Consumers warned to be wary of introductory Isa offers

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Consumers warned to be wary of introductory Isa offers

Fri 15th Feb 2008

With a flood of introductory offers on Individual Savings Accounts (Isa) on the market at the moment as the financial year comes to an end, a senior investment advisor at Bestinvest has warned that that they should not be taken at face value.

Andrew Lowcock advised consumers to "tread carefully" when considering a new Isa,as introductory offers may look appealing but are often offered when a new product is launched, meaning that savers cannot "know the actual track record of the fund manager".

He added that his firm tends only "to recommend fund managers that have a proven track record".

Figures released in November 2007 by HM Revenue and Customs showed that the amount of money saved in Isas has now reached £208 billion, representing a sevenfold increase since 2000 according to the BBC.

A recent study from Lloyds TSB found that eight out of ten Isa holders anticipated that the base rate would fall in 2008 and would therefore prefer to have a guaranteed fixed rate on their cash saving, as opposed to one linked to the base rate.

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