IF Isas: look beyond stocks and bonds

You can now put a wide range of alternative investments  in the tax-free wrapper, with the Innovative Finance Isa, (IF Isa). But tread carefully.

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Crowdfunding could energise your portfolio
(Image credit: DigtialStorm)

Innovative-finance Isas (IF Isas) allow investors to put money into alternative investments, such as peer-to-peer (P2P) loans, property crowdfunding, or alternative-energy schemes. The interest earned on loans is free of income tax, while any sales of loans within the Isa wrapper will not incur capital-gains tax.

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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.