Home Finance The UK’s largest ISA pot tops £11m – bigger than the largest...

The UK’s largest ISA pot tops £11m – bigger than the largest pension pot


The UK’s largest Individual Savings Account (ISA) holds a fortune of in excess of £11.6million, new data reveals.

A freedom of information request into the HMRC from wealth manager RBC Brewin Dolphin found that, according to latest figures for 2020-21, the top 25 ISA investors are sitting on pots averaging £11,660,000 each.

ISAs were introduced in 1999 replacing their predecessor Personal Equity Plans (PEPS) which were launched in 1987 by the then chancellor Nigel Lawson with an annual allowance of £2,400.

Today the ISA allowance is £20,000, with all contributions and gains shielded from income and capital gains tax.

Turbo-charged growth of this kind could only have been achieved through stocks & shares investing, investment managers said.

Rob Burgeman, investment manager from RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: “We’ve been tracking the fortunes of the country’s ISA millionaires for twenty years now, and our research tells us they all have one secret in common. They all built their fortunes through stocks & shares investing.

“The numbers don’t lie. Cash savings over the same 34-year period would have grown from £310,760 to £424,966 — but because of inflation you would actually have been worse off in real terms.

“In fact, you would have needed your savings to grow by a further £40,000 to £464,669[4] just to maintain purchasing power.

“So, the lesson for ISA investors starting out on their journey is crystal clear. It’s highly unlikely you will ever make it to millionaires’ row by patiently saving into a Cash ISA. In fact, the corrosive power of inflation means your investment is more likely to erode in real terms.”

Wealth experts from RBC Brewin Dolphin estimated that for an £11.6million ISA pot to have been amassed the investor would have to start in 1987 making contributions of around £127,200 assuming an 18.9 percent annualised return after fees just to reach the first £1million over 20 years.

It would have taken just a further eight years to reach £5m on contributions of around £215,520. The eye-watering £11.6million figure would have been reached after 34 years on total contributions of just £310,760.

News of the £11.6million+ ISA pot comes just six months after a separate FOI request made by RBC Brewin Dolphin revealed the biggest pension pot tracked by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) currently stands at £11million — less than the biggest ISA.

Rob Burgeman said: “Many will be surprised to learn that the largest ISA pots have overtaken the largest pension pots — especially when you consider that the current annual allowance on pensions is three times greater than the current ISA allowance (£60,000 versus £20,000).

“While a good investment plan should undoubtedly incorporate both ISAs and pension, the ISA’s phenomenal appeal is perhaps underpinned by the flexibility it offers investors in terms of liquidity.

“Investors can make withdrawals at a time of their choosing regardless of their age, whereas pension savers currently must wait until they turn 57 to start spending their retirement pot.

“There is now a well understood roadmap to becoming an ISA millionaire which has a growing appeal to young people starting out on their investment journey.”

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