Relendex seeks approval to offer advice to investors
Relendex is planning to offer advice to investors and manage their portfolios, subject to regulatory approval.
The peer-to-peer property lender has applied to the Financial Conduct Authority to become an alternative investment fund manager, so that it is authorised to advise on alternative investments.
Paul Sonabend (pictured), executive chairman of Relendex, said the platform will only advise on its own products and hopes to receive regulatory approval by the end of the third quarter.
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He said that Relendex will act like a fund manager, managing investors’ portfolios in line with their criteria, in exchange for a fee. For example, some investors may only want to lend in England or stipulate a minimum and maximum amount for each loan, he added.
Relendex is considering setting up an associate company to manage the new services.
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“This is definitely going to help retail investment,” Sonabend said.
“Financial advisers do not recommend P2P for various reasons, but mostly because they don’t understand it.
“The sooner we get the license the better it will be. It will be easier to explain to people what we do for them and to manage their money because every conversation we have with investors has to start with saying ‘we’re not permitted to give advice, we can provide information, not advice’.
“We can help people who don’t want to, or don’t have the time to, read all the documentation and want to spread their risk across many different loans.”
Read more: Relendex sets sights on £100m of institutional money
