WiseAlpha, a start-up digital marketplace for corporate bonds, has shot past its current crowdfunding target of £350,000.
The company has raised £412,430 so far on Crowdcube, or 117% of its target for the funding round. Investors in the round will be issued equity convertibles, with shares in the company issued at a future date.
In addition to the possibility of future shares in the company, investors are slated to receive a range of benefits from using the corporate bond trading platform, in line with the size of their investment.
These include four tiers of no service fees on set sums invested through the platform, as well as an invite for dinner and drinks with the company’s management team for those who invest £10,000 or more.
In an email sent to subscribers, WiseAlpha stated it had made the Crowcube round public and invited more investors to participate.
It stated that those which do can receive a 30% discount on the next round through a 6 month equity convertible.
The Crowdcube raise is part of a wider funding round by the company, for which the Company has secured a £245,000 in advance subscription agreements (ASAs).
WiseAlpha’s vision is to bring the corporate bond market to individual investors, who the company argue have been “unfairly” left out until now, due to £100,000 minimum trading sizes. As a solution it integrates what it terms “groundbreaking” fractional bond trading technology.
Its fractional bond market charges a recurring service fee, starting at 1% and tiered down to 0.25% depending on the amount invested through the platform in a given year. It also charges a one-off 0.25% early sales fee on bonds sold prior to maturity.
The company offers an Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA), allowing investors to earn tax-free returns on up to £20,000 invested each year, as with other ISAs.
In addition, WiseAlpha offers technology licensing services for banks and institutions.
Earlier this year the Good Money Guide interviewed the firm’s founder and CEO Rezaah Ahmad. You can read it in full through this link.
Robin has more than six years of experience as a financial journalist, most of which were spent at Citywire, and covers the latest developments in the investing, trading and currency transfer space. Outside of work, he enjoys reading literature and philosophy and playing the piano.
You can contact Robin at robin@goodmoneyguide.com
