Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose money. This is a high-risk investment. You may not be able to access your money easily and are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more.

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Category: Student Finance

Maximising Your Student Loan

Posted on 11/03/202118/02/2025

Guest post by Rebecca Clarke on how to maximise your student loan, find ways to save money and managing your finances better.

The Postgraduate Loan Almanac

Posted on 16/10/202016/01/2024

Everything you need to know about the UK Government Postgraduate loan for 2020 and 2021.

How Does A Master’s Loan Differ From An Undergraduate Loan?

Posted on 05/09/202010/06/2024

If you’re considering a postgraduate degree, it’s important to understand the different kinds of loans.

Will My Postgraduate Loan Be Enough?

Posted on 04/09/202022/10/2024

Government loans for postgraduate study differ across the four countries of the UK, find out more information here.

Understanding Private Student Loans

Posted on 03/09/202010/06/2024

Private student loans are not the same as Government student loans. Find out the difference between the loans in our post.

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Lendwise Ltd
3 More London Riverside
London, United Kingdom
SE1 2AQ

Lendwise Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm registration number 782496. Lendwise Ltd is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Registered in England (Co. No. 10466048) with registered office at 3 More London Riverside, London, United Kingdom, SE1 2AQ. Registered with the Office of the Information Commissioner (No. ZA281795).

Legal Terms and Policies

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 the money you invest
- Many peer-to-peer (P2P) loans are made to borrowers who can’t borrow money from traditional lenders such as banks. These borrowers have a higher risk of not paying you back.
- Advertised rates of return aren’t guaranteed. If a borrower doesn’t pay you back as agreed, you could earn less money than expected. A higher advertised rate of return means a higher risk of losing your money.
- These investments can be held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). An IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses, so you can still lose all your money. It only means that any potential gains from your investment will be tax free.

You are unlikely to get your money back quickly
- Some P2P loans last for several years. You should be prepared to wait for your money to be returned even if the borrower repays on time.
- Some platforms may give you the opportunity to sell your investment early through a ‘secondary market’, but there is no guarantee you will be able to find someone willing to buy.
- Even if your agreement is advertised as affording early access to your money, you will only get your money early if someone else wants to buy your loan(s). If no one wants to buy, it could take longer to get your money back.

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.

The P2P platform could fail
- If the platform fails, it may be impossible for you to collect money on your loan. It could take years to get your money back, or you may not get it back at all. Even if the platform has plans in place to prevent this, they may not work in a disorderly failure.

You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
- The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover investments in P2P loans. You may be able to claim if you received regulated advice to invest in P2P, and the adviser has since failed. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here
- 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 peer-to-peer lending (loan-based crowdfunding), visit the FCA’s website here

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