IF Isas: a slow start for innovative finance

The innovative finance (IF) Isa was announced two years ago, says Ben Judge. But it's been slow progress since then.

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The IF Isa arrived with the 2015 Budget
(Image credit: 2015 Getty Images)

It's been nearly two years since the government announced the introduction of the innovative finance Isa (IF Isa) as a tax-free wrapper for investing in such products as peer-to-peer (P2P) loans or equity crowdfunding. The-then chancellor, George Osborne, announced them in the 2015 Budget, and they were supposed to be available to savers from April 2106, but none had come to market by the launch date. There has been a small amount of progress since, but it's been slow and choice is limited.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.