Ethex

Ethex (Ethex Investment Club Ltd) is a UK not-for-profit direct impact investment platform that lists community shares and bonds issued by community benefit societies, charities and social enterprises — spanning community energy, affordable housing, fair finance and sustainable food. Platform headline metrics show c.£135m raised and c.29,000 registered accounts since launch in 2013.

Ethex operates under an enterprise-scheme exemption rather than as a directly FCA-authorised firm — it does not hold an FCA Firm Reference Number. Investments listed on the platform are generally not covered by FSCS or FOS. IFISA administration and payment services are provided by ShareIn Ltd (an FCA-authorised third party).

Investors create a free account, complete suitability and investor categorisation checks (restricted / sophisticated / high-net-worth) and then browse offer pages with project financials, timelines, use of proceeds and risk warnings. Many investments are eligible for the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) wrapper, administered by ShareIn Ltd. Payments can be made by bank transfer or debit card (a card-processing charge of c.0.9082% + £0.05 applies where shown).

So what this means for an investor: Ethex curates the listing but does not act as an FCA-authorised intermediary; investors carry direct counterparty risk to each issuer and must assess offers themselves.

Primarily community shares and fixed- or variable-rate bonds from community benefit societies and social enterprises. Minimum investments vary by offer — many start at £50, some at £100 or £250. Historically advertised forecast returns sit in the single digits (often 4–9% on bond/share offers); these are offer-specific forecasts, not guaranteed [unverified at platform level].

Fees: no account opening or maintenance fees; no IFISA account fees for investors. An Automated Debt Secondary Market (bulletin-board style) charges roughly £20 per side. Issuers pay a fixed fee plus a percentage of funds raised [partly unverified].

Suited to retail investors who prioritise social or environmental impact alongside financial return and who can accept higher risk, long time horizons and limited liquidity. Many investments are illiquid and some issuers are early-stage — investors should be prepared to lose their entire investment and to hold positions for the advertised term or longer.

Not suitable for investors who need capital protection, FSCS coverage or short-term liquidity.

Strengths: genuine direct-impact focus with named projects and use-of-proceeds disclosure; prominent FCA-style risk warnings on each offer; low investor fees with no account or IFISA charges; an operating (if limited) secondary market on certain debt offers.

Risks: Ethex is not directly authorised by the FCA — it operates under an enterprise-scheme exemption, so investors do not benefit from FSCS compensation or FOS recourse for investment losses. Many issuers are small, mission-led organisations exposed to credit and execution risk; defaults are possible. Secondary-market liquidity is limited even where a bulletin board exists — investors may need to hold to maturity or accept a discount on sale. Comprehensive, standardised long-run default statistics across all offers are not widely published [unverified].

Regulatory exemption: understand exactly what the enterprise-scheme exemption means — the platform is not directly authorised and many investor protections available with FCA-authorised firms do not apply.

Secondary market limitations: the Automated Debt Secondary Market is a bulletin-board style mechanism and does not guarantee liquidity; some IFISA-qualifying bonds may still be hard to transfer or sell.

Issuer due diligence: ShareIn Ltd administers IFISA and payments but does not assess issuer creditworthiness — investors must review each issuer's offer documents and accounts themselves.

Name confusion: there is an unrelated former US pharmaceutical company called "Ethex Corporation" — make sure searches refer to the UK investment platform [unverified].