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Cash interest explained

You will receive interest on balances in your platform cash account at the prevailing rate.

Embark Investment Services Limited acts as the custodian for investments on the Willis Owen platform and is one of our strategic partners that provides our Willis Owen ISA, GIA, Junior ISA and SIPP.

Embark places cash with a number of banking partners for safekeeping and to provide the potential for you to earn interest on money in your platform cash account. By managing cash in this way, it aims to provide better protection and a higher overall level of interest than if all funds were placed with a single bank.

The rates of interest paid by banks will vary. Embark retains a portion of the interest earned to cover its costs in managing platform cash.

Current Interest Rate

The table below shows the current customer interest rate payable on cash balances along with the amount of interest retained by Embark. The customer interest rate shown is that after accounting for interest retained by Embark:

Date From Customer Interest Rate Interest retained by Embark
25th March 2024 2.46% 1.75% - 2.00%

Embark can change the rate of interest at any time and it reviews the position at least quarterly. Interest is calculated and accrued daily and is credited to your account on the first of each month. If you transfer out, accrued interest is applied at the point of transfer. We will inform you if and when the interest rate changes as soon as is practicable.

Interest retained

The table below shows the yearly equivalent rates of interest Embark expects to pay based on a range of possible yearly interest rates it may earn.

Interest Embark expects to earn Customer Interest Rate Interest retained by Embark
0-1% 0 – 0.46% 0 – 0.54%
1-2% 0.46% – 0.94% 0.54% – 1.06%
2-3% 0.94% – 1.46% 1.06% – 1.54%
3-4% 1.46% – 2.02% 1.54% – 1.98%
4-5% 2.02% – 2.61% 1.98% – 2.39%
5%+ 2.61%+ 2.39%+

Historic Interest Rates

To see details of historic customer interest rates, along with the amount of interest retained by Embark, click here.

Introduction to investment trusts

What is an investment trust?

Investment trusts (sometimes referred to as ITs, investment companies or closed-ended funds) are one of the oldest forms of collective investments, with the first investment trust started in 1868.

An investment trust is like a fund as it invests in a range of assets and is managed by a professional fund manager. However, it differs from a fund as it’s a public company – usually listed on the London Stock Exchange – and can be bought or sold at any time during stock market hours.

Key features of investment trusts

  • Fixed number of shares – unlike funds where you can buy and sell units anytime you wish, investment trusts have a fixed number of shares. This means you can only buy into an investment trust when the investment trust is first launched or when someone wants to sell, just like when buying and selling shares in a company. Owning shares in an investment trust means you are a shareholder and can therefore vote at annual general meetings (AGMs) and other shareholder resolutions
  • Flexibility – investment trusts can invest in less liquid assets, such as property or private equity because the fund manager is not forced to sell holdings when investors wish to sell
  • Independent board of directors – an investment trust has an independent board of directors that is fully independent from the investment manager. The board’s main duties are to look after shareholders’ interests and select the fund manager
  • Gearing – investment trusts are allowed to borrow money to make additional investments, with gearing levels adjusted depending on market conditions. Gearing can help to magnify returns if investments perform well but can also increase losses if these investments perform poorly
  • Retain income – investment trusts can retain up to 15% of their revenue each year, giving them the ability to boost dividends in future years, especially if performance has been poor. This is known as ‘smoothing’
  • Premium or discount – as investment trusts are listed on the stock exchange, their price is determined by buyers and sellers in the market. This often means that the share price does not match the value per share of the assets in the investment trust, which is called the net asset value (NAV). If you buy an investment trust at a price above its NAV, it means you are buying at a ‘premium’ whereas if you buy an investment trust at a price below its NAV, you are buying at a ‘discount ’.

How do you trade in investment trusts and what are the costs?

Investment trusts are priced throughout the day during market trading hours, between 8am and 4.30pm. When buying or selling during this time, investors are presented with a live quote to accept before the trade is placed. Trades placed outside of these hours can be dealt ‘at best’, which means at the next available opportunity when the market reopens.

Typically, there are three types of costs associated with trading in investment trusts:

  • Trade fee – applicable when buying or selling shares in an investment trust/li>
  • UK stamp duty – a rate of 0.50% of the value of the trade
  • Panel of takeovers and mergers (PTM) levy – a £1 levy is applicable when you buy or sell shares in an investment trust worth more than £10,000.
Access full details about fees and charges.

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