• Almost half (48%) of those with Cash ISAs have never switched provider
• Those who have switched their Cash ISA do so, on average, nearly every 5 years (4.6 years) missing out on significant returns

Nearly £130bn* in Cash ISAs has never been moved according to research** commissioned by Relendex. The research shows that nearly half (48%) of those with a Cash ISA have never changed provider.

Those that have not switched could be missing out on significant returns. The average Cash ISA contains £17,000***, and with High Street Banks offering rates of 0.7% on average, this would render an annual return of just £119**** per year.

The research shows that whilst 82% of UK adults prioritise shopping around to find the best deal, virtually no time is spent researching the best ISA savings rates. On average respondents switch their main utilities and household policies, including car insurance, home insurance, broadband and mobile phone provider, once every 2.5 years and the total average time they spend researching is 12.1 hours. Of those of who have switched Cash ISA, the average time with an ISA provider is 4.6 years and the average time spent making the switch is 1.6 hours, only 20 minutes a year.

Those that have changed their car insurance provider estimated they saved on average £415.20 per year. For home insurance switchers, the average was £303.60 per year. This drops to an average of £146.40 per year and £124.80 per year respectively for changing broadband and mobile phone provider. These savings are minimal in comparison to the returns that could be made on changing ISA provider. By switching their Cash ISA UK savers could make a gain of £850 a year on a portfolio of £17,000*****.

Paul Sonabend, Executive Director at Relendex, commented: “It is very concerning to see the huge amount of money sitting in Cash ISAs often earning paltry returns. It is clear from the research that UK adults prioritise saving money by switching utilities and policies such as their car insurance and mobile phone providers over spending time picking the best Cash ISA to invest in. This is a great failure.

“As demonstrated, if savers are happy to spend hours a year shopping around for the best deals on their other household expenditure, it would really be worth their while to spend more than just 20 minutes a year looking at their ISAs. By not doing this UK savers are missing out on higher returns as well as the incredible tax efficient opportunities offered by alternative ISA products. For example, with several IFISA managers offering secured portfolio/bond type products producing 5.75% plus returns, savers should be able to beat the average returns on Cash ISAs by 5% or more, earning an extra £850 a year on the average UK savers’ £17,000 portfolio. Peer to peer lenders like Relendex, which secure the funds as first charges on UK property, have taken steps to mitigate risk and savers can be assured that their funds are protected as much as possible.”

* The total in UK Cash ISAs is £270,285,000,000 Individual Savings Account (ISA) Statistics, August 2018 P23

**The research was conducted by Opinium Research amongst 2,000 UK adults (aged 18+) in January 2019.

***Total amount within Cash ISAs (£270bn) divided by total number of subscribers (15.9m) [£270,850,000,000 / 15,900,000 = 17,034] rounded to the nearest thousand.

**** Average Cash ISA multiplied by the average rate for a Cash ISA (0.7%) [£17,000 X0.7% =£119]

****** Several Secured IFISA (Bond/Portfolio) offering rates of 5.75% plus (table available upon request) multiplied by average Cash ISA of £17,000 minus average return from an average rate Cash ISA [5.75%-0.75% x £17,000 = £850]