Ralph Stewart said the final round of capital raising for NZIG subsidiary Retirement Income Group was going well and was about 80% of the way to its target. He wants to raise $2.25 million for the business from up to 45 investors purchasing a minimum parcel of 50,000 shares at $1 each. Those investors will own a combined stake of just under 30%.

But he said he had encountered a number of people who wanted to be involved but did not have $50,000 to spare. Many were financial advisers. Four asked NZIG to consider crowdfunding.

That had prompted the company to put a minimum 3.3% stake up for investors via the crowdfunding platform Equitise.

NZIG will offer a variable annuity product which offers more investor protections than the annuities that have fallen out of favour in the New Zealand market. It has obtained a ruling from the IRD confirming capital drawdowns and longevity insurance payments are not taxable and allows investors to withdraw their money at any time.

The crowdfunding offer runs until the end of the week. Last night, $75,000 had been invested by 10 people.

Stewart said the Equitise platform had been chosen because it was the more sophisticated end of the crowdfunding market. Those who purchase a stake through Equitise will not have any voting rights and will be buying b-class equity. Principal investors who put up money via the capital raising will get a-class shares and voting rights.

The company is likely to seek another $3 million in institutional funding in 2017, when it also expects to be breaking even.

The minimum number of shares that can be bought via Equitise is 500.