A growing number of ISA investors are taking a bullish approach to investing in equities after becoming ‘disillusioned’ with the returns available on cash investments, Barclays Stockbrokers has claimed.

According to the online stockbroker, in the past year there has been a marked rise in interest in equities, with an 84 per cent subscription in the current tax year compared to 66 per cent last year, as investors go in search of riskier investments that can offer higher returns.

Encouragingly, less than three per cent of investors say the events of the past two years have discouraged them from investing.

Acknowledging that low interest rates have spurred on this growing appetite for equity investments, Barbara-Ann King, head of investments at Barclays Stockbrokers said: “As the Bank of England held the base rate at 0.5 per cent for its twelfth consecutive month, our research shows that the low interest rate environment has encouraged most investors to change their investment outlook.”

In addition, Ms King is “encouraged” to see investors understanding the importance of a diversified investment portfolio, with almost three quarters of investors now spreading their ISA across various products and asset classes in an attempt to reduce risk.

Meanwhile, with the increased ISA allowance – available to all savers – enabling up to £10,200 to be invested in an ISA just a few weeks away, Barclays has revealed that 75 per cent of investors plan to use their allowance in the new tax year, while three quarters of over 50s have already taken advantage of the increased limit since it was introduced in October last year.

Commenting, Ms King added: “We expect that investors will take advantage of increased investment ISA contributions for the next tax year when the new allowances become applicable to all.

“Significant sums of money can be invested tax-free, for example a married couple could invest £34,800 tax-efficiently over the next month, or £40,800 if they are both aged 50 or over.”

© Fair Investment Company Ltd