Rachel Reeves is opening up Britain’s corporate bond market to small investors as part of a wider push to channel more household savings into UK businesses and revive London’s capital markets.
The chancellor will on Monday launch a government-backed initiative designed to make corporate bonds accessible to retail investors for the first time in years, scrapping barriers that had effectively restricted the market to institutions and wealthy individuals. Under the new rules, individuals will be able to invest in corporate bonds from as little as £1, compared with the previous £100,000 minimum that had become standard after EU-era regulations.
Speaking at an event hosted by the London Stock Exchange, Reeves is expected to declare the start of what she calls “a new golden age” for the City, framing the reforms as central to Labour’s ambition to boost productive investment and economic growth.
At the heart of the plan is a new kitemark system aimed at reassuring novice investors. The London Stock Exchange will introduce so-called “Access Bonds”, a designation that allows qualifying corporate bonds to be clearly identified on retail investment platforms. Alongside this, the Financial Conduct Authority will oversee a more stringent classification known as Plain Vanilla Listed Bonds, or PVLBs, reserved for straightforward bond structures with standardised terms.
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