Cash Facility
All product wrappers opened and held through the Novia wealth management service incorporate their own Cash Facility. This allows you and your adviser the freedom to manage the levels of cash within your portfolio to suit your needs and provide ready access for your money whenever you need it. Here you can find details of current and historic interest rates and below is a Q&A section giving further information.
Interest Rate Payable on the Novia Cash Facility
- Cash held within the Cash Facility of any Novia product wrapper attracts interest at a gross rate of Bank of England base rate less 0.25%
- Interest is calculated on a daily basis and applied monthly on the 4th of the following month, eg interest relating to the month of August will be paid on 4th September.
- Changes to the base rate will be applied to the Cash Facility interest rate within one working day.
- Liability to tax on interest is dependent on the product wrapper involved. Please consult your adviser and the Novia Service Terms & Conditions for more information.
| Period | Interest Rate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Net* pa % | Gross** pa % | Gross AER*** % |
| 01/09/08 | 08/09/08 | 3.80 | 4.75 | 4.85 |
| 09/10/08 | 06/11/08 | 3.40 | 4.25 | 4.33 |
| 07/11/08 | 04/12/08 | 2.20 | 2.75 | 2.78 |
| 05/12/08 | 08/01/09 | 1.40 | 1.75 | 1.76 |
| 09/01/09 | 05/02/09 | 1.00 | 1.25 | 1.26 |
| 06/02/09 | 05/03/09 | 0.60 | 0.75 | 0.75 |
| 06/03/09 | Current | 0.20 | 0.25 | 0.25 |
* Net - interest rate paid with deduction of tax
** Gross - interest rate paid without tax deduction
*** AER - stands for annual equivalent rate and illustrates the interest rate if interest was compounded and paid at the end of the year
Novia Cash Facility - Q&As
Q/ What is the Cash Facility?
A/ The Cash Facility forms part of every Novia product wrapper available through the Novia service. Part of the value of the investments in your product wrapper* is held in cash, with a minimum of 2%, and no maximum balance. Movements of money to and from, and within, a product wrapper take place through the Cash Facility, eg income payments on any investments you hold, investment manager rebates negotiated by Novia and payments out to your adviser.
Q/ Where is money in the Cash Facility held and how safe is it?
A/ Money held within the Cash Facility is held under client money regulations enforced by the financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority. These rules ensure that money within any Cash Facility is held in a designated account with our bankers and used specifically as you request. Our bankers are HSBC, one of the biggest and most strongly capitalised global banks. Money held within the Cash Facility is also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) bank deposit insurance. Under the FSCS, money within the Cash Facility is covered up to £50,000, per person, per banking licence. So if you hold money elsewhere with a member bank of the UK HSBC group, you will be covered up to a maximum of £50,000 of the total of all your deposits, wherever they are held within the group.
Q/ Is interest paid on money held within the Cash Facility?
A/ Yes, all money held within the Cash Facility earns interest. Interest is earned at the rate of Bank of England base rate minus 0.25%.
Q/ Will I pay tax on any interest earned?
A/ This depends on the product wrapper concerned and the regulations regarding tax at the time. For example, interest earned on money held in the Cash Facility of a cash ISA will be free of tax, but in a Novia General Investment Account held by an individual this will be taxed. Corporate clients may have different tax treatments. You should always consult your adviser for further information on tax, which may be affected by your personal circumstances.
Q/ What transactions take place within the Cash Facility?
A/ As well as holding cash in your portfolio, the Cash Facility is used for a number of transactions which enables the smooth and transparent administration of your product wrappers. These may include:
- Investments to a product wrapper, one off and regular
- Withdrawals from a product wrapper, one off and regular
- Income from investments you hold
- Novia negotiated rebates from investment managers
- Commissions due to your adviser and any charges due to Novia.
Conducting all these transactions through your Cash Facility allows you to see exactly how much money has been received and how much has been deducted, ensuring complete transparency. All proceeds from any investments sold are placed into the Cash Facility and all investments are bought from cleared funds within it.
Q/ Do I have to keep a minimum level of cash within the Cash Facility?
A/ Yes, you are required to keep a minimum balance of 2% of the total value of the product wrapper within the Cash Facility. This is to ensure the efficient management of your product wrapper and so that we can make deductions when these become necessary. Novia will 'top up' your Cash Facility on a monthly basis by selling investments on your behalf to maintain the 2% balance.* However, cash management within your portfolio remains the responsibility of you and your adviser. There is no maximum amount you may hold within a Cash Facility, although this may be subject to any product wrapper regulations.
Q/ Where can I get more information on the Cash Facility?
A/ You should speak to your adviser for more information on cash management within the Novia service and how the Cash Facility may affect you. There is also further information available in the Key Features Document and the Terms & Conditions, which are available here.
*The stocks and shares ISA is an exception to this, where cash may only be held temporarily, pending investment and any excess cash will be invested according to your prior instructions.
