Crowdfunding Response to US Interest Rate Hike

Business Agent, the first FCA approved Crowdfunding Aggregator has responded to the first US interest rate rise in a decade by pointing UK investors to crowdfunding as a way to achieve a return on their surplus cash rather than looking to move their money abroad.

‘After so many years of virtually zero interest rates, now that the US has made the move upwards, with the UK authorities still indicating that rates will remain unchanged in the UK, it is inevitable that investors will start to look across the Atlantic,” claims Sacha Bright, CEO of Business Agent. “There is no need for them to do so. UK Crowdfunding, done responsibly, offers excellent returns to investors in this country and at the same time supports our economy by funding many of the emerging fast growth businesses,” he says.

Business Agent was the first crowdfunding aggregator to win FCA approval, and now hosts 39 alternative finance providers on their site. The average interest rate from a sample of businessagent.com partners is 9.26%, but they emphasise the need to undertake proper due diligence on any investment made. ‘It is important to be aware that lending through crowdfunding is not like putting a deposit with a regulated bank. Crowdfunders are not protected by the Government Deposit Protection scheme,’ emphasises Bright.

Notwithstanding this he does maintain that properly thought through investments are a very good alternative to other forms of investment.

Business Agent recommends you should consider these three points before investing.

Can you suffer a long term investment meaning you won't be able to gain access to your money for a set term.

Could you afford a loss if there was a crash in the market, some debt based crowdfunding sites secure their funds against property, invoices, insurance policies or even run a contingency fund. This is good but it is still not as robust as the Government Deposit Protection scheme.

Diversify across platforms and types of investment to minimise risk.

‘The benefit of working through an aggregator like http://www.businessagent.com is that investors are able to see a variety of opportunities in a range of sectors which helps them to spread their risk,’ says Sacha Bright.


About Business Agent

Business Agent is the UK's alternative finance marketplace for investors and entrepreneurs. Invest, borrow, lend and raise finance. #crowdfunding #investaware