance they intend to have used by the end of this tax year

    I haven't/won't have used any of my
    allowance                                       31%
    Up to GBP999                                    8%
    GBP1,000-GBP2,499                               9%
    GBP2,500-GBP4,999                               8%
    GBP5,000-GBP7,499                               11%
    GBP7,500-GBP10,000                              6%
    More than GBP10,000                             12%
    Don't know / undecided                          14%

In recent weeks rplan.co.uk has taken a number of steps to clean up the levels of transparency and disclosure the market.

• Whistle-blowing charges. Anyone can use rplan.co.uk's free online calculator to find out what charges they are already paying for their investments. Many will be shocked. Many will think about moving.

• Introducing a 'charges before checkout policy'- another UK first. Like buying books from amazon, with rplan.co.uk all investors will see the charges they might incur for a product BEFORE they choose to buy, helping them make informed decisions and setting a standard on disclosure

Methodology

The research was conducted by YouGov among a GB representative sample of 2,009 people on 22 February 2012.

Aboutrplan.co.uk

A new market entrant, rplan.co.uk is a financial planning business. rplan.co.uk helps the 38% of Britons that have no financial plan in place to get back in control of their finances and, for the financially savvy, it connects like-minded people. At rplan.co.uk everyone saves money on commissions that many don't even know they are paying and nobody pays more than £15 per month.rplan.co.uk brings together four essential elements:

• Plan. For each life goal, people can put together a financial plan and keep track of how close they are to achieving it.
• Save money: rplan refunds at least 50% of the ongoing commissions people pay for the investments they hold through the site - a typical saving of £6,334 over 10 years for ISA investors. With rplan people can also check for free the charges they are already paying (http://www.rplan.co.uk/charges ).
• Analyse: Simple tools and free mobile apps to keep people up to date on their savings.
• Share: In addition to expert commentary, people can share insights and experiences with like-minded people.

rplan.co.uk of 2 Frederick Place, London N8 8AF is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") under reference number 529879. This can be verified by visiting the FSA website http://www.fsa.gov.uk or by calling 0845-606-1234.