Lee Birkett – JustUs Founder and CEO
“On Monday 09th December 2019, the FCA introduce new P2P rules to bolster consumer protections. The Peer to Peer Innovative Finance ISA has now moved into the qualifying sophisticated investor arena, with retail investors being restricted to lending no more than 10% of their wealth. New investors will also need to pass challenging investor knowledge tests before being able to deposit any cash onto the platform.
With a number of recent high profile Innovative Finance ISA departures such as Landbay, Moneything, LendInvest and the original P2P daddy Zopa now morphing into a traditional bank, the choice of this much lauded tax-free asset class is becoming somewhat of a rarity.
JustUs have been working hard to maintain the purity of Peer to Peer in preparation for the new FCA rules – that is operating an online platform for people to lend to people. Unfortunately, many platforms have muddied the P2P waters by bringing institutional capital onto their platforms and making their lending activities similar to that of a bank and therefore ineligible to operate as an ISA Manager. This restriction obviously puts their online investors at a substantial economic disadvantage.
We have now opened up the platform to Independent Financial Advisers and Family Offices. With tax-free rates on offer of between 4% and 9% and with 90% of all loans being secured by way of a 1st legal charge against property, and no investor losses to date, the time has now come for the JustUs ISA product to shine."
Rob Colin IFA – Sequence Financial Management
“Asset allocation, diversification and tax efficiency are all key drivers when deciding on investment suitability – and therefore all wealth managers and financial advisers should be considering this maturing asset class.
The clear transparent offering available from JustUs via their easy to use platform provides us with the ability to deliver strong predictable returns for our clients, while utilising both ISA and pension allowances as part of a wider investment portfolio.
Recent liquidity issues with corporate bonds and listed retail property funds have highlighted the liquidity risks faced by investors – however the tested secondary market provided by the JustUs platform has demonstrated the ongoing liquidity of this asset class, and also its credibility as an alternative asset class providing valuable diversification and strong returns for client portfolios.”
