Orca targets adviser market in growth push
ORCA is targeting independent financial advisers (IFAs) to drive its next stage of growth.
The peer-to-peer analysis and investment firm is currently in advanced discussions with several authorised advice firms to offer its model portfolio solution to their clients.
Although advisers have traditionally been reticent to recommend P2P, Orca’s co-founder Jordan Stodart believes that P2P can bridge the intermediary market by offering financial advisers “simple, efficient solutions that spread investors’ risk as broadly as possible”.
Read more: Attracting advisers
“At the moment the ‘model portfolio’ is what the IFAs are looking for,” he added.
“They want diversification and don’t want to have to drill down into the asset class because comparing different providers is tough.
“We remove that hassle and we also provide an aggregated investment solution, so they don’t have to manage individual accounts with P2P providers.”
Building relationships with advisers forms part of Orca’s broader growth plan, which accompanied its recent crowdfunding campaign with Seedrs. The campaign surpassed its £500,000 target after being opened up to the public.
Read more: Advisers eschewing P2P due to insurance ‘grey area’
Other plans include the expansion of Orca’s research service to cover other alternative lenders, including crowd bond providers, and the integration of more lenders into its investment offering.
Stodart said Orca is also considering an EU expansion and the possibility of launching an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA).
“We are very conscious that the ISA could bring a whole wave of investors who have not had exposure to P2P before, but it has not happened yet,” Stodart said.
“What we have found is existing P2P investors are transferring their general investment account into the ISA.
Read more: How can the P2P sector win over advisers?
“As there is the one IFISA per year rule, it will take a couple of years for experienced P2P investors to build up their IFISA portfolio with different platforms. Our ambition is to have multiple platforms in a single portfolio and to wrap that into an ISA, so they are getting their ISA money spread across different providers.”
This story featured in the November issue of Peer2Peer Finance News, now available to read online.
