IFISA name gives investors the wrong impression, says Amberside boss
INNOVATIVE Finance ISA (IFISA) is a misleading term for investors, according to the head of a new crowd bond platform that offers the tax wrapper.
David Scrivens, director of Amberside Capital, said that their platform – which invests in the infrastructure and energy sectors – promotes their IFISA primarily as a fixed-rate ISA, keeping references to the IFISA less prominent in their marketing material.
“There’s nothing innovative about it and gives investors the wrong impression that it’s more risky,” he said on a panel at the Great British Private Investor Summit in London last month.
“We just brand it as an ISA.
“The actual word [IFISA], we’re finding it difficult in the market as it gives the wrong connotations.”
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Amberside Capital and CH1 Investment Partners launched the Amberside Asset Lending Platform (ALP) in April, which invests in high-yielding private debt in infrastructure projects, including solar parks, grid support facilities and hydroponics projects.
The crowd bonds can be held in an IFISA wrapper, with ALP offering early-bird investors returns of 6.75 per cent a year over four years.
The introductory offer is scheduled to run to the end of June when rates of return will drop to five per cent.
ALP will also offer opportunities for two-year bonds and a one-month access option, which will both return five per cent.
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Do you agree with Scrivens that the IFISA term is misleading? Email us with your views at [email protected].