One in three expect to use between £10,000 and £15,240 of their ISA allowance.
Just 11% aren’t planning to open an IFISA, while 32% said they would but were unsure of the amount they would subscribe in 2016/17.
Investors will only be able to subscribe funds to an IFISA up to the annual ISA limit, and with only one provider in each financial year.
However, Lending Works spotted the ability for investors to be able to transfer unlimited funds from pre-existing ISAs (accumulated over previous tax years) into IFISAs in any amount they choose, including splitting these ‘old’ ISA funds across IFISAs held with multiple peer-to-peer lending platforms if they wish to. This has since been confirmed by HMRC.
As a follow up to the survey, for those who planned to subscribe the bulk of their ISA allowance to an IFISA Lending Works asked if transferring existing ISAs was something they planned to take advantage of. Just over two thirds suggested they would transfer existing ISAs into an IFISA, while just 16% ruled this option out. The majority who were looking to make these transfers planned to do so from a cash ISA.
The new wrapper went live on 6 April, although the major peer-to-peer lending platforms are still awaiting full FCA authorisation in order to offer this. Lending Works says it is in close correspondence with the FCA, and hopes to receive full authorisation within weeks.
Nick Harding, founding CEO of Lending Works, commented:
“Like us, our lenders are clearly very excited about the prospect of our platform delivering the IFISA, and it is encouraging for us to see this enthusiasm reflected in the results of this survey. When you consider how established the other two categories of ISA are, it is a huge vote of confidence in both our company and peer-to-peer lending as a whole to see so many investors willing to commit such a significant portion of their ISA allowance to this new type of wrapper.
“Obviously, we’re now champing at the bit to get the go ahead from the FCA to make our IFISA a reality. Ideally, we would have liked to have been ready to offer the IFISA from day one, but we respect the need for a detailed and thorough authorisation process, and, given recent communications with the FCA’s representatives, are hopeful of offering the new product in the next few weeks.”
