Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.
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Risk Summary

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  • You could lose all the money you invest
  • Most investments are shares in start-up businesses or bonds issued by them. Investors in these shares or bonds often lose 100% of the money they invested, as most start-up businesses fail.
  • Checks on the businesses you are investing in, such as how well they are expected to perform, may not have been carried out by the platform you are investing through. You should do your own research before investing.

You won't get your money back quickly

  • Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.
  • The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
  • Start-up businesses very rarely pay you back through dividends. You should not expect to get your money back this way.
  • Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a 'secondary market' or 'bulletin board', but there is no guarantee you will find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

  • Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. Learn more here.

The value of your investment can be reduced

  • If your investment is shares, the percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
  • These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don't have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong

  • Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker.
  • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.

For further information about investment-based crowdfunding, visit the crowdfunding section of the FCA's website here.
Insights
Investment Campaigns
Lauren Miller
· 1 min read
· Updated on

Intelligence Fusion's EIS investment opportunity is overfunding

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We’re delighted to announce the Intelligence Fusion EIS eligible investment opportunity has exceeded its funding target and is now overfunding!

Aiming to initially raise £400,000 in return for 33% equity, the investment opportunity is currently invested to £415,400, putting their funding percentage at 103%.

UPDATE (30/08/17): Intelligence Fusion is now overfunding by £16,400!

What does overfunding mean?

In essence, overfunding is exactly what the word suggests - the campaign has exceeded its funding target, either due to investors increasing their pledged amount, or more commonly, additional investors taking up the chance to get involved.

Not all investment opportunities go into an overfunding stage, and even when there is potential for it to happen, the company who is raising the investment doesn't have to accept the additional investment.

Being EIS eligible often makes the investment more appealing

Whilst Intelligence Fusion are doing some brilliant things as a company (you can read more about them on their website, and keep up-to-date with them on Twitter), from an investor's point of view, the most attractive aspect is arguably the fact the opportunity is eligible under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

Being EIS eligible, any investment in Intelligence Fusion means you can receive 30% income tax relief back on your investment.

This makes the actual cost of a £100 investment just £70 - multiply this to an investment of £10,000 for example, and it becomes clear how much money can be saved in income tax by investing.

Can you still invest in Intelligence Fusion?

In a nutshell, it is still possible at this stage to invest in Intelligence Fusion, but space is extremely limited.

We are currently speaking to a number of investors about further investment into the Intelligence Fusion opportunity. As such, if you are interested in investing, please get in touch as soon as possible.

What are Intelligence Fusion looking to do with their investment?

The primary reason for raising investment is to allow Intelligence Fusion to build on the brilliant foundations they have built. They're a live, active and operating business, with some amazing clients and projects.

They have clearly shown there is a considerable demand for the situational awareness offering they provide, and the £415,500 raised will directly help to support their ambitious growth plans - plans that will help to further cement them as the leading player in their industry.

With more tax efficient investment opportunities coming on the platform all the time, head over to our investments page for the latest information on all of our live investment opportunities.

View our live tax efficient investment opportunities
Driving Growth.
Creating Value.
Delivering Impact.

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Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) is backed by funds managed by Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s leading private equity and alternative asset managers.