Orca Money is finally launching its long-anticipated Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). Orca’s spin on the savings vehicle allows investors to spread their money across multiple peer-to-peer lenders (P2P) thus providing a heightened degree of diversification. Additionally, Orca Money conducts due diligence on behalf of IFISA investors.
Currently, the Orca IFISA allows access to 5 P2P platforms: Lending Works, Assetz Capital, Landbay, Octopus Choice and Lending Crowd.
Orca closed a crowdfunding round on Seedrs last November securing £574,280. The funding has aided in the launch of the IFISA. In 2018, the Orca Investment Platform launched, enabling investors to diversify funds across multiple P2P providers from a single pre-built portfolio. Orca aims to become the go-to hub for P2P investing and research.
The Orca ISA aims to open up the P2P market to more retail investors and tackle previous barriers to investing across multiple platforms within one tax wrapper.
According to Orca, ISA rules only allow investors to subscribe new money into one IFISA per tax year. This means that instead of investing in a single IFISA provided by a P2P platform each tax year, the Orca ISA wrapper simplifies the diversification process. Orca notes that it would have taken an investor 5 years to achieve the same level of diversification as the Orca ISA can offer in minutes.
The Orca IFISA starts from £100 and can currently earn a return of up to 5.3%. Orca touts the stable returns which are less volatile than the stock market.
Iain Niblock, co-founder and CEO of Orca Money, commented on the IFISA launch:
“The Orca ISA is an innovation that can make investing in P2P far more accessible to the wider investing public. It gives them a diversified, highly attractive alternative to Cash and Stocks and Shares ISAs. Investor funds are automatically spread across many of the UK’s leading P2P platforms. This reduces exposure to any one platform and distributes investment across a much broader range of asset classes and risks. The Orca ISA is several investments in one tax-free wrapper. We believe it can be the gateway to the P2P market for everyday investors.”