Isas make sense – so act quickly

If you’re one of the many investors who don’t yet use an Isa, you might want to reconsider. If so, make sure that you act quickly – you have until 5 April 2014 if you want to make use of this year’s allowance.

As we reach the end of another tax year, your post and email inbox are probably overflowing with advertisements from banks and brokers trying to persuade you to take out an individual savings account (Isa) with them. And that's before we've even had time to get our breath back over the radical change that chancellor George Osborne just pushed through in this year's Budget a massive increase in the annual Isa allowance.

Given this annual onslaught, the number of people taking out an Isa for their investments is still surprisingly low. HM Revenue & Customs data show that 11.6 million cash Isa accounts were opened in 2012-2013, but just 2.9 million stocks and shares Isas. In monetary terms, about £41bn was paid into cash Isas and around £16.5bn into stocks and shares Isas, despite the higher contribution limit for the latter.

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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.