Goji platform adds five new lenders as IFISA transfers soar
GOJI has added five new lenders to its platform over the past month, bringing its total number of direct lending investment managers to 25.
Earthworm, Dot Fund, Route Finance, Growth Capital Ventures and Bird Box Bonds have all signed up to the direct lending investment platform since January 2019, and at least 10 other lenders are hoping to join by the end of the tax year.
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The expansion of the platform reflects the growing popularity of the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA), said Goji’s founder and chief executive Jake Wombwell-Povey.
Goji currently manages approximately 8,000 accounts for a number of platforms, including peer-to-peer lenders Landbay and Assetz Capital. More than 70 per cent of these accounts were transfers from cash ISAs.
“The IFISA now sits alongside cash, stocks and shares and lifetime ISAs to give investors more diversity and choice over what to do with their ISA investments,” said Wombwell-Povey.
“Bearing in mind how low cash deposit rates are, and that inflation is starting to come back, the IFISA is a much-needed tool to help investors generate real returns from their savings.
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“It is not just our own data that demonstrates this change in attitude away from Cash ISAs,” he added.
“According to HMRC, the number of new IFISA accounts from 2017/2018 represents 620 per cent growth from the previous year, and that number will be growing every year.
“Such rapid growth is surely a sign that the IFISA offers real customer benefit at a time when other more established methods of growing investors’ wealth are suffering their own challenges.”
Goji’s technology allows investors to manage their money across multiple investment platforms, either through Goji’s own white label interface or via API. IFISA investments can be managed alongside SIPPs, making it a particularly useful tool for alternative finance platforms and individual lenders alike.
Julia Groves, head of crowdfunding at Downing commented: “We chose to work with Goji rather than doing it ourselves because of their clear expertise in this niche area, the capabilities that their platform technology provides us and the support we get from their team”.
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