Today, we’re incredibly excited to announce that a huge milestone has been achieved – we have obtained an investment brokerage license from Latvia’s Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC), thus becoming a regulated investment platform! 🎉

This license will help us head towards our goal of building investment trading products and creating the most comprehensive investment trading opportunities for European retail investors.

TWINO collaborated actively with the FCMC for many months to secure the investment brokerage license, making adjustments in the way that our platform operates, drafting the necessary procedures, and strengthening our core team competencies. I believe that the regulated investment platforms will be the first choice of investors, as we have already seen growing investor interest due to the security and reimbursement guarantees that are provided by a regulated environment. Licensing is also a major achievement which promotes the transparency of the whole industry as such, and we will be seeing more and more industry players joining this regulated environment”, says Roberts Lasovskis, Chairperson of the Board of TWINO Investment.

So, here’s a wrap-up about the coming changes, benefits, and the next steps for investors.

Transition period

We are entering a transition period that has been set at 6 months. Within this period, our main goal is to shift to a new operational model, where investments in loans are packaged in the form of regulated financial instruments which we call securities. The current offering, in which investors buy claim rights against the borrower through assignment agreements, will be replaced completely by investments in securities by the end of the transition period.

During and after this period, TWINO’s place for the provision of services (both for investments in claim rights & securities) will be in Latvia, irrespective of an investor’s country of origin. We will be passporting our investment services across the EU/EEA after the transition period and the receipt of the respective authorization from the Financial and Capital Market Commission, while the place of business and the provision of our financial services will remain in Latvia.

Investor benefits and protection mechanisms

As of today, TWINO is subject to strict investor protection rules under EU financial industry regulation.

This means:

1. Common European regulatory requirements, standards and security measures,
2. Investors will become subject to the investor protection mechanisms according to the requirements of the Financial Instruments Market Law and the relevant Directive (MiFID II), Packaged Retail Investment and Insurance Products (PRIIPs), the Key Information Document (KID), the Investor Protection Law, Prospectus Regulation, and other regulations which aim to further protect the interests of investors,
3. The funds of those investors who have completed the Suitability and Appropriateness Assessment will be kept in a segregated bank account, thus, ensuring the safety of these funds and separating TWINO’s own funds from investors’ money,
4. Access to the investor protection mechanism imposed by the state prescribing the compensation of up to EUR 20,000 for each individual investor according to the requirements of EU Directive 97/9/EC.

All the investor protection mechanisms and benefits apply only to investments in securities and to those investors that have fulfilled all the tasks mentioned in the section below “What does it mean for you as an investor?”. The protection mechanisms and benefits do not apply to existing investments in claim rights against borrowers. Any investments made in claim rights will remain active in investors’ portfolios until they reach their due date.

New investment opportunities

The securities will become available on the TWINO Investment Platform during the next few weeks and throughout the transition period, they will gradually replace the existing offering, where investors invest in claim rights against borrowers. Meanwhile, the plan is that the investment brokerage license will allow TWINO to expand its new product offering to investors with such financial instruments as stocks, bonds, CFD’s, ETF’s and many more after the respective additional authorization from the Financial and Capital Market Commission. We are already working on new products and are looking forward to offering them to you as soon as possible.

What does it mean for you as an investor?

This is what all investors should know and do in order to continue investing on TWINO, and to enjoy these benefits:

• Suitability and Appropriateness Assessment

All new and existing TWINO investors should complete the Suitability and Appropriateness Assessment – only investors that have completed the assessment will be able to continue to use their account and invest on TWINO.

• TWINO investor categories

TWINO is required to assign one of three possible MiFID II client status categories (retail client, professional client, or eligible counterparty) to our investors to ensure that they receive the appropriate protection and support for their level of experience, knowledge, and expertise. Investor categories that have already been assigned to your investor profile are now active.

• New terms & conditions

Our new terms & conditions are available on our website and your investor dashboard. Please become acquainted with, and accept these terms, as otherwise, you won’t be able to invest in the securities offered on TWINO. Please be aware, that after accepting the new terms & conditions, you will have two agreements in force – the terms & conditions that regulate investments in securities, as well as the previously concluded agreement that allows you to invest in claim rights against borrowers. Once the transition period has passed, there will be only one agreement in legal force that will be regulating the legal relationship between you and TWINO with respect to making investments in securities.

• Financial instruments and associated risks

Investing in loans and financial instruments involves risks. Therefore, we and each investor on their own should consider whether such investments are suitable to their knowledge and experience, financial situation, and investment objectives. More information about risks when investing on TWINO can be found on our web page’s “Financial instruments and risks” Section.

• Know-Your-Customer (KYC) questionnaire

Some investors will be required (again, you will be able to see this on your investor dashboard) to update or complete our Know-Your-Customer (KYC) questionnaire. And once again, this is necessary for us to be compliant with the requirements set for regulated brokerage. If the necessary updates are not made, we will be forced to limit your investments over time.

• Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) code

If you’re registered with a company account, then you will have to provide the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) code. Once we start offering securities, these investments will not be available for companies that do not have a valid LEI code.

We aim to implement all the necessary changes as transparently as possible so that you can track our progress and find the answers to your questions. For now, we would just like to thank everyone who has supported us on our journey. There’s no doubt, the next 6 months will be game-changing!🚀