ISA COUNTDOWN: FINAL DASH TO SWITCH FROM CASH

With less than a month until the end of tax year, new ISA customers should consider stocks and shares as well as cash ISAs to maximise the chances for growth, according to new market data from rplan.co.uk.

With research revealing that as at the end of February 2012, more than two in five people (44%) claimed they had not yet taken out an ISA for this tax year, rplan’s data reveals that despite the associated risks with investing, stocks and shares ISAs have an overwhelmingly greater prospect of delivering real growth that beats RPI.

Whilst the simplicity of cash ISAs makes them almost four times more common that stocks and shares ISAs (rplan research in February revealed at 52% of people claimed they held a cash ISA and 14% a stocks and shares ISA), a great majority of cash savings accounts are failing to beat inflation or offer any kind of return. Three years on from base-rate falling to its record low of 0.5%, it has been estimated that the amount of money not earning interest in UK banks stands at £108.6 billion, costing savers £60 billion in lost interest. With stocks and shares ISAs there are a wide range of risk options available to the consumer, which to varying levels have shown a greater ability than cash to perform better than RPI.

For savers that have yet to take out an ISA for the current tax year, rplan.co.uk offers a simple and straightforward way get started:

• Make a plan. People save for a reason. At rplan, people can decide what purpose their ISA will be for and how much they will need to put away to meet a goal.
• Choose and save: rplan gives the consumer access to a wide range of funds and refunds at least 50% of the ongoing commissions people pay for the investments they hold through the site.
• Analyse: A range of simple tools and free mobile apps are then available to keep people up to date on their savings plan.
• Share: In addition to expert commentary, people can share insights, tips and experiences with like-minded people.

Andy Creak, Director at rplan.co.uk commented: “The low interest rates that are being offered on many cash savings products do little if anything to give people a reason to save. ISAs really should be the foundation of most people’s financial planning and this year really is a great time to for people to consider a stocks and shares ISA product. The markets are challenging but there is better growth potential relative to most savings products and we at rplan are one of a number of new generation investment brands that are making investment more accessible and stripping away the high and complex charges that for years may have put people off. With rplan.co.uk, people can put a plan together and everyone saves money as their funds grow, improving the performance of their fund.”

For information or to arrange interviews with rplan.co.uk contact:

Lindsay@elephantcommunications.co.uk  07851 180501

guy@elephantcommunications.co.uk 07766 775216

Notes to editors

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

Savings figures: The Bank of England (Source, The Guardian, 3 March 2012)

Visit rplan.co.uk today to explore a better way to plan and invest

rplan.co.uk of 2 Frederick Place, London N8 8AF is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") under reference number 529879.

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