New research from social trading and multi-asset brokerage firm eToro has found that younger savers are more likely than older savers to consider alternative finance, especially peer-to-peer (P2P) lender platforms, as potential investment opportunities.

Interest rates on traditional ISAs have plunged by 46% over the last five years, with the result that millennials are being drawn in greater numbers than older savers to alternatives.

The study found that 25% of 18- to 24-year-olds are substantially more likely than older savers to place as much, or more, trust in new alternative finance providers such as P2P lenders than in traditional providers. Of the millennials polled, 27% said this compared to the national average of 17%.

UK P2P lender Unbolted, for example, maximises returns for investors while minimising risks with its unique secured asset loan. In the event of a borrower default, money is recovered by selling the borrower’s high-value asset, placed with the platform as the collateralised security for the loan, at auction.

Regionally, trust in new financial services such as P2P lending and social trading is strongest in London and Scotland, where 25% of the Londoners polled and 27% of Scots declared confidence in the use of these new platforms.

The study, however, appears to ignore a major new initiative in the world of savings – the Innovative Finance ISA, which was launched on 6th April and allows savers to earn interest tax-free by investing in P2P lender platforms.

eToro CEO Yoni Assia dismissed cash ISA savings as “dinosaur products that time forgot”, but failed to mention the much higher returns investors in the IFISA can expect to enjoy.