ThinCats plans staggered IFISA roll-out before end of 2017
THINCATS is preparing to launch its Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) before the end of the year, with priority given to its existing investors who have registered for the tax-free wrapper.
Earlier this month, ThinCats received full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which allowed the firm to apply for ISA manager status from the HMRC. While a launch date has not been officially set, Stewart Cazier, head of retail, told Peer2Peer Finance News: “I’m definitely thinking 2017. I’d be very disappointed if it didn’t happen this year.”
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Cazier expects the IFISA will be offered to investors in the order in which they have registered. Cazier said that the staggered roll-out would “probably start quite slowly, before we increase the volumes.”
“We’ve been authorised [by the FCA] which is excellent news, but we’re still working on implementing the ISA itself,” he said. “We don’t yet have a firm date for its launch. When we do we’ll be writing to the investors who have expressed an interest.
“We’re definitely making sure that existing investors are ready to use the IFISA from the start.”
ThinCats has attracted a number of high-net-worth individuals and sophisticated investors in the past and Cazier said that the platform expects to get some “very interesting” values from investors who are maximising how they use their tax shelters properly.
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