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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.
Here you’ll find a simple explanation of some of the most commonly used investment terms. If there is any other financial jargon you want translated, please call our Customer Service Team free on 0800 597 2525 or email us at enquiries@willisowen.co.uk and they will be pleased to help.
A physical replication method where a fund will buy a proportion of stocks in the index, that the manager feels will still fully replicate the performance of the index.
Instruments traded on the stockmarket. These are usually shares or government bonds.
The process where a fund lends out the shares or bonds it holds to a third party in return for a fee. The fund will typically buy other assets to protect itself from the risk of loss. The process allows the fund to generate extra revenue and lower its costs but can give rise to risks, for instance where borrower becomes insolvent or the value of any collateral falls below the value of the asset which was lent out.
Stock Exchange Daily Official List numbers issued for Unit Trusts, OEICs and shares. SEDOL numbers are unique numbers allocated to UK (and Irish) securities which enable them to be easily identified by stockbrokers and market makers. The numbers are allocated by the UK Stock Exchange. SEDOL numbers (and ISIN numbers) are also quoted in the Financial Times.
A share class is a designation applied to a specified type of security such as common stock or fund unit. As an investor, it's important to know what class of shares you are buying, be it common stock in a public company or units of a fund.
Each class can have different characteristics such as charging structures, currencies or choice of distributions.
The reduction of the percentage of equity in a company through issuing additional stocks that’ll be put up for sale. The dilution occurs when existing shareholders’ percentage of equity in a company is reduced, enabling the freed-up stock to be used for raising capital.
A scheme enabling investors to exchange existing holdings for shares in an OEIC. These schemes can often be of great benefit as some shares can be sold without paying dealing expenses.
These are stakes in the ownership of companies. Shares traded on the stock market are also known as equities. There is no maturity or redemption date and shareholders not wishing to hold the shares any longer must sell in the market.
Sharia compliant investing is a form of socially responsible investing that is governed by Sharia law and the principles of the Muslim religion. Basic guidelines include the prohibition of Riba (interest), Gharar (speculation or chance) is not allowed, and not investing in certain businesses or industries that are considered Haram (forbidden).
At Willis Owen when we talk about short term we are referring to investments that are expected to last for fewer than five years.
SICAV - Société d’Investissement à Capital Variable
This is the European (offshore) version of an 'OEIC' – it is an investment company that is 'open-ended’ (i.e. its shares can be bought or sold on any dealing day).
Instead of having an Authorised Corporate Director (ACD), a SICAV tends to have a board of individual directors, which may or may not appoint an investment manager.
A single price is calculated by taking the average of the buying and selling prices of each of the assets held in a fund (their mid market prices). With the single pricing system, any initial charge the manager may take is charged separately, rather than being included within the difference between the buying and selling prices (the spread) which is the case with dual pricing.
An effect of the single pricing system is a possible dilution in the value of a fund when investors buy and sell shares. However, most fund managers operating a single pricing structure will have measures to protect the investors if they see large inflow or outflow into/ out of the fund.
A strategy which combines active investing with passive investing. Smart beta funds aim to enhance the returns of an index by targeting specific factors that may outperform.
Socially Responsible Investing
Socially responsible investing (SRI), also known as social investment, is an investment that is considered socially responsible due to the nature of the business the company conducts.
Socially responsible investments can be made into individual companies with good social value, or through a socially conscious fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF).
A ‘soft close’ is a term that is used to cover a variety of actions that an investment group takes to try and stop a fund becoming too large. Read more
The current market price of a security at that given time.
A tax payable on purchases of UK equities. In addition, in certain circumstances an authorised investment fund may pay a small, additional amount of SDRT calculated on the basis of transactions in the fund units or shares, and the proportion of taxable assets of the fund.
The standard deviation measures how much a fund’s total returns have varied in relation to its historic mean, usually calculated on the most recent 36 monthly returns. It is the most common risk measure used by investors as a gauge for the amount of expected volatility. A volatile fund will have a high standard deviation while a stable fund will show a low standard deviation. The standard deviation is expressed in percentage terms, like the returns.
Morningstar's corporate Stewardship Rating represents an assessment of management's stewardship of shareholder capital, with particular emphasis on capital allocation decisions.
Analysts assign one of three stewardship ratings: "exemplary", "standard", and "poor". Analysts judge stewardship from an equity holder's perspective. Ratings are determined on an absolute basis. Companies are judged not against peers within their industry, but against ideal stewardship of shareholder capital. Most companies will receive a standard rating, and this should be considered the default rating in the absence of evidence that a management team has made exceptionally strong or poor capital allocation decisions.
An OEIC can be made up of a single fund or a series of funds (sub-funds) under an umbrella OEIC.
A type of derivative contract where two parties agree to exchange cashflows or liabilities of two different financial instruments (for example shares or bonds) over a specific period.
When you move an investment (or part of it) out of one fund and into another.
Where a fund will replicate an index by using derivatives, such as swaps. This is used, by some managers, as an alternative way of replicating an index which does not involve buying conventional assets like shares or bonds.
