The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has advised Odin , a micro-investing platform, to halt onboarding additional customers, as well as stop new and partially funded live deals. As part of a public statement, Odin mentioned that deal syndication on a software platform like itself requires specific regulatory permission that the firm does not hold, with the FCA advising the firm to obtain the Arranging Investments authorisation.

By receiving this permission, Odin would be able to arrange investments that merge cheques from both retail and professional clients. Launched in April 2023, Odin rolls small cheque investors aiming to support startup firms and VCs into a single entity, while optimising cap table and LP bases. The platform allows retail and professional investors to back companies and investment firms with as little as USD 1,000. Odin’s statement regarding the FCA’s decision In addition to stopping onboarding new customers, Odin was also required to halt new and partially funded live deals, with the current ones being closed free of charge and opened again at no cost when the platform is active.

The company plans to resume its services in the upcoming two to six weeks, with officials mentioning to Sifted their intentions to address the issues by working with third-party partners who possess the required permissions. Previously, Odin had consistent third-party legal advice since its inception, as well as assurances that the company is compliant with regulatory requirements. Currently, a lawyer contacted by Sifted stated that if Odin decided to apply for correct permissions directly, it would take a considerable amount of time to obtain them.

It goes on to explain that after the company applied for authorisation to the FCA, the authority has approximately six months to review the application or, if it considers it incomplete, it has up to 12 months. Moreover, Odin underlined in a separate statement sent to customers via email that the firm is providing administrative software and services to high-net-worth angel investors, VCs, and founders who would often be conducting these deals with or without the help of the company, through lawyers and email. .