Peer-to-peer lender JustUs launches "transparent" IFISA

IFISA season is beginning to diversify for investors with this latest addition.

Ethical peer-to-peer lender JustUs has announced today it is launching an Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA) with three levels of risk and a “fully transparent” investment portfolio.

Chaired by former vice chairman of KPMG UK Derek Zissman, JustUs promises its investors a target tax-free return of up to 9.61 per cent, dependent on the level of risk a client chooses to pursue.

Aimed at savers who are after decent returns but do not wish to invest in the stock market, the platform allows investors to choose exactly where they want to invest their money, along with providing pictures and detailed plans of the property or development that their money will support.

 “Individuals and investors will for the first time know exactly what they are investing in,” said founder and chief executive of JustUs, Lee Birkett. “Lots of the other peer-to-peer platforms started out like this but somewhere along the way reverted to a ‘black box’ system, with no visibility for people to know where their money is going.”

All three wrappers pay monthly interest, with no fees, and have security in property with cash being held within ring-fenced Barclays Bank UK accounts. JustUs, which received full FCA authorisation as a peer-to-peer lender in August 2017, will also be supporting transfers in from existing ISAs.

AltFi’s own IFISA report found that there is still large scale ignorance about the tax wrapper, despite launching two years ago.

The product is much more likely to be used by the younger generation, as those aged between 18-34 are three times more likely to take out an IFISA than those aged 34 and above.