We take safety and security of your assets very seriously at Nutmeg.
This article explains some key elements about the measures we have in place to keep your assets secure.
1. Safeguarding your assets: the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority
Nutmeg is required to comply with the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) which, in short, require that all our customers’ assets are held securely and separately from Nutmeg’s assets.
Nutmeg has processes and controls in operation which ensure these rules are followed. Nutmeg’s specialist team performs a series of daily reconciliations to ensure the total value of cash and investments held by us matches the total value due to our customers. Any discrepancies or shortfalls are investigated and resolved in a timely manner.
Nutmeg overlays these daily controls and reconciliations with an internal governance process to ensure appropriate management oversight. Finally, an independent audit of these arrangements is performed annually by a specialist firm, the results of which are sent to the FCA.
2. Our chosen custodians, Barclays and StateStreet
We believe the safest way of looking after your investments is to appoint reputable banking institutions to hold your money and investments.
Our chosen banking partner is Barclays Bank and our asset custodian is StateStreet Corporation. StateStreet serves thousands of investment managers, high-net-worth individuals and major banks globally and as of 2019 is ranked as the 2nd largest custodian bank in the world.
StateStreet will never lend your assets to third parties or mix them with StateStreet's or Nutmeg's own assets. Similarly, any uninvested cash is held with Barclays Bank where it is segregated from Nutmeg's own funds.
Your investments and any uninvested cash are therefore protected in the unlikely event that Nutmeg are declared insolvent.
Read more about our custodians on StateStreet's website and Barclays' website.
3. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Nutmeg is a member of the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme which means that, in the unlikely event of a failure of Nutmeg, coupled with a failure to safeguard your assets or some other failure (such as negligent advice), the value of your assets held with Nutmeg is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to the limit of £85,000. More information about the FSCS can be found on the FSCS website here: https://www.fscs.org.uk/.
Please keep in mind that while you are protected under the FSCS scheme as above, your investment might fall as well as rise due to market performance and any such fall wouldn't be covered by the FSCS
4. We keep a constant eye on your portfolio
If you open an account and invest with us, we act as your discretionary investment manager. This means that we make all the investment decisions for you, based on the information you provided on your profile about your time horizon, your attitude to risk and your financial situation.
If you chose a fixed allocation portfolio this means we can rebalance your portfolio when necessary to automatically keep your portfolio at your chosen level of risk.
If you chose a fully managed or socially responsible portfolio, our experienced investment team will adapt your portfolio over time to an ever-changing world, keeping you informed along the way.
We hope this information has helped put your mind at rest but do get in touch with us if you need any further help.
Remember that, as with all investing, your capital is at risk. Regardless of the investment style you choose, the value of your portfolio with Nutmeg can go down, as well as up and you may get back less than you invest.