The Crowd laughs at long term low interest rates

The Crowd laughs at long term low interest rates

Research from Business Agent, the aggregator of crowd equity and loan funding businesses, shows that sophisticated investors are getting a materially better return on their investments in crowd sites, than they could achieve from traditional bank deposits.

The average rate on offer by the businesses being promoted on the Business Agent platform, to investors as at the 1st November was 9.26%pa. This compares with current ISA rates of a little over 1.5%, and bank deposit rates of well below 1%, and with the Governor of the Bank of England indicating that rates will remain low for the immediate future, the disparity will remain for some time to come.

Sacha Bright, CEO of Business Agent says, “Investors looking for a superior return need to look no further than investing in, or lending to, the businesses in our high streets. The higher term does of course reflect a higher risk, but frequently security is available, and investors can manage the risk by investing relatively small amounts in a portfolio of opportunities.”

To help businesses ensure they are ready for their pitches, Business Agent runs investment readiness programmes, and to help investors manage their risks they offer five top tips.

1. Firstly be confident in the people working for the business you are looking at. It is them who will make the business succeed or otherwise.

2. Do your due diligence on both the business and the directors, making sure you know all the salient facts.

3. Choose businesses to invest in which you understand and have some experience in.

4. Be demanding on seeing financial performance and targets. You have to be as sure as you can that a business can either repay the loan, or can at least keep running long enough to build up its value.

5. Satisfy yourself on any available security and on its value.

“ Businesses looking to the crowd aren’t necessarily bad risks. Some are really good, but the risks are there for investors so it is important to do proper due diligence.” comments 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