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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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Ready to invest?
Go beyond your ISA and invest an unlimited amount Take a look at our GIA |
A GIA, or General Investment Account, is an account which allows you to hold investments outside of tax wrappers, such as ISAs or pensions. Unlike ISAs, there is no limit to how much you can invest in a GIA. They are therefore, ideal for those who have used up their ISA allowance and who have more to invest. There are no restrictions on when you can access money invested in a GIA, although you should generally look to invest for at least five years.
You can invest in a wide range of funds, shares, investment trusts and exchange traded funds (ETFs) and there are no restrictions as to when you can take your money out.
You can also use money you hold in a Willis Owen GIA to pay the service fee on your Willis Owen ISA if you have one. This can help to make best use of your tax-free ISA allowance.
Any dividends received from your GIA investments that exceed your annual, tax-free dividend allowance or available personal allowance will be subject to income tax. The rate of income tax payable on dividend income depends on the overall level of your income. Income tax may be payable whether you choose to receive dividend income or to reinvest it.
Basic rate taxpayers currently pay income tax at 8.75% on dividend income. Higher rate taxpayers pay 33.75% and additional rate taxpayers pay 39.35%. The first £500 of dividend income in a tax-year is currently tax-free.
Over and above your personal income tax allowance, any interest received from investments held in a GIA may be subject to income tax whether or not interest is automatically reinvested. Basic rate taxpayers can currently receive up to £1,000 of interest in a tax-year without paying income tax whilst higher rate taxpayers can receive £500. This is called the personal savings allowance and it’s not available to additional rate taxpayers.
If a gain is made as a result of selling, or otherwise disposing of investments within your GIA and the amount of the gain exceeds your available capital gains tax allowance, capital gains tax will be payable. The rate of capital gains tax you may pay depends on the level of your income and is currently 10% for basic rate taxpayers and 20% for higher and additional rate taxpayers.
You will normally need to complete a tax return if any tax is due.
Investments you hold within a GIA will form part of your estate when you die and may therefore be subject to Inheritance Tax.
