Only 2% of cash ISA holders have opened a stocks & shares ISA since the Chancellor announced a reduction in the cash ISA tax-free limit in November, according to Opinium.
From April 2027, the annual cash ISA limit will drop from £20,000 to £12,000 for under-65s, in a bid to encourage an investing culture in the UK.
Despite more than three quarters (77%) of cash ISA holders stating that they are aware of the upcoming rule changes, only one in 10 (11%) plan to open a stocks & shares ISA before the change comes into effect.
This rises to 21% among Gen Z cash ISA holders, suggesting a greater openness to investing among younger people, Opinium said.
More than two in five (44%) cash ISA holders say they have no plans to open a stocks & shares ISA before the rule changes and only 16% are considering moving money from a cash ISA into a stocks & shares ISA ahead of 2027.
Among those cash ISA holders who don’t plan on opening a stocks & shares ISA, almost half (49%) cite concerns about investment risk, while 38% say they prefer the security of cash and 29% say they do not know enough about investing to open a stocks & shares ISA.
Overall, 48% of UK adults currently have a cash ISA, more than double the number who have a stocks & shares ISA (23%). Fewer than three in 10 (28%) people with a cash ISA also had a stocks & shares ISA before the tax-free limit changes were announced in the Autumn Budget.
Men are twice as likely (31%) to have a stocks & shares ISA as women (16%) and are more likely to have a cash ISA (52% vs 44%). A third (32%) of men have neither product, compared to 45% of women.
Matthew Howlett, research manager at Opinium, said: “Following the Chancellor’s announcement that the cash ISA allowance will drop from 2027, our research suggests that relatively few people have taken action already, with just 2% of cash ISA holders opening a stocks & shares ISA since the Autumn Statement.
“While awareness of the upcoming changes is high, people remain cautious, with only a small number planning to open or transfer money into investment products ahead of 2027. We also see that younger savers appear much more open to investing than older generations, and a significant gap between how likely men and women are to have stocks & shares ISAs.”
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