New tax year, new ISA allowance

Invest your new £20,000 ISA allowance in UK residential property

ISAs are often considered to be a great way for people to make their money work harder. The new tax year began yesterday which means that you now have a new £20,000 ISA allowance. Investing yours in property could be a good way to diversify your portfolio. Recent volatility across global investment markets shows the merits of having a balanced portfolio. While we may be entering a period of turbulence, Mail Finance's trusted partner, Bricklane, believes that the underlying fundamentals of the property market remain strong and, historically, residential property has been resilient, particularly in terms of rental income. There is a shortage of high quality homes in the UK Private Rented Sector and demand outstrips supply, ultimately, people will still need somewhere to live. Past performance and forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future results.

Bricklane enables you to invest your ISA allowance in UK residential property. Rather than owning property directly, with Bricklane, you can invest in diversified portfolios known as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). These portfolios contain properties that have been handpicked for their investment potential by industry experts.

By combining property expertise and data analytics, Bricklane’s team have developed an innovative property strategy, which it believes will produce strong returns for investors over the long term, through a combination of rental income and capital growth.

Bricklane offers investors a choice of two funds: The London fund includes properties in the capital while the Regional

Capitals fund contains properties in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. You can invest in either fund or split your investment 50:50 between the two.

Make your money work harder

With a Bricklane Stocks and Shares ISA you can invest up to £20,000 and pay no tax on income or gains, no matter how large your investment may become. Your 2020/21 allowance lasts until April 5, but investing early in the tax year could give your money more time to grow.

Bricklane's funds could also give you better returns than holding it in cash. While Cash ISAs are more secure and easily accessible, the average instant-access Cash ISA offers returns of 0.85 per cent (as at January 2020), which isn’t enough to keep up with inflation (1.7 per cent as at March 2020). That means money held in many Cash ISAs is decreasing in value over time. Unlike with a Cash ISA, with investing your capital is at risk and there is no FSCS protection for poor investment performance. The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

Pay 0% investment fee in April

For those looking to start using their ISA allowance, Bricklane is also currently running a special offer: Invest before April 30 and you won’t pay an investment fee – a saving of up to £400 in fees if you invest your entire ISA allowance.**

If you’re interested in learning more about investing with Bricklane, you can visit bricklane.com or contact its UK based customer support team on 0203 1111 432 9:30am - 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.

As with all investing, your capital is at risk. You may not be able to sell your investment within a reasonable timeframe. Bricklane doesn’t give advice and you should seek independent advice before investing. Please see further risks in the Important Information box.