As much as we’re working to make this as unlikely as possible, you will need to be aware of this as a possibility, as investing does contain risks.
Investee company
Investing in start-up and early stage companies is inherently risky, and a key risk is that some or all of your investment will be lost due to the failure of the business you are invested in, including where the company is no longer commercially viable and/or officially becomes insolvent. In those circumstances, the value of investments we hold for you (whether acquired on an investment offer or via our Marketplace) will likely drop to zero or to a negligible value. Following the conclusion of the relevant insolvency process, your share of the remaining assets may be distributed to unsecured creditors of the company, if any, which may be significantly less than the amount you have invested.
The actions that Fundy is able to take on behalf of investors in these circumstances are likely to be limited, but Fundy is mindful of its role in holding investments on investors’ behalf and will endeavour to keep investors updated on the process of any insolvency proceedings where such information is available to us. We will also encourage affected companies to post relevant updates on the Platform.
Fundy
We need to distinguish the different investment structures we use in our business when considering a scenario in which a Fundy entity becomes insolvent.
NOMINEE STRUCTURE
Firstly, when we hold your investment in trust as a nominee or through a nominee securities account with a central securities depository, whether your interest was acquired on an investment offer or on our Marketplace, then these investments are segregated from our assets by law. Fundy’s creditors cannot attach any claims against these assets.
SPV (LOAN NOTE) STRUCTURE
Secondly, if you have invested via a loan to an SPV with the purpose of making an investment in an investee company, including acquiring such securities via our Marketplace, then the securities issued by an investee company formally belong to the SPV and any rights attached to these securities are legally tied to the loan agreement. The protections for you as an investor are various:
(i) an SPV has no other business than the investment in a single investee company and thus is not subject to claims from third persons;
(ii) the shares of an SPV are not held by the company providing the service to protect against the insolvency of the operational company;
(iii) the repayment obligation under the loan agreement and the investment or any proceeds in relation to the investment are tied together.
Therefore, the insolvency of a Fundy entity does not affect your loan relationship with the SPV and the registry of loan note holders can be handed over to another service provider, a Lead Investor, the SPV itself or to another person chosen by investors.
If the operations of the whole Fundy group are terminated then it is the responsibility of the liquidator or insolvency administrator to handle the continuance or transfer of the SPV, together with the assets and contractual relationships. Even when the shares of an SPV are handed over to a third person, i.e. not a Fundy company, Lead Investor or another person related to a specific syndicate, then the investor’s claim against the SPV and the rights of the SPV as an investor in an investee company remain intact under the loan note agreement.
FUNDS IN YOUR FUNDERBEAM WALLET
The funds you transfer to, and hold on, our account for the purposes of making investments (i.e. the Wallet function) are held on client money / trust accounts with recognised and authorised credit institutions. This money is held and segregated as your money and it does not belong to us. Therefore, this can be returned to you upon request.
Whilst we hope this page is informative, you should be aware that Fundy does not provide legal, financial or tax advice of any kind to any person, and that if you have questions about how an insolvency situation might affect your own particular circumstances, you should consult an appropriate professional advisor.
️Warning: Investing in early-stage and growth companies puts your capital at risk. Please read our Risk Disclosure Statement