Which offers are attracting investors’ interest? Here are the top ten most viewed investment opportunities across VCTs, EIS/SEIS, Private Equity funds…
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. Take 2 mins to learn more.
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
- If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
- 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 here.
- Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
- You won’t get your money back quickly
- Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
- 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.
- If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
- 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 value of your investment can be reduced
- 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.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.
The Founders and Funders podcast brings together founders, investors and industry experts to examine what it takes to build and scale ambitious businesses in the UK.
The podcast is hosted by Susannah Streeter, our Chief Investment Strategist. Susannah was a senior correspondent and financial news presenter at the BBC’s Economics and Business Unit, anchoring programmes on global stock markets and economic developments.
The podcast covers venture capital, private equity, innovation, emerging sectors and the people, businesses and ideas shaping investment. Whether you’re a founder, investor or simply interested in UK business, Founders & Funders offers an informed perspective on the opportunities ahead.
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Beyond the gloom: is Britain still good for business?
This podcast is also available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Britain’s economic headlines make for pretty gloomy reading.
But what do the numbers actually tell us? Is Britain still producing great businesses? Are investors still prepared to back them? And what happens when those businesses are ready to grow?
In the latest episode of Founders & Funders, our Chief Investment Strategist Susannah Streeter puts those questions to Toby Austin, co-founder and CEO of Beauhurst, which tracks the UK’s private companies.
They also discuss Toby’s own experience as an entrepreneur, what he has learnt from building Beauhurst and the realities of raising money and growing a business.
Beauhurst has previously raised funds through Wealth Club under EIS to support its expansion into Europe.
Free guides & factsheets
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Want to learn about the investments and topics covered in the podcast. Our free guides and resources explain briefly and in plain English the benefits and risks of investment opportunities for experienced investors.
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