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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 pairs trade or pair trading is a market neutral trading strategy with the aim of allowing traders to profit from virtually any market conditions: uptrend, downtrend, or sideways movement.
The strategy monitors performance of two historically correlated securities. When the correlation between the two securities temporarily weakens, i.e. one stock moves up while the other moves down, the pairs trade would be to short the outperforming stock and to long the underperforming one, betting that the 'spread' between the two would eventually converge.
A Fund that mirrors the performance of a specific index by holding the components of that index.
It aims to “track” the progress of an index, eg. the FTSE 100, by buying and selling shares in the same proportions as represented on the index or by partially replicating the index.
These are also called tracker or index-tracker funds.
The date on which the income distribution is paid to the investor.
Where a fund will replicate an index either by buying the same shares or bonds as the index in the same proportions (full replication) or a sample of stocks that the manager believes will still appropriately track the index (sampling).
Internet-based service that offers information on and dealing in a range of authorised investment funds offered by different firms along with other types of investments.
A portfolio is a collection of different investments held by an investor.
Pound Cost Averaging is a technique that reduces exposure to falling markets from investing a lump sum. By investing at regular intervals more shares or units are purchased when prices are low and fewer are purchased when prices are high. The investor will be better off in falling markets.
If the share price of an investment trust is higher than the Net Asset Value (NAV) per share, it is said to be trading at a premium. The premium is shown as a percentage of the NAV.
The Price/Earnings Ratio or P/E Ratio is a stock's current price divided by the company's trailing 12-month earnings per share from continuous operations.
A fund's price/earnings ratio can act as a gauge of the fund's investment strategy in the current market climate, and whether it has a value or growth orientation.
The (P/E) ratio of a fund is the weighted average of the price/earnings ratios of the stocks in a fund's portfolio. The P/E ratio of a company, which is a comparison of the cost of the company's stock and its trailing 12-month earnings per share, is calculated by dividing these two figures.
A high P/E usually indicates that the market will pay more to obtain the company's earnings because it believes in the firm's ability to increase its earnings. Companies in those industries enjoying a surge of popularity tend to have high P/E ratios, reflecting a growth orientation. (P/Es can also be artificially inflated if a company has very weak trailing earnings, and thus a very small number in this equation's denominator.)
A low P/E may indicate the market has less confidence that the company's earnings will increase; however, a fund manager or an individual with a 'value investing' approach may believe such stocks have an overlooked or undervalued potential for appreciation. More staid industries, such as utilities and mining, tend to have low P/E ratios, reflecting a value orientation.
A stock's current price divided by the company's trailing 12-month sales per share.
This represents the weighted average of the price/sales ratios of the stocks in a fund's portfolio. Price/sales represents the amount an investor is willing to pay for each pound generated from a particular company's operations.
The price/earnings ratio used in the numerator of this ratio is calculated by taking the current share price and dividing by the mean earnings per share (EPS) estimate for the current fiscal year.
Property Authorised Investment Funds (PAIFs)
PAIFs are a UK tax-efficient, regulated property fund structure, enabling the retail and/or institutional markets to access professionally-managed property portfolios.
