The UK’s venture capital industry has been very active in investing in the FinTech sector – more so than its US counterpart, according to research (see below). Our friends at Finextra offer a report, but we’d add just a short comment: perhaps the relative strength of VCX interest may be partially accounted for by the fact that FinTech is already much more of a mainstream investment in the US equity capital markets, with major weightings in tech amongst the big market indices.
A sharp increase in UK venture capital (VC) fund performance over the last 12 months has been highlighted by a new British Business Bank report.
According to the research:
The British Business Bank report, ‘UK Venture Capital Financial Returns 2021’, concludes that higher company valuations – along with strong exit activity in 2020 and 2021 – has contributed to a material uplift in VC financial returns. However, a high proportion of fund managers (59%) also reported high levels of competition for deals, which may suggest these high valuations might not be sustained until exit.
The lender is seeking to fund claims for financial mis-selling. The term of the loan is 15 months.
Below are some details from the borrower’s pitch – as ever, we’ve done due diligence but cannot warrant or guarantee the truth of the representations. For full detail, register or log in here.
Historical Performance And IFISA Process Guide
That figure is the result of over £24 million of loans facilitated on the site, as we bring individuals looking for a good return on capital together with carefully vetted small companies seeking funds for growth. Bear in mind that lenders’ capital is at risk. Read warnings on site before committing capital.
All loans on site are eligible to be held in a Money&Co. Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA), up to the annual ISA limit of £20,000. Such loans offer lenders tax-free income. Our offering is an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) that can hold the peer-to-peer (P2P) business loans that Money&Co. facilitates. For the purposes of this article, the terms ISA and IFISA are interchangeable.
So here’s our guide to the process:
The ISA allowance for 2020/21 is unchanged from last tax year at £20,000, allowing a married couple to put £40,000 into a tax-free environment. Over three years, an investment of this scale in two Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISAs would generate £8,400 of income completely free of tax. We’re assuming a 7 per cent return, net of charges and free of tax here.
Once you have made your initial commitment, you might then consider diversifying – buying a spread of loans. To do this, you can go into the “loans for sale” market. All loans bought in this market also qualify for IFISA tax benefits.
Risk: Security, Access, Yield
Do consider not just the return, but the security and the ease of access to your investment. We write regularly about these three key factors. Here’s one of several earlier articles on security, access and yield.