Last April, the Financial Conduct Authority started to regulate crowdfunding platforms in order to begin making sense of this rapidly expanding technology-based industry. For Property Moose, gaining direct authorisation from the FCA has been one of the most important focuses of the last 18 months.
From day one, we have been working alongside the FCA and our own consultants to ensure that we are fully compliant. This has had several implications on the way we have built our website, and the ways in which we continue to grow our membership.
The new regulations mean that only suitable investors can register to use our site. As part of the sign up process we ask investors to complete a questionnaire. This is to assess whether they understand the risks of investing, and also that they agree to not invest more than 10% of their net worth in this way.
In addition, we have to be completely transparent, honest and fair with our members. This applies to all of the information that we provide and the way we market ourselves and our investments.
The importance of being compliant is enormous. We want our members to trust us in the same way they trust more established financial service brands. As the sector grows, we want to differentiate ourselves from the market as being a platform that you can trust.
We are nearing the end of the authorisation process and hope that we are the first platform with our crowdfunding model to be regulated in the UK very soon.
