Risk disclosure

1. What this disclosure covers

This disclosure explains the main risks of the services Shuttlevest plans to offer through its regulated partners. It is written in general terms and cannot describe every risk of every product. Where a regulated partner provides a service, that partner will give you its own risk warnings and product documentation, and those take precedence for that product.

Shuttlevest is in development. No service described here is currently available. Read how our services are regulated for who provides what.

2. Investment risk

Capital risk

The value of an investment is set by the market and can fall for reasons that have nothing to do with you or with any decision you made. Markets fall sharply and without warning. There is no level at which a fall stops automatically.

Volatility and timing

Prices move constantly. An investment that is suitable over ten years may be entirely unsuitable over ten months. If you may need the money soon, investing it is usually the wrong place for it. Selling during a fall turns a paper loss into a real one.

Concentration

Holding a small number of investments, or several that behave in the same way, increases how much a single event can cost you. Diversification reduces that exposure but does not remove risk and does not guarantee a positive return.

Liquidity

Some investments cannot be sold quickly at a fair price. In stressed markets, the gap between buying and selling prices widens and trading in a particular investment can be suspended entirely, which means you may not be able to sell when you want to.

Charges

Fees, spreads, commissions, custody costs and currency conversion all reduce your return. Over long periods, small recurring charges compound into meaningful amounts. All applicable charges will be disclosed before you commit to anything.

Tax

Investment returns may be taxable, and the treatment depends on your personal circumstances and your country of residence. Tax rules change. Shuttlevest does not provide tax advice. If you are unsure, speak to a qualified tax adviser.

3. Currency and cross-border risk

Exchange rate risk

If you hold or invest in a currency other than the one you spend in, exchange rate movements will change what your money is worth to you. A good investment return in US dollars can still leave you worse off in pounds if the dollar weakens. This works in both directions and is outside anyone's control.

Conversion costs

Converting between currencies carries a cost, usually built into the exchange rate as well as any explicit fee. Converting back and forth repeatedly is expensive.

Transfer timing

Cross-border payments pass through intermediary institutions, correspondent banks and local payment systems. They can be delayed by compliance checks, public holidays, cut-off times, incorrect details or issues at the receiving institution. Estimated delivery times are estimates, not guarantees.

Country and market risk

Political instability, capital controls, currency restrictions, sanctions and changes in local law can affect your ability to move money into or out of a particular country, or to access it at all. This risk is higher in some markets than others.

4. Holding money with an e-money partner

Where balances are held by an electronic money institution rather than a bank:

• The balance is electronic money, not a bank deposit.
• It is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
• It is protected by safeguarding rules, which require customer funds to be held separately from the firm's own money. Safeguarding is a real protection but it is not the FSCS, it is not a government guarantee, and recovery in an insolvency can be partial and slow.
• Electronic money does not earn interest.

5. Risks of AI-generated guidance

Shuttlevest's AI coach is a software tool. It is useful, and it is not infallible.

• It can be wrong, incomplete, or out of date, including in ways that sound confident.
• It works from the information available to it, which may be partial or inaccurate.
• It does not know everything about your life, your commitments or your plans.
• It is not regulated financial advice and not a personal recommendation.
• You remain responsible for your own financial decisions.

Treat it as a well-informed starting point, not as an authority. For decisions that matter, check what it tells you and consider speaking to a regulated adviser.

6. Technology and operational risk

Shuttlevest depends on software, internet connectivity, mobile platforms and third-party providers. Services can be interrupted by outages, maintenance, cyber attacks, failures at a partner or supplier, or events outside our control. You may be unable to access your account or carry out a transaction during such periods. We design for resilience and we cannot promise uninterrupted availability.

Protecting your own access matters too: keep your credentials private, use the security features offered, and be alert to fraud and impersonation. Shuttlevest will never ask you for your password or a one-time code.

7. Partner and counterparty risk

Regulated services are provided by third parties. If a partner suffers an outage, loses its authorisation, withdraws from a market or becomes insolvent, the service it provides could be interrupted or discontinued. Your protection in that event depends on the partner's regulatory regime and on the safeguarding, client money or custody rules that apply to it — set out in section 5 of our regulatory information.

We carry out due diligence on partners before appointing them and monitor them afterwards. That reduces this risk. It does not eliminate it.

8. Deciding what is right for you

Before using any investment or currency service, consider honestly:

• whether you could manage financially if this money fell sharply in value;
• when you are likely to need it, and whether you could leave it invested through a downturn;
• whether you have accessible savings for emergencies before you invest;
• whether you have expensive debt that would be better cleared first;
• whether you understand the product well enough to explain it to someone else.

If the answer to any of these is uncertain, that is a reason to pause, not a reason to proceed carefully. Free, impartial guidance is available in the UK from MoneyHelper.