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The fine print on how we work with you.
In this Privacy Policy, Invest & Fund, “we”, “us” or “our” means Invest and Fund Limited and its affiliates. “You” and “your” means visitors to our website, lenders and borrowers, persons connected with lenders and borrowers and persons connected with a borrower’s loan. Invest & Fund is a company registered in England and Wales with registered address HCP Building, Chichester Road, Ponswood, St Leonards-On-Sea, East Sussex, TN38 9BG. Invest and Fund Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 711378). This Privacy Policy explains and governs:
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By accessing and using our website, marketplace and services, you confirm that you have had a proper opportunity to read this Privacy Policy, that you understand it and that you agree to be bound by it. If you do not, you must immediately cease use of our website and Marketplaces, and any services provided by us.
We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time, to comply with applicable laws and regulations or to meet our changing business requirements. You are encouraged to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices and amendments to our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use our website or Marketplaces, you agree to be bound by all updates and amendments.
The purpose of this document is to set out the firm’s policy in relation to managing privacy.
This website uses cookies. Please see our Cookie Policy below.
We may disclose your personal data to other registered members on our Marketplace and prospective lenders where covered by a confidentiality (or similar) agreement including:
We may provide personal data to third-parties, including:
From time to time we undertake credit reference checks against borrowers and lenders (and against directors, partners, members, shareholders and beneficial owners of borrowers and lenders), guarantors and Agents:
When CRAs receive a search request from Invest & Fund they may:
We may give details of all loans taken through the Marketplace and how they are managed to the CRAs. If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, the CRAs will record the outstanding debt and, in some cases, the length of time that the debt remains outstanding; other organisations may see these updates, and this affect your ability to obtain credit in the future.
Any records shared with CRAs will remain on file for six years after your account is closed, whether any outstanding sums have been settled by you or following a default. You can contact the CRAs currently operating in the UK. The information they hold may not be the same so you may consider contacting them all. They will charge you a small statutory fee. They are:
You may at any time:
We will keep your personal information for as long as you are a customer of Invest & Fund. After you stop being a customer, we may keep your data for up to 6 years for one of these reasons:
We may keep your data for longer than 5 years if we cannot delete it for legal, regulatory or technical reasons. We may also keep it for research or statistical purposes. If we do, we will make sure that your privacy is protected and only use it for those purposes.
You have the right to request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing. You can do this by contacting us using the email address enquiries@investandfund.com ;
The right to data portability allows you to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services. It allows you to move, copy or transfer personal data easily from one IT environment to another in a safe and secure way, without hindrance to usability. Invest & Fund is committed to facilitating the transfer of your data across different services, external to Invest & Fund. Please contact us via the email address enquiries@investandfund.com for more details. ;
In the case of a personal data breach, Invest & Fund shall without undue delay and, where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of it, notify the personal data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Officer (“ICO”), unless the personal data breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons. Where the notification to the ICO is not made within 72 hours, it shall be accompanied by reasons for the delay.
The website contains links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of third-party websites.
Please let us know if the personal information which we hold about you needs to be corrected or updated, or update your personal details using your Invest & Fund online account.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our treatment of your personal information, please write to us by email to enquiries@investandfund.com .
Our Cookie Policy forms part of the Invest & Fund Privacy Policy
Our website may also integrate features and functionalities from LinkedIn, a professional networking platform. LinkedIn uses cookies to enhance your user experience and provide personalized content, tailored advertisements, and improved platform performance. By using our website, you consent to the use of LinkedIn cookies in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.
LinkedIn Cookies Usage:
LinkedIn may use cookies to:
You can learn more about LinkedIn's use of cookies and their privacy practices by visiting LinkedIn's Cookie Policy: www.linkedin.com/legal/cookie-policy and Privacy Policy: www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy .
Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but personal information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
Again, doing this may have a negative impact on the usability of many websites.
You agree to provide us with information requested during the application process and comply with all our identification and anti-money laundering requirements to enable us to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, rules and regulatory guidance. We may require you to send us copies of relevant passports or other documentation sufficient to verify your identity. As a part of the application process, you must register with us the details of a bank account or building society account based in the United Kingdom and opened in your name. If at some future date you wish to change Your Nominated Bank Account, you may need to be re-identified for anti-money laundering purposes.
This page sets out the key risks involved in lending through Invest & Fund so please read this information carefully and make sure that you have a good understanding of these risks before commencing any lending.
One of Invest & Fund's core values is transparency, and we strive to make all relevant information readily available to enable Lenders to make an informed decision. No lending opportunities will be made available on the Invest & Fund website until they have passed the credit review process and been approved by our Head of Credit.
Invest & Fund will provide you with certain factual information about the Borrower, to help the Lender reach an informed decision as to whether to participate in a particular loan opportunity. This will include information about the Borrower's background, the nature of the request, a description of the asset, the Borrower's financial performance to date, management analysis, the legal position relating to security for the loan and a review of these key risks and relevant mitigating factors. A fuller understanding How loan risk is assessed can be found below.
Please remember that Invest & Fund do not provide investment advice and if you have any questions about the suitability of a particular loan opportunity to you, you should seek advice from a suitably qualified professional.
The main risk for Lenders is if the Borrowers do not repay the loan to the Lenders within the terms agreed in the loan facility agreement.
Lenders may not receive their funds on the dates expected. For example, the term of the loan may be extended in circumstances such as construction schedules have overrun, exit finance is not in place in time or a delay in selling developed units.
Whilst I&F operates an active secondary marketplace there is no guarantee that a willing purchaser for a loan placed for resale will be found so funds lent are technically considered to be 'illiquid' so not readily accessible.
If the Borrower fails to repay a loan then the legal charge over the property and other security can be exercised to seek to settle the outstanding repayments and this may result in a delay in return of funds or loss of Lender's capital. In the event of security being realised then the security trustee, I & F Securities Limited, acts on behalf of the lenders involved in that loan so you will not have the day to day decision making powers over the loan. Please be aware that the value of security can be adversely affected by many external factors such as sentiment in the property market and the progress of the property development.
Interest accrued on a rolled-up basis is only paid at the successful redemption of the loan, or upon sale of the loan via the Resale Marketplace.
To view our current bad debt rates, please click here.
Concentration risk is the probability of loss arising from a large exposure to a particular risk, for example an individual loan. Diversification is a risk management technique which can be applied by ensuring a mix of different loans is held in order to reduce the concentration risk.
For that reason, you should consider spreading your exposure to concentration risk by diversifying the number of Borrowers you lend to. If a loan is not available for funding in the Lending Marketplace at any particular time, you can check our Resale Marketplace for opportunities to purchase loans from other Lenders.
Property development loans are released in drawdown tranches against the measured progress of the development. Every drawdown request is reviewed by our credit team and approved by the Head of Credit who considers the credit quality and must provide his sign-off otherwise the drawdown will not be allowed to progress. Although it has not happened to date there is also the possibility that the drawdown will not have attracted sufficient interest by the end of the auction, and so cannot progress. Either scenario may result in the Borrower having to put in more of its own funds, restructure the drawdown or even seek refinance elsewhere. Any Lenders who have bid on a loan which has been refused or underfunded prior to drawdown will have their monies refunded. Lenders who are already lent via earlier drawdowns of the same scheme will have the benefit of the value of the security and guarantees if the scheme fails to progress. The time taken for the Borrower to seek new funding from elsewhere may place cashflow pressures on the developer and affect the progress or successful completion of the scheme meaning increased risk to Lenders capital.
It is an FCA requirement of all Peer-to-Peer platforms that they have a plan in place to implement should the decision be made to wind-down the company. I&F's plan, which has been reviewed by the FCA, sets out the actions that would be taken in such circumstances. This is to ensure an orderly wind-down so that existing loans would continue to be managed effectively to protect Lenders interests. A fuller description of the plan can be viewed here.
I&F segregates client funds and holds loan security in the name of a security trustee:
Invest & Fund is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
All Lender funds that are not applied to a loan are held in a designated client money account held with Barclays Bank which means that they cannot be mixed with funds used to operate the business. This account is operated under FCA rules on Client Money. The account holding bank is FCA & PRA regulated.
Lenders' funds may be held in the client accounts of panel solicitors engaged to deal with certain property finance transactions on behalf of Invest & Fund. As part of such transactions Lenders' funds may be passed from Invest & Fund's panel solicitors to solicitors acting on behalf of the Borrowers. We check to make sure that the Borrower's solicitors are registered with the SRA and so bound to act under SRA Client Money rules.
Invest & Fund's panel solicitors hold their client accounts at FCA & PRA regulated banks which may include Lloyds Bank plc, Barclays Bank plc, HSBC UK plc, and Santander UK plc. This list is not comprehensive and is subject to change from time to time.
Solicitors are not responsible for the acts or omissions of the bank(s) holding their client money from time to time and if the Solicitors' own bank were to become insolvent the solicitors would not be liable for any shortfall.
Invest & Fund is not responsible for the acts or omissions of account holding banks or solicitors and if account holding bank(s) were to become insolvent Invest & Fund would not be liable for any shortfall.
The possibility of fraud during any loan transaction cannot be completely negated but Invest & Fund undertakes extensive and detailed due diligence and checks to mitigate against this. I&F undertakes its own detailed due diligence on potential Borrowers and their projects as well as seeking reports from professionals such as valuers, solicitors and surveyors, who are also vetted, as appropriate in order to mitigate against the risk of fraud. All of the loans are reviewed by our credit team and are approved by the Head of Credit who considers whether loans meet our credit standards and only then will they allow a loan to be drawn down if it is successfully funded. Invest & Fund always ensures that there is Borrower equity in any loan proposition, and there are legally enforceable guarantees in place.
In common with some other Peer-to-Peer platforms I&F Lenders gain exposure to direct lending and so benefit directly and fully (from which facility fees are deducted) from the interest rate paid, but as highlighted in this Understanding Risks section property lending is not without risks. I&F acts as agent so does not lend in its own right nor does it make any margin on interest rate earned, so I&F does not take lending risk or the associated legal risk. The direct nature of the lending means that it may be possible to argue that there is a contractual relationship between Lender and Borrower. The risk therefore exists that a Borrower could seek to take action against I&F (and/or the Security Trustee) and it is theoretically possible that the Lenders to that Borrower may be joined as party to such an action. Scenarios might include where we take recovery action on a defaulted loan or, if funding was not made available to future stage drawdowns (see Risk detailed above: 'Drawdowns being refused or refunded'). I&F mitigates these risks by having its loan agreements and security documents drawn up by external lawyers and takes legal advice on a case by case basis before completing each new facility agreement and before taking recovery action. Unlike some other platforms our Lenders have no obligation to lend on subsequent drawdowns and it is made clear to Borrowers (who will have received their own independent legal advice before borrowing) that the funding of future drawdowns is not guaranteed. We have strong processes and sign-offs to ensure that we only take recovery action where a clear and verifiable contractual breach has taken place. Our position on recovery in default situations and the fact there is no obligation on our Lenders to lend on further drawdowns has been verified by our external lawyers
Invest & Fund is not able to provide advice. Lending is undertaken by lenders using their own skill and judgement based upon careful analysis of the information provided. Lenders must satisfy themselves that they understand the risks involved in lending before doing so and if unsure should seek advice from a suitably qualified professional.
Invest & Fund pays interest to lenders gross, i.e. without the deduction of tax. It is up to Lenders to ascertain the tax that is applicable to their circumstances and to declare this to the relevant tax authorities, generally HMRC. Invest & Fund is unable to provide tax advice and, if this is required, guidance should be sought from a suitably qualified professional. Invest & Fund is required to provide reporting to the HMRC on the interest paid to Lenders.
Invest & Fund Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 711378).
Peer-to-peer lending is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and so if you suffer a loss, you cannot apply to the FSCS for compensation.
If you have a complaint you may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Please see our Complaints Procedure for further details.
Each application is closely scrutinised and numerous aspects are looked at both in isolation and in conjunction with each other. There are times where a negative aspect on its own might not be enough to merit a decline but combined with other aspects it may well be. Equally, that same negative aspect could stop us from wanting to review further information.
There are three key stages in the loan risk assessment process:
Loan risk is assessed by focusing on;
The following list highlights some key considerations:
All in all, there are a myriad of factors that can affect our lending decisions and it all depends on their individual weighting. The appetite and safety of our Lenders is paramount and whilst I&F will do its best to assist a Borrower with their project, if we do not feel that it is something that our Lenders would or should support within prudent credit risk parameters, it will be declined.
For those applications which meet our standards a Credit Summary is drafted by the internal Credit team and approved by the Head of Credit. It is published on the platform when a loan is made available. It provides an evaluation of the skills, experience and creditworthiness of the borrower, as well as an assessment of the overall project and proposal.
Invest & Fund regularly reports on its financial condition to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Invest & Fund has also gone through a number of fundraising rounds and gradually increased its shareholder base. If, however the Board of Invest & Fund was to decide to wind-down its operations or to fail then we are required by the FCA to execute a Wind-down plan, so we have such a plan in place, a summary of which is provided below.
The plan is designed to help facilitate an orderly management and run-off of the loan book but may not be as effective in a disorderly run-off situation.
From a structural perspective:
Under the plan Invest and Fund Ltd will retain responsibility for the management and operation of the Wind-Down plan supervised by the Executive Management Committee of the business and reporting to the Board. The following table summarises the roles of Invest and Fund Ltd, and the security trustee I&F Securities Ltd:
Invest and Fund Ltd
I&F Securities Limited (IFSL)
Once all of the Loans have been repaid and the Lenders funds returned to them then Invest &Fund will apply for formal permission from the FCA for its Part 4A regulatory permission to be cancelled.
The Wind-Down plan is designed to help facilitate an orderly management and run-off of the loan book but may not be as effective in a disorderly run-off situation. Despite the detailed planning it is possible however that the failure of Invest & Fund would result in some unquantifiable difficulties for lenders and borrowers as the Wind Down plan is executed.
Lenders will continue to be able to fund the existing loans that they already hold, the quality or status of the Lender's security will not be affected by the Wind-Down. The security will continue to be held by the independent Security Trustee, I&F Securities Limited (IFSL), who will continue to operate independently. Funds which are retained in Lender's online accounts or are unallocated to a loan are held in a segregated client money account under FCA CASS regulations.
Existing ('live') loan agreements will be allowed to run to term. Undrawn stage payments will continue to be posted on the Lending Marketplace for funding by the registered Lenders, and providing the funds are pledged then the funding will be able to be provided. But no new loan facilities will be agreed. Borrowers with live bridging loan will be unaffected. Although the issue of any potential loan term extensions will need specific consideration. For Borrowers with a live property development loan then undrawn stage payments will continue to be posted on the Lending Marketplace to attract funding. Borrowers who have not received an agreed Facility Agreement as at the date of the decision to Wind-Down will not have their applications progressed and will need to seek a new source of finance.
Customers may get in touch with Invest & Fund for any number of reasons. Many of these are simple queries or questions that arise as part of the day to day operation of their account with Invest & Fund or questions around the Invest & Fund platform and marketplace or resale marketplace. It may be that the customer simply wants an acknowledgement of an issue and an apology.These can and should be dealt with immediately, and as such these need not be processed through the formal complaints process instead these are logged as expressions of minor dissatisfaction on the complaints register.
However, if the customer is unhappy with the outcome, or wishes to escalate the issue, then this should be treated as a complaint and dealt with according to the standard process.
A complaint may be by any of the following:
Copies of the relevant documentation would be required to ensure that the above are entitled to complain and also to fulfil data protection requirements.
Level One
Level one customer complaints will be handled by the Compliance & Risk Manager , unless by exception another member of staff would be more appropriate. Examples of a level one complaint include minor administrative issues these are logged on the complaints register as expressions of minor dissatisfaction
No complaint should be dealt with by the person about whom the complaint is directed. Complaints against individuals must be dealt with by that person?s line manager.
Level Two
Some complaints, because of the importance of their source, for example from a regulator or other external body, will be treated separately as a level two complaint. The CFO and OD must be notified in writing about all complaints received that are categorised as level two.
The CFO or OD will ensure that all such complaints are dealt with appropriately and escalated to appropriate management, as necessary.
Complaints may be made to Invest & Fund either verbally or in writing (by email or by letter).
By email: enquiries@investandfund.com
By post: Invest & Fund, HCP Building, Chichester Road, Ponswood, St Leonards on Sea TN38 9BG
By phone: 01424 - 717564
Upon the receipt of a complaint, Invest & Fund will undertake an investigation of that complaint. The investigation is undertaken diligently and impartially, in accordance with Financial Conduct Authority?s rules and guidance, together with consideration of regular updates provided by Financial Ombudsman Service.
The investigation will include:
The following timeframes apply;
The FOS leaflet "Your Complaint and the Ombudsman" will be issued with the 8-week holding letter (for Eligible Complainants only ? see "Can I refer my complaint to the Ombudsman?" below).
At this point Invest & Fund needs to decide to either ?uphold? or ?reject? the customer?s complaint. This decision must be a considered and informed decision, and consistent with all the facts at our disposal. Invest & Fund aims to provide a high-quality response which provides a fair outcome for our customer and this is called the Final Response Letter.
Once a Final Response Letter has been issued then Invest & Fund will close its file. The letter will state if the complaint is eligible to be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service and details of how to go about this will be provided.
Invest & Fund will provide prompt and full redress if it is at fault. In determining whether any redress is due to a customer, consideration should be given to the extent of any omissions for which Invest & Fund is responsible.
Our regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) defines those people who are eligible to refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (*Eligible Complainant) as the following;
Eligible complaints can be from an existing customer, a potential customer or a guarantor.
Complaints from non-eligible complainants will be treated the same way in terms of process, investigation and timescales, but they do not have the right to refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Non-eligible complainants are complainants who do not fall into the above definition and may include complaints to Invest & Fund from Professional Clients, Professional Counterparties, introducers and solicitors for example.
This would normally happen after Invest & Fund had issued its final response letter and if you were unhappy with the final decision. However, referral to FOS may also be made if Invest & Fund has not concluded its investigation within an eight-week period.
In cases that are eligible to be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Invest & Fund will follow the FOS guidelines and if requested to do so will provide redress and will comply fully with any award made by the FOS.
Invest & Fund will cooperate fully with the FOS in the handling of complaints against it, and action any directions given by the FOS promptly.
Once investigated, the FOS will advise on the outcome of the complaint in writing to Invest & Fund.
These Terms and Conditions (this (or the) ?Agreement?) sets out the terms and conditions under which the Client instructs Invest and Fund Limited, with its Head Office at Chichester Road, Ponswood, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 9BG, registered in England and Wales (No 8277803) (the "Company") to place bids from their account on his/ her/ its behalf.
The Company operates a web-based peer-to-peer lending platform and marketplace operated at www.investandfund.com (the "Service"), bringing together Borrowers and Lenders, to finance property development projects.
The Client wishes to instruct the Company to place bids on its behalf with the intention of making and (where expressly agreed) purchasing Loans that meet the criteria that the Client has set in its Bidding Mandate Settings via its Lender Admin Account under the Service. This agreement will come into effect on the date that the Client accepts the terms of this Agreement and run until the Company receives written instructions from the Client to terminate this agreement or the Company exercises a right to terminate this agreement.
Description and Illustrated Net Return | Standard Account |
---|---|
Loan Interest Rate | 7.25% |
Default Assumption1 | -0.60% |
Lender Fees p.a. | -0.75% |
Net Return (post default assumption) | 5.90% |
Description and Illustrated Net Return | IFISA |
---|---|
Loan Interest Rate | 7.25% |
Default Assumption1 | -0.60% |
I&F IFISA Lender Fees p.a. | -1.25% |
Net Return (post default assumption) | 5.40% |
Notes:
*Income Tax is not payable on interest earned in an IFISA. I&F is not able to provide tax advice and, if this is required, you should seek guidance from a suitably qualified professional.
1 Taken from the Invest & Fund default model across the whole portfolio of loans rather than the specific expected default risk of an individual loan.
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