LendingCrowd has launched its innovative finance individual savings accounts (IFISA); the account has a minimum investment of 1,000 British pounds ($1,250); the account investment will be automatically allocated to a portfolio of LendingCrowd loans; the portfolio will target a rate of return of 6% for its investors; the IFISA product has been well received with the Lending Works IFISA launch attracting more than 500,000 British pounds ($624,850) within three hours. Source
Investors in the UK are anxious for new innovative finance individual savings account (IFISA) options with P2P lenders as the new tax year begins; the IFISAs were launched for P2P investing nine months ago however limited options still remain due to the authorizations given by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); it is expected that the largest providers, Zopa, Funding Circle, Ratesetter and LendInvest, will receive authorization however it has not been granted yet from the FCA; platforms currently offering IFISAs include Abundance, CrowdStacker and Crowd2Fund; Folk2Folk is currently the largest lender authorized with plans for also launching an IFISA. Source
Landbay, UK Bond Network, Downing and Peer Funding will use Goji to offer investments in Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISA) in the UK; the offerings are anticipated to launch before the tax deadline; Jake Wombwell-Povey, Goji co-founder and chief executive officer, said: "We're signing up an increasing number of platforms who are keen to offer their investors a best of breed IFISA service. There is a great deal of complexity in bringing the IFISA to market and we are focused on ensuring that it is as easy as possible for investors to access this new opportunity to drive returns. Interest in this new and attractive investment vehicle is not surprising given the low yields available on traditional fixed income and savings and increasing inflation." Source
Assetz Capital is a large P2P lender in the UK and now has authorization from the FCA; the company has lent more than GBP316 million ($410 million) to businesses and is now working on the final stages of its Innovative Finance ISA which it expects will be available in Q4 2017; Stuart Law, CEO of Assetz Capital, stated: "Our cautious approach of employing a world-class credit underwriting team and taking realisable security on loans is essential for our investors' peace of mind. Our focus remains to ensure the growth and security of our lenders' investments, as well as the success of our borrowers' businesses. Our team has done fantastically well to deliver such success to all of our stakeholders over the last few years and yet there is also so much more to achieve ahead of this milestone and we are all excited about the continuing journey." Source
UK Bond Network has received authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); allows UK Bond Network to offer investors access via the innovative finance individual savings account (IFISA); the FCA is now authorizing both crowdfunded lenders and bond platforms. Source
Lending Works has launched its innovative finance ISA; company offers unsecured loans to consumers; investors can invest over three or five years earning approximately 4% to 4.7% respectively; platforms RateSetter, Zopa and Funding Circle are still awaiting full authorization; on the subject of the major players still awaiting authorization Matthew Powell, director at Lending Works commented: "Among peer-to-peer firms there is some frustration over why it's taken so long. The regulator might have uncovered some things that they're not entirely happy about. I think the FCA has been surprised in the variation over the types of platforms they have had to examine. We're an easier prospect than some to understand - we're literally just the middleman, we don't take a balance sheet risk, and we don't lend our own money." Source
P2P-Banking has launched an IFISA database to help UK investors compare IFISA providers; investors can filter search criteria by interest rate, term, loan type, minimum investment, account transfers and promotions among other criteria; the focus of the service is on P2P lending IFISAs however the database also includes other types of IFISA investment options. Source
With competition heating up for investors p2p lending platform Ratesetter is now offering £100 for opening a new Innovative Finance ISA with the platform; the company launched their IFISA in February and are advertising a 5 percent return on the highest risk product. Source.
ISA statistics were released on Thursday by HMRC; last year two thousand Innovative Finance ISA accounts were subscribed with retail investors collectively investing GBP17 million (USD $22 million); this compares to GBP22.325 billion ($28.94 billion) into stocks and shares and GBP39.191 billion ($50.81 billion) into cash ISAs; about one third of money invested into IFISAs on P2P platforms last year was from transfers; while the accounts opened and amount invested were low it still shows appetite for such products. Source
UK online marketplace lender ThinCats is the latest P2P platform to receive full authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); the firm is a secured business lender and says it has a number of developments in progress including the launch of an IFISA; in comments regarding the authorization, John Mould, CEO of ThinCats, said: "We are delighted to have been granted FCA authorization, proving the dedication of our team and processes. We are very happy that more and more alternative finance providers are now being authorized, as it ultimately proves that the industry deserves the trust and confidence of investors, advisors and SME borrowers alike." Source