RateSetter earmarks February 2018 for IFISA launch
RATESETTER has confirmed that it will launch its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) in February 2018 and that existing investors will get a two-week head start on the product.
The peer-to-peer platform, which gained full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority in October, said the IFISA will be available for current lenders only for the first two weeks “as a reward to our loyal customers”.
The platform, the last of the ‘big three’ to launch its IFISA, said it would work in a similar way to its existing product range, with the added benefit of tax-free earnings.
However, it will only allow transfers of other ISA money from the next tax year, starting on 6 April 2018.
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“When the ISA launches, you will see the option to set up an ISA when you log into your RateSetter account, and should you choose to set one up, you’ll then be able to manage both your ISA and Everyday accounts using the same login,” the platform said in a blog post on Friday.
“As with all types of ISA, investment limits apply. The current limit is £20,000 each year, which you can invest in stocks and share ISAs, cash ISAs and of course the RateSetter ISA.”
The announcement came as the lender’s co-founder Rhydian Lewis, spoke of his honour of receiving an OBE for innovation in financial inclusion.
“Finance is a lot to do with access and we are proud to be opening the rewards of lending to every investor, rewards previously only enjoyed by banks and institutions,” he said.
“It started when I saw that my father was unable to access returns without venturing into exotic investment products or paying away large fees to advisers and I thought: why can’t normal people access the returns from loans? Why is it that banks and institutions can access these returns but not normal people?
“It went from there and we are now helping to establish an asset class that sits between cash and equities which we believe is a genuinely helpful part of any investor’s portfolio and crucially is available to everyone in a simple and accessible way.”
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