Employees with corporate individual savings accounts (Isas) are increasingly proactive in their schemes and are managing their investments more regularly, according to research from Equiniti.
The study found that, on average, employees are making three distinct investment decisions a year, with those trades representing about £317 of their fund. This activity in corporate Isas contrasts starkly with members of corporate pension plans, the vast majority of whom make no active investment decisions.
Corporate Isas have also seen an increase in regular deposits, from £99 to £100 a month per employee over the past two years, a significant move in the context of a double-dip recession.
The average size of a corporate Isa fund is £13,337, about half the size of the average defined contribution (DC) pension fund.
Mark Taylor, director of investment services at Equiniti, said corporate Isas are not an alternative to pensions and with auto-enrolment, employers must offer their staff a pension.
But he added: “In the future, we expect corporate Isas and corporate pensions to be standard employee benefits as employers look to support employees’ retirement planning and short to medium-term savings needs.”
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