RATESETTER LAUNCHES FIRST UK PEER-TO-PEER PORTAL FOR ADVISERS

Published : 10 years ago, on 16/07/2014

• New bespoke portal to empower IFAs on P2P
• RateSetter risk-rated similar to cash by FE, the leading provider of investment analysis and research
• Clients demanding access to P2P

The first bespoke peer-to-peer (P2P) portal for IFAs has been launched by leading UK platform RateSetter.

The new portal (www.financialadvisers.ratesetter.com) allows IFAs to set up, manage and benchmark clients, set fees and get notified as client funds mature. It provides them with the knowledge and risk management tools to confidently recommend RateSetter’s products to their clients.

RateSetter welcomes feedback from IFAs on how it can improve the offering (email project lead [email protected]). It comes at an opportune time: following FCA regulation in April, there is widespread belief among IFAs in the P2P sector with 63% of them expecting their clients to show an interest in earning a higher return on their savings via the sector¹.

Their confidence will be strengthened further by the announcement that RateSetter is the first P2P company worldwide to be risk-rated by the data company FE with a rating of 1, which is similar to cash accounts (please see the attached guide issued to IFAs)².

Rhydian Lewis, CEO and founder of RateSetter, said:

“As P2P becomes more popular with investors, we have seen a real groundswell in interest from IFAs, whose clients are increasingly asking them how P2P should sit within their investment portfolio.”

“Our portal helps to support IFAs on the advice they provide to clients, including our FE Risk Score, statistics on the strength of our Provision Fund and how our interest rates are set. P2P is a way of gaining better returns on savings via a product that is almost as secure as cash accounts.”

“Any adviser that describes themselves as whole-of-market and independent is doing their clients a disservice by not considering P2P as a part of a diversified portfolio.”

The huge demand from savers for alternative investment options was recognised by the Government in the Budget earlier this year when it announced that P2P will soon be included in ISAs.

IFAs can expect a huge increase in P2P queries as nearly a third of people (31%) nationwide would be more likely to put their savings into a P2P account if they could do so through an ISA, or New ISA (NISA) as they are to be called from July³. It is estimated this will lead to massive growth in the P2P market in the UK over the next five to 10 years, growing the market from around £1bn to £45bn⁴.

In May 2014, RateSetter was  the largest P2P platform in the UK in terms of new loans originated – with £22m raised that month – and is the UK’s fastest growing major P2P lender with growth of 219% in 2013 in comparison to 107% for the sector overall.