Pleo Investment account: security, partner, and regulations

• What are Investment Accounts and how do they work
• Who is lemon.markets
• Is my money safe in Investment Accounts
• Where are my investments held

What are Investment Accounts and how do they work

Keeping your company's idle cash in a separate yield-generating account is a smart strategy. However, this approach often results in transferring only the minimum needed funds to your Pleo account at the last minute. Such "just-in-time" funding creates operational friction and increases the risk of delays or declined transactions when purchases must be made before transfers clear.

Pleo's Investment Accounts lets you keep your company’s idle funds accessible within Pleo, while generating a variable yield of ~2% every month. We've partnered with licensed financial institutions to help your business earn competitive yields on funds held directly within the Pleo ecosystem, bridging the gap between smart saving and smooth, uninterrupted spending.

What am I investing in?

Your funds are invested in a Money Market Fund (MMF). An MMF pools money from investors to purchase low risk, short-term debt securities, such as government treasury bills and commercial paper. This strategy offers a strong balance of safety, the potential for steady returns, and easy access to your funds.

Your funds are specifically invested in the Deutsche Managed Euro Fund – Platinum (ISIN IE0008643037). You can track the fund's year-over-year performance directly on the DWS website.

All investment decisions are handled by professional asset managers at DWS with the supporting infrastructure of our partner, lemon.markets. 

Key benefits for your business

• Earn competitive returns on idle funds - Your cash can generate a competitive, variable annual percentage yield (APY) of ~2%*. This allows your company's money to grow directly within Pleo, ensuring smooth cash management for planned and unforeseen expenses.
• Maintain full flexibility - Investing doesn't mean locking your money away. The funds are placed in Money Market Funds (MMFs), which are designed for safety and liquidity. You can access your money when you need it. Withdrawals are processed within one business day, giving you the flexibility to respond to business needs and opportunities without delay.
• Invest with confidence - Your funds are invested in the Deutsche Managed Euro Fund – Platinum through our licensed partner, lemon.markets. This Money Market Fund holds a portfolio of low-risk, short-term securities like government treasury bills and commercial paper, managed by professional asset managers at DWS.

Risk Disclaimer: Yields can change over time depending on market conditions. Investing always carries risk -  your investments can rise or fall in value. Money market funds work differently from savings accounts, and returns aren’t guaranteed.

Who is lemon.markets

Regulated, secure investing

lemon.markets specialises in providing the secure, regulated infrastructure that allows companies like Pleo to offer investment services. With Pleo, you're the pilot in the cockpit, managing your investments through a simple dashboard. In the background, lemon.markets acts as the expert air traffic control, working to guarantee your journey is safe and follows all regulations.

This partnership provides several layers of security for your business:

• Strict regulatory supervision - As a BaFin-regulated entity, lemon.markets is legally required to protect your assets and data with robust security measures.
• Asset protection - Your investments are held securely and are protected by law. Your assets are segregated and safeguarded for transfer to another broker in the event lemon.markets were unable to provide continued services.
• Focused expertise - Their entire business is built on providing compliant brokerage services. This is their core focus, ensuring that the financial side of your investment is handled by dedicated experts.

World-class funds management

While lemon.markets provides the secure platform, the actual Money Market Funds are managed by globally recognised, professional asset management firms like BlackRock and DWS. This means your funds are not only on a secure platform but are also being managed by some of the most trusted names in the financial industry.

By partnering with lemon.markets, we ensure you get a simple, integrated experience through Pleo, backed by the specialised security and expertise of a regulated financial institution.

Is my money safe in Investment Accounts

Protecting your funds is our top priority. The Investment Accounts feature is built with a multi-layered security framework, ensuring your money is safeguarded by established regulations, trusted financial institutions, and stable investment strategies. Continue reading to learn more about how we achieve this.

Investing in highly stable assets

Your funds are not exposed to the volatility of the stock market. Instead, they are placed in a Money Market Fund (MMF), which is specifically designed for stability and security.

• Low-risk investments: MMFs invest exclusively in high-quality, short-term debt securities, such as government treasury bills and commercial paper from highly-rated corporations.
• Professional management: The funds are managed by world-class asset managers like BlackRock or DWS, whose primary goal is to preserve capital while generating a steady yield.

This conservative investment strategy makes MMFs one of the most reliable options for businesses to earn a return on their cash reserves without taking on significant risk.

Protection through strict regulation

Your investments are managed through our partner, lemon.markets, a securities institution licensed and supervised by Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). This means every aspect of your Investment Account is subject to the stringent regulations of one of Europe's most respected financial authorities.

This regulatory oversight legally requires that your assets are protected with the highest standards of security.

Your assets are segregated and securely held

Your invested funds are never mixed with Pleo’s or lemon.markets’ corporate funds. By law, your assets are segregated and held in a dedicated securities account in your name.

Here’s how the structure works to guarantee the safety of your investments:

• Brokerage Management (lemon.markets): Manages your Investment Account and executes your investment instructions.
• Custodian Bank (AllFunds Bank S.A.U): A major global bank that acts as the custodian, holding your assets securely and completely separate from all other company funds.
• Transfer Agent (State Street Investment Management): This is the equivalent of a bookkeeper for your fund, ensuring a definitive record of your current investments.

This multi-tiered structure means that your investments are insulated from risk and protected by a chain of globally recognised and highly regulated financial institutions.

Where are my investments held

• Your investments are held in a multi-layered structure designed for maximum security, involving highly regulated financial institutions.
• Your Investment Account, which holds your Money Market Fund (MMF) shares, is managed by our partner, lemon.markets brokerage GmbH.
• The investments themselves are held by AllFunds Bank S.A.U, a major global bank, acting as a third-party custodian.
• Finally, these assets are carefully managed by a Transfer Agent like State Street Investment Management.

This separation ensures your assets are always segregated and protected.