FSCS protection

Safeguarding your cash and investments

When you invest with ii, your assets are kept separate from ours — so what’s yours, stays yours. Learn how our company structure, protections, and processes work together to safeguard your investments and cash.

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Scam alert

⚠ Investment scams using social media and WhatsApp are on the rise. Learn how to protect yourself from investment scams.

How your money is held and protected

Our structure is designed to protect you

Our investment services are provided under the interactive investor brand by Interactive Investor Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Your investments are held in the name of Interactive Investor Nominee Services Limited or another approved custodian. This keeps your investments separate from ii’s own assets and helps protect them if ii were to fail.

We are an investment firm, not a bank. This means we do not lend your money and we do not trade with your investments.

How your cash is protected

Your cash held with ii is treated as client money under FCA rules. It’s held in bank accounts designated for client money with trusted UK banks, separate from ii’s own business accounts.

We carefully assess every bank we use and only place client money with institutions covered by the FSCS deposit protection scheme. We also spread your cash across multiple banks to reduce exposure to any single institution.

If one of those banks were to fail, eligible customers may be protected up to £120,000 per person, per bank. This limit includes any money you hold with the same bank directly or through other account providers.

Infographic showing cash protection
Infographic showing investment protection

How your investments are protected

Your investments are held by Interactive Investor Services Limited and registered under Interactive Investor Services Nominees Limited or another appointed custodian for overseas securities.

We oversee the custodians we use and keep these arrangements under regular review.

Your investments are held separately from ii’s own assets and have what’s known as trust status. This helps keep them protected from claims against ii in the unlikely event that we became insolvent. 

For investments held overseas, local laws, regulations and market practices may apply. As a result, the protections available in relation to those investments may differ from those that apply in the UK. Further information can be found in our Terms of Service.

How you're protected if things go wrong

In the very unlikely event that Interactive Investor Services Limited became insolvent and there was a shortfall between the assets we hold and your account balance, eligible customers would be covered by the FSCS for up to £85,000.

The protection that applies to you will depend on the circumstances, including how your cash is held and the institutions involved. Check the latest FSCS guidance for the rules and limits that apply.

These checks and independent reviews help us keep accurate records, identify issues early, and make sure your assets remain properly safeguarded if ii were ever to fail.

Daily reconciliations

Our robust policies, procedures and controls allow us to keep accurate records of your account. We reconcile our records every day to make sure that your assets are accounted for.

Regular reviews

Our compliance and risk teams continuously review these processes and our external auditors carry out independent assessments every year.

External oversight

Each assessment is reported to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to confirm that we are meeting their requirements to properly safeguard your assets.

More support to help you stay safe

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Citizens advice

Think you’re being scammed? Citizens Advice offers an online tool to help you check if it’s is a scam. They can also give you advice on what to do next.

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Take Five To Stop Fraud

Take Five to Stop Fraud offers straight-forward advice to help everyone in the UK protect themselves against financial fraud.

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FCA Firm Checker

It’s hard to know if an investment or pension opportunity is legitimate. You can use the FCA Firm Checker to find out if the firm or person you’re dealing with is authorised.

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Get Safe Online

Want to get on top of online safety? Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading internet safety website who provides unbiased, factual and easy-to-understand information about online safety.

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Worried about a scam or suspicious contact?

If you’re worried your account may be compromised, let us know straight away.
If you think you’ve been scammed, report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or on their website.