FCA authorised/IFISA list

Lending Works interest reduced to 3.5% (3 years)/4.4% (5 years) in ISA

Oops, all the links in the doc go there, including the links to their own website. Ive dropped them a line. Ironic given they have more investment opportunities than the other place.

Incidentally, have you looked at any of the other ShareIN clients? Some of them are potentially interesting, particularly MercyCrowd (if I could work out how it really works)

www.sharein.com/clients/

ilmoro Flender does plan an IFISA offer. Some more info:

www.p2p-banking.com/countries/uk-flender-new-p2p-lending-marketplace-in-ireland/

That's a lot of good questions. I don't have the answers. Maybe you should put them to Goji. I recently had communications with them over opening an IFISA and found them responsive and helpful.

mrclondon thanks for raising these questions.  If I may I'll take it right from the very beginning.

I used to work in the Wealth Management and Banking team at Grant Thornton where I worked with a number of P2P platforms including RS, LW, TC, AC, FC and others to name but a few.  When the ISA got announced it became apparent that platforms didn't quite appreciate the complications with IFISAs.  The regulations are vast, at over 300 pages, and frankly, ISAs are appallingly administered by traditional providers.  Furthermore, we realised the majority of ISA active funds sit on adviser/ Execution-only platforms and so not only did P2P platforms potentially need help with their own IFISA administration, but there was a role to play in enabling funds to access the sector from the vast advised space.  So we created Goji.  

Goji's outsourced IFISA administration is a stepping stone in the development of our own, much larger platform.  That being said, and as you have highlighted, it is ring fenced on different technology instances and in a different company to Goji's own investments capability.  What Goji's IFISA capability does is, in short, enable platforms to focus on the day to day, whilst Goji does everything above and beyond that relates to the IFISA.  

We provide 'technology enabled operations and administration' to help platforms manage the IFISA.  We provide the software / web-apps for the transfer in/out processes, we manage these processes (the most onerous part of the IFISA, chasing cheques and correspondence), handle HMRC audits and correspondence and we deal with changes in legislation, such as the changes in place around additional permitted subscriptions....just to name a few.

Goji does not handle client funds, we provide administration and we provide this quicker, more effectively and with a better user journey (we believe) than a platform can do in house because we have economies of scale and focus. 

With regard to solvency, Goji's IFISA capability is completely ring fenced both on the cloud and financially so that solvency risk is reduced. However, because Goji's Investment business is regulated under asset management regulations we have much more detailed 'recovery and resolution plans' than the P2P regulations detail - the benefit here is that we have mandated solvency controls, higher regulated capital and resolution processes that enable the smooth hand over of all code and processes to platforms in the event of a failure. The downside here, at least for Goji and its shareholders - Goji spends a fortune developing tech enabled processes and if Goji goes bust, platforms get all the IP for free! Downside for customers, platforms just have to do a bit more themselves and burn the middle night oil at tax year ends.

Platforms absolutely have the ability to do this in house, and many do, Goji simply offers platforms the ability to focus on their day to day, rather than dealing with a specialised service, that is liable to change by HMRC, and that is highly seasonal. Classic buy vs build - our argument (quite obviously) is that platforms would like to focus on originating quality borrowers - whilst we do the mundane, commoditised ISA administration efficiently and allow them to focus on the rest.

Does that help? I'm happy to field any more questions you may have.

Jake

littleoldlady Exactly.  Putting into operation over 360 pages of tax regulation, in a way that ensures ISA managers are fully compliant, isn't done at the flick of a switch.  Some platforms see fit to outsource, others believe that they could/should in house.  There is obviously no right or wrong and it is a commercial decision for the platform.  Goji focuses on doing IFISA administration very well, with a great customer experience, professionalism and efficiency.  Some platforms are willing to pay for that, others seek to recruit in house operatives and development the capability in house.