•   If the business offering this investment fails, there is a high risk that you will lose all your money. Businesses like this often fail as they usually use risky investment strategies.

•   Advertised rates of return aren’t guaranteed. This is not a savings account. If the issuer doesn’t pay you back as agreed, you could earn less money than expected or nothing at all. A higher advertised rate of return means a higher risk of losing your money. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

•   Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here. 

•   Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA- regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

•   Even if the business you invest in is successful, it will likely take several years to get your money back.

•   This type of business could face cash-flow problems that delay payments to investors. It could also fail altogether and be unable to repay any of the money owed to you.

•  You are unlikely to be able to cash in your investment early by selling your investment. In the rare circumstances where it is possible to sell your investment in a ‘secondary market’, you may not find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.

•  You may have to pay exit fees or additional charges to take any money out of your investment early.

•  This kind of investment has a complex structure based on other risky investments, which makes it difficult for the investor to know where their money is going.

•  This makes it difficult to predict how risky the investment is, but it will most likely be high.

•  You may wish to get financial advice before deciding to invest.

•  Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

•  A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.