Thursday, 23 August 2012 15:45
IFP member sets up non-advised charitable investment service
A new ‘non-advised’ charitable investment service about to be launched in the UK could help financial advisers as they prepare themselves for life after the Retail Distribution Review.
Set up by IFP member Mike Stafford CFPCM, INVESTaid will allow DIY investors to donate to charity while benefiting from investment in the top brands and leading fund managers on the Cofunds platform at discounted prices.
Mike Stafford said: “There has been much speculation about how the land will lie post-RDR in terms of how services will be transacted, with the general consensus suggesting that online ‘non-advised’ transactions will gather pace among those earning less than £50,000 per year, according to JP Morgan research. In addition, small firms may find it uneconomical to provide advisory services to people with small pots of money.
“However, it begs the question of how many small firms are prepared to meet the costs of providing a 'non-advised' service. Those who have decided against the expense could find INVESTaid useful to fill the gap.”
Financial Advisers are invited to refer those people with small pots of money to the INVESTaid website, whereby the charity community can benefit from the rebated commissions. Another unique feature of INVEST aid is that financial advisers may be able to get further involved in the venture by taking a stake in it without falling foul of the regulator’s rules on ‘controllers’.
Mike is using Seedrs, the FSA-regulated crowdfunding site to raise the capital to promote the service to the public. This can be viewed at seedrs.com/startups/investaid. Colette Cook, Financial Adviser at GEM & Co. Financial Services LLP said: "INVESTaid is a win, win, win proposition - a win for the advisers post RDR, a win for the customers and a win for the charities."
Mike added: “I hope Advisers will appreciate the unique merit of INVESTaid. We view it as holding an important place in the post RDR marketplace and believe it will become a great success.”
Any planners interested in getting involved should contact Mike at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Set up by IFP member Mike Stafford CFPCM, INVESTaid will allow DIY investors to donate to charity while benefiting from investment in the top brands and leading fund managers on the Cofunds platform at discounted prices.
Mike Stafford said: “There has been much speculation about how the land will lie post-RDR in terms of how services will be transacted, with the general consensus suggesting that online ‘non-advised’ transactions will gather pace among those earning less than £50,000 per year, according to JP Morgan research. In addition, small firms may find it uneconomical to provide advisory services to people with small pots of money.
“However, it begs the question of how many small firms are prepared to meet the costs of providing a 'non-advised' service. Those who have decided against the expense could find INVESTaid useful to fill the gap.”
Financial Advisers are invited to refer those people with small pots of money to the INVESTaid website, whereby the charity community can benefit from the rebated commissions. Another unique feature of INVEST aid is that financial advisers may be able to get further involved in the venture by taking a stake in it without falling foul of the regulator’s rules on ‘controllers’.
Mike is using Seedrs, the FSA-regulated crowdfunding site to raise the capital to promote the service to the public. This can be viewed at seedrs.com/startups/investaid. Colette Cook, Financial Adviser at GEM & Co. Financial Services LLP said: "INVESTaid is a win, win, win proposition - a win for the advisers post RDR, a win for the customers and a win for the charities."
Mike added: “I hope Advisers will appreciate the unique merit of INVESTaid. We view it as holding an important place in the post RDR marketplace and believe it will become a great success.”
Any planners interested in getting involved should contact Mike at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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