Amicus Invest offers three unregulated offshore investment products:

• Amicus Bonus Cash Account: Pays 4% per year interest (3% on balances calculated daily and a further 1% "bonus" on balances calculated quarterly). Funds can be added and withdrawn at any time.
• Amicus Regular Savings Plan: Pays interest on monthly investments as follows: 6% for a 1 year term, 7% for a 2 year term, 8% for 3 years, 9% for 5 years and 10% for 10 years. Early withdrawals are permitted but forfeit all interest accrued.
• Amicus Single Investment Plan: Fixed term investments paying interest as follows:
  • 3 months - 4% per annum
  • 6 months - 5%pa
  • 1 year - 6.25%pa
  • 2 years and 3 years: "Guaranteed Total Return of 15.00% (equal to 7.25% pa.) and 26.00% (equal to 8.09% pa.)"
  • 5 years and 10 years: "Guaranteed Total Return of 45.00% (equal to 8.75% pa.) and 100.00% (equal to 9.50% pa.)" - these numbers don't add up, as a 45% return over 5 years is 7.7% compounded, and a 100% return over 10 years is 7.1% compounded.

Continue reading for a review of Amicus Invest's cash accounts and bonds.

HPB Assurance Limited offers a Holiday Property Bond in which investors invest at least £5,000 in a bond holding holiday properties and securities. The bond pays no yield; instead, investors have the right to stay in HPB's properties for a "no profit user charge", which would presumably be less than they would pay to a conventional holiday provider for an equivalent holiday.

While at times its literature urges prospective investors to "only consider it for its holiday benefits", the bond is structured as a life assurance bond (aka an insurance bond) which invests in shares and holiday properties, and terms like "investors" and "bondholders" are used liberally in its literature.

If it looks like an investment, and quacks like an investment, and I have to put money in upfront in the hope of a return (cheaper holidays than I'd get elsewhere + an eventual surrender payment) like an investment, it's an investment.

HPB Management Ltd has been in existence since 1981 and is fully regulated by the FCA. This puts it outside the scope of what I usually review on this blog, but the unusual nature of the investment, the fact that it's advertised directly to the general public via the colour supplements and suchlike, and the fact that these bonds are largely ignored by the usual advice channels, was enough to pique my interest.

Continue reading for a review of Holiday Property Bonds.

REWS (Renewable Energy Waste Solutions UK plc) is offering 2 year and 4 year bonds paying interest as follows:

• 2 year bonds: 8% if income is paid out twice a year, 9% if income is rolled up and paid out at the end, 10% paid out twice a year for investments over £100,000
• 4 year bonds: 10% if income is paid out twice a year, 11% if income is rolled up and paid out at the end, 12% paid out twice a year for investments over £100,000
Continue reading for a review of REWS' bonds.

Prime ISA (a trading name of Northern Provident Investments Limited) is offering investment in bonds issued by Prime ISA Bond Co 1 Limited.

The website primeisa.co.uk describes the offering as 7% per year after three years. The PDF brochure, however (available from the same website under "Download our free investor guide") describes the offering as 6% per year over five years.

Continue reading for a review of Prime's bonds.

EcoCrops International offers investment plots for sale in Estonian forestry at €8,200 for a 1 acre plot. The investment case is that after 3-5 years the plots will be harvested and the timber converted into wood pellets for biofuel.

EcoCrops International projects that after the plots are sold, investors will receive €11,280 from the sale of the pellets and €5,000 for the land. A 5% fee will be deducted, leaving the investor with €15,466. This is described as a 17.19%pa return, which suggests a 4 year investment timeframe. Elsewhere the literature states that EcoCrops targets a 3-5 year period before harvesting takes place.

Continue reading for a review of the EcoCrops International investment opportunity.