Only 8 per cent of IFAs have seen an increase in clients paying into Isas, despite the April rule change.
In the Autumn Statement, previous chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced changes that would allow savers to pay into more than one of each type of Isa annually.
Despite this, the majority of advisers (87 per cent) reported there had been no change in terms of their clients paying into Isas in this period.
At the time of the announcement, the changes to the Isa were welcomed by industry.
Alexa Nightingale, global head of financial services research at Opinium, said: “The change in Isa rules came into force in April this year, but appears to have made little impact on savers’ behaviour.
“It was hoped that they would feel empowered to seek out the best returns by allowing them to easily move between different providers.
“With interest rates finally beginning to fall, advisers will likely encourage clients to seek the best returns possible, so we may see more of an uptick in people paying into multiple Isas as the year goes on.”
This comes after AJ Bell wrote to current chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for radical Isa simplification by creating a single ‘One Isa’ product.
It made three suggestions to the government, the first of which was to simplify the regime to combine all Isas into a single product with a higher allowance of £25,000.
This would incorporate cash Isas, stocks and shares Isas, junior Isas and innovative finance Isas.
Under the plans, providers would be free to choose which investments to allow within the single Isa product.
AJ Bell also wanted to see a target support scheme launched to promote the value of regulated advice.
The final call was for the UK Isa, announced in March’s Budget, to be ditched and replaced with removing stamp duty on UK shares.
alina.khan@ft.com
