Powering the future: ISA deadline approaching (Mar 28, 2024)
The tax year end is fast approaching, and with it the ISA deadline date on 5 April. While we look towards brighter days ahead - and perhaps some spring sunshine – do you ever think about where your money goes when you save or invest?
A survey carried out at the end of last year suggested that 2024 might represent a shift in the sands with people increasingly looking for more ethical investment opportunities. There’s a growing realisation that “investing in a sustainable future is not only ethical, but also a savvy financial strategy,” according to CEO of deVere, which carried out the survey to over 800 clients.
Making your money do good
The Solar for Schools Community Benefit Society (CBS) exists to help schools acquire solar panels and save money without having to invest in the solar themselves. The latest bond offer from the Solar for Schools CBS is now live, with an option to make tax-free savings through an ISA. We all know that the public purse and school budgets are tight. And for anyone wanting to make their money work harder, go further and do better for people and planet, the impact that money can have, when invested in bonds, goes far beyond the immediate savings for the schools.
For every £1000 invested with the CBS, around 1 tonne of carbon emissions are stopped. That’s equivalent to 2,558 miles driven in an average family petrol car, driving from London to the northern most tip of Europe.
But more than that, every £1000 invested means another 25 students will receive hands-on education on energy and decarbonisation. Schools not only save thousands every year on their energy bills, but they also receive any surplus from the CBS once funders have received their return; currently fixed at 5.5% for five years. Find out more here.
Through the ethical funding platform Ethex, the Solar for Schools CBS is now offering an Innovative Finance, or IF ISA. Incidentally, interest in IF ISAs generally has risen massively in the last couple of years, seeing the biggest increase by far in all ISA investment. To make the most of your tax-free allowance – and this depends on your own individual tax status - head over to the Solar for Schools profile page on Ethex and ensure you’ve deposited your funds well ahead of the 5 April deadline.
Please remember, holding your investments in an IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses, so you can still lose all your money. It only means that any potential gains from your investment will be tax free. The tax treatment of your investment will depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
Further info and references:
To invest direct through the CBS website, click here
To invest through an IF ISA via Ethex, click here
Survey carried out in 2023 by deVere Group, as sited in FTAdvisor article here
To find out more about IF ISAS and tax-free allowances generally, please visit the Gov website here