The amount of money saved into cash ISAs has dropped by a third, according to year-on-year statistics.
Official figures from HMRC show that during the 2016/17 tax year, the amount saved into cash ISAs fell by £19.5 billion to £39.2 billion.
In addition, there was a drop in the number of cash ISAs opened with 1.6 million fewer accounts taken out in the last tax year – falling to 8.5 million.
However, the amount of stock and shares ISAs opened overtook the total subscriptions in cash ISAs for the first time – up to 2.6 million in 2016/17.
Total amount of money deposited into stock and shares ISAs also rose from £21 billion to £22 billion over the same period.
Richard Stone, chief executive of The Share Centre, said:
“While the latest data from HMRC shows a substantial fall in ISA subscriptions it is interesting to note the fall is wholly down to a drop in amounts saved into cash ISAs.
“This perhaps reflects a growing appreciation among savers and investors of the impact of inflation on cash savings at a time of low interest rates.”
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