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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.
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Shares give you a stake in a company that is listed on the stock exchange (for example, Tesco or HSBC). When you buy a share, you become a part-owner of that company and you’re entitled to a share of its profits.
Companies issue shares to raise money, which is often needed for their own operations as well as expanding. These shares are initially issued via an initial public offering (IPO), which is a process where private companies first issue shares to the market and allows the company to raise money from public investors. Shares are then traded daily on stock exchanges, such as the London Stock Exchange.
Companies can issue further shares on the stock exchange in the future if they wish. There are many reasons why a company would issue shares on the stock exchange. They include; to develop new products, to expand and grow staff, or to increase the value of a company.
The price of a share will fluctuate throughout the day when the stock exchange is open. Typically, share prices are determined by supply and demand.
There are a set number of shares issued by a company at any given time but a company may issue further shares, which increases the supply of shares. They can also conduct ‘share buybacks’, which reduces the supply of shares. This is where a company will buy back shares from investors and then cancel them, thus reducing the number of shares issued by a company.
Many factors can affect the demand for a company’s shares. They include company performance and economic factors, such as interest rates, and even market sentiment.
Shares 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 shares:
