Fancy something different for your ISA? Try a little innovation

Carol Lewis reports on innovative investment opportunities which can be put into Innovative Finance Individual Savings Accounts. 

This article is from the Times and the views expressed are those of the author (not affiliated with AxiaFunder). 

Innovative Finance Individual Savings Accounts (IFISAs) allow investors to be innovative in the ways they invest. There are many different areas which one can invest in using IFISAs to get tax-free returns. Carol Lewis reports on the various options including investing into AxiaFunder’s IFISAs eligible offers which are allowing investors to invest in legal cases. The range of options for investments which are eligible to be put into an IFISAs are very diverse. IFISA investments can earn tax free interest for the investors and allow small businesses and individuals to access loans. 

Carol Lewis reported that the IFISAs is the fastest growing sector of the Isa market. According to HM Revenue & Customs reports, in the past 12 months the amount that was invested into IFISAs has gone up seven times, and the number of investors has increased six-fold. She also reports that in 2016-2017 the amount in IFISAs was £36 million and in 2017-2018 that had increased to £290 million. 

While the returns can be lucrative and tax free, Carol Lewis also reported on the potential risks of investing in the types of opportunities which are eligible for IFISAs as they are typically higher risk. AxiaFunder’s returns are considered high even for IFISA investments, but this comes with greater risks. Cormac Leech, CEO of AxiaFunder stated that while returns as high as 30% are possible, there is the risk of losing all of your original capital invested and, in some cases, even more than you originally invested. This would be in the unlikely case that the case invested in lost and the insurance company that had insured the claimant couldn’t pay to cover the defendant’s legal costs. Because of this, these investments should be made by investors who can understand risk. 

To read the full article, visit https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fancy-something-different-for-your-isa-try-a-little-innovation-r3....

Originally published in Financial Times written by Carol Lewis, on 2 March 2019.