On August 1st 2018, we will start migrating our investors from Fundy Markets OÜ (an Estonian entity) to Fundy Markets Ltd (a UK company which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under FRN 794918). Below, you can find out why we are doing this, and what it means for you.
Why are we doing this?
On 14th May 2018, Fundy Markets Limited obtained an authorisation from the FCA (the financial regulator in the UK) to undertake certain regulated services. From August 1st, we will begin offering regulated services through our platform.
Servicing our clients through a regulated company will provide us more possibilities to expand the range of products and services we can offer you (our clients) and enable us to more easily extend our reach. For example, we are able to take advantage of the European passporting regime to offer regulated services throughout the EEA, including in Estonia and Croatia, where we have launched syndicates already. In fact, we have begun the passporting process into 16 countries throughout Europe already.
In addition, being authorised sets requirements for the conduct of our business, and our relationships with the companies raising on the platform, which we hope will help build even more trust in what we do.
What does it mean for you if you are registered as an investor on the Fundy platform?
As an existing investor, you will be signing an updated set of Terms and Conditions with a new service provider, Fundy Markets Ltd. This is our UK subsidiary that is now authorised and regulated by the FCA under FRN 794918.
When you undertake the migration process, we may ask you certain questions about your experience as a financial investor, as well as make an assessment of your financial knowledge. We are doing this so we can make sure we only show you investment opportunities which match your experience, your ability to understand investment risk, and your ability to withstand investment losses.
What about investments I have already made?
When you completed an investment in a syndicate before the 1st August 2018, you would have signed a set of Lending Terms with Fundy Markets OU. This will not change after the migration date, and there will be no change to the set-up of existing syndicates. However, some technical changes have been made to the lending terms that bring the investment in line with certain regulatory requirements in the UK related to issuing debt securities. This has no material impact on the risks or benefits of your investment. You will already have received an update directly regarding this change.
What does it mean for you if you are a company?
If your company has already completed a funding round on the Fundy platform, nothing will change. For companies launching investment offers after the 1st August 2018, you will now have the opportunity to structure your investment offers using a nominee structure, as well as a loan based SPV. You can read more about the differences between these alternatives here.
Can you tell me more about the additional information you need about me?
The FCA requires us to categorise our clients according to their status and investment experience, so we may need to ask for additional information about you in order to meet these requirements. Before making any further investments through our Platform, we will need to categorise you as either a Restricted Investor, a High Net Worth Investor, or a Sophisticated Investor. These are defined under the relevant FCA rules and described in the Glossary of the FCA Handbook. When you undertake the migration, you will see a description of these alternatives and you will be asked to select whichever one best describes you.
In addition, you will be required to take an appropriateness test before making any further investments. This helps us assess if you have the necessary knowledge and experience to understand the risks involved with each investment. If the investment opportunity is not appropriate for you based on this assessment, relevant risk warnings will be presented to you.
Transferring your funds
If you have funds in your wallet, these will be transferred to a new client cash account opened in the name of Fundy Markets Ltd. No cost will be incurred by investors for the transfer. Your funds will be held as Client Money as defined by and in accordance with FCA Rules. In certain cases, your funds may be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You may read more about this scheme here: https://www.fscs.org.uk
Should you make a withdrawal from your wallet, you may notice that the transfer comes from a different bank account than the one you paid into.
If you want to make deposits into your wallet, you will need to send the funds to a new bank account, details of which will be provided when you make the transfer.
During this transition period, any funds transferred into the previous service provider’s account will be automatically transferred across to the new service provider.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by email markets@Fundy.com