Why have Corporate ISAs not taken off?

As we reach the end of the tax year the papers are full of articles on why we should be saving in Isas. There is a wealth management ISA special in the City A.M. this morning which shows from those surveyed about 70% have taken out an Isa during each of the last two tax years 2011 and 2012. Of this number about 25%had cash Isas with the remaining three-quarters being a fund selection or self-select. Positively, about 60% of the respondents also stated they had a good (positive) investment outlook over the next 5 years.

"Saving for retirement" is the top reasons given for investing in an Isa (40% of those surveyed - up 12% from last year) so one would have thought it would be right for an employer to include this as an employee savings option alongside the company pension scheme.

So why since we launched our equity Isa before Christmas have we had zero take up? Has all the due-diligence and communication been a waste of time and effort?

The City paper goes on to quote that the most common method of payment is by a lump sum with about 70% of investors paying in this way. Only 10% are paying by monthly contributions alone (20% pay by a combination of both lump sum and monthly amounts). So may be payroll deductions into an Isa are not the method by which our employees want to save - perhaps rather than paying each month as they do into their pension they would rather see how much spare savings they have at the end of the tax year and then pay in one go.

The survey goes on to show that 50% of investors buy their Isa on line and I would imagine that this would mean via a supermarket (moneysupermarket.com) to see which provider is offering the best terms at that time. Only 4% in 2012 purchased an Isa direct from the fund manager. Equally only 6% bought via an IFA (which is interesting) and the survey did not ask how many purchased via their employer! I guess this means that employees are wanting to look at "whole of market" rather than one nominated provider.

As the discussions on "wealth platforms" and "employee savings portals" escalate I suggest we need to step back for a minute and ask our employees what they really want the company to offer them by way of benefits and savings vehicles.

Comments welcome.