Annuity

An annuity is a constant payment installment that is paid out as a sum of money over the term of a loan. The annuity is made up of an interest and repayment portion. With each disbursement of an installment, the respective share of interest and repayment in the annuity rate changes. Over the term of the loan, the amount of the interest payment decreases and the repayment amount increases in equal measure, while the annuity rate always remains fixed.

Annuity loan

An annuity loan or annuity credit is a loan in which the repayment amounts (installments) remain constant over the entire term.

Assignment

Assignment is the legally correct term for the transfer of claims, e.g. income from the operation of a solar system or interest payments from an investment, from one party to another. From the effectiveness of the assignment agreement, it is not the original holder of the claim who receives the payments, but the party to whom the claims have been assigned. As a rule, assignment agreements are tied to certain consequences, e.g. only if payments under a loan agreement are not made does the assignment of receivables become effective as part of a loan security.

BaFin

BaFin is the abbreviation for Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority). This authority supervises and controls the entire financial system in Germany.

Borrowed capital

Borrowed capital is money that has been provided to a private person or legal entity. These funds can be terminated according to debt law rules, are limited in time and are remunerated with interest.

Campaign

If a company wants to raise capital via ecoligo invest, this is done through so-called campaigns or crowdfunding campaigns published on the platform. The (sub-)project to be financed and the associated investment opportunity are presented in detail.

Credit

A credit or loan is a legally binding contract between the lender and the borrower. The lender gives the borrower an amount of money to use freely. The borrower agrees to pay a predetermined interest rate and to repay the loan amount.

Creditor

The creditor or lender is the proicate or legal person who provides the borrower with a sum of money for a certain period of time and receives interest on it.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a financing approach in which the financing of a project is distributed among many individual investors. Each investor makes a small financial contribution in relation to the total capital required. In return, the investor usually receives compensation in kind (often referred to as "gifts").

Crowdinvesting

Crowdinvesting is a financing approach in which the financing of a project is distributed among many investors. Each investor makes a small financial contribution in relation to the total capital required. In return, the investor receives attractive interest or another type of financial return on their investment, as well as receiving their initial loan amount. Both are repaid over a set period of time. This is the most important difference to crowdfunding, where the capital provider usually receives remuneration in kind.

Data center

Data gathered by ecoligo invest is processed in state-of-the-art high-security data centers. We have deliberately chosen a data center operator that operates in a climate-neutral manner.

Debtor

The debtor or borrower is the private or legal person who receives a sum of money from the lender for a certain period of time and pays interest on it.

Diversification

Diversification is the distribution of your investments over different financial products (e.g. fixed deposits, shares and real estate) and projects. This spreads the risk and makes it possible to offset potential losses in one investment with gains in another.

Donation receipt

A donation receipt or certificate is issued by non-profit corporations, such as municipalities, in exchange for a donation. When you submit your income tax return, you can claim the amount of the receipt as a tax reduction. ecoligo invest does not issue donation receipts.

Early repayment fee

In the case of early repayment of a financial investment, e.g. a loan, the borrower repays the loan granted to them to the lender before the end of the term. In this case, the investor misses out on possible future interest income. In order to compensate for this "loss of future income", the creditor may undertake to pay the investor a prepayment penalty.

Equity

Equity is the funds raised by the owners of a company for its financing or the assets left in the company as earned profit.

Escrow account

Escrow account is the term for an account that is held in trust for another party by a third party (e.g. lawyer, notary). The trustee manages the funds only on behalf of the client.

Exchange rate risk

An exchange rate risk always exists when financial transactions take place in two different currencies. This can be the case with investments made in a foreign currency, e.g. US dollars, and whose returns are also paid out in this foreign currency. If this foreign currency depreciates against the home currency, e.g. the euro, the return on the investment decreases.

Final maturity

Final maturity refers to the repayment of an investment. If the investment has a final maturity (also called 'bullet repayment'), this means that the amount is repaid at the end of the term.

Financing framework

The financing framework represents the total size of the loan issued for the investment. The outstanding financing framework thus denotes the volume that can still be invested.

Fixed income securities

Fixed-income securities (also bonds or debentures) are legally-binding contracts between a lender and a borrower. The lender agrees to make a certain amount of money available to the borrower. The borrower, on the other hand, agrees to make an interest payment that is unchangeable in terms of amount (and therefore the fixed interest) and to repay the amount. ecoligo invest does not offer fixed-income securities.

Fixed-term deposit

A fixed-term deposit, also called time deposit, is an investment with a financial institution with a term of at least one month. Fixed-term deposits are typically used as a short- to medium-term capital investment. During the agreed term, the capital invested as a fixed-term deposit is usually not available to the investor. ecoligo invest doesn't offer fixed-term deposits.

Funding limit

The funding limit is the maximum financing volume that can be raised via crowdinvesting.

Funding threshold

If the funding threshold is not reached within the funding period, the funding fails. In this case, the loan amount is repaid to investors in full and free of charge. There are then no further mutual claims, for example for interest or damages.

Interest

Interest is a payment for the use of a thing or a good. If a crowdinvestor gives money to a project owner,they will be remunerated by the project owner.

Interest payment date

The interest payment date is the date on which interest is paid out.

Interest payment frequency

The interest payment frequency determines how often interest is paid out, e.g. monthly, quarterly or annually.

Interest rate

The interest rate indicates the amount of interest paid. It is shown as a relative value (a percentage) on the amount of capital loaned.

Inverter

Inverters convert direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC), which can be fed into the usual grids. Photovoltaic systems, for example, produce direct current, which must first be converted.

Investment

Investment describes the use of capital to increase the funds invested, e.g. an investment in a loan to earn interest.

Investment limit for private investors

The Small Investor Protection Act sets a monetary amount up to which a private person may invest in asset investments. This upper limit refers to the sum of all investments in projects of the same issuer (e.g. ecoligo Projects One UG). This is €25,000.

Issue

In the field of finance, "issue" refers to the distribution of securities or other financial products. In a broader sense, "issue" means the distribution or offering of opportunities to invest money (investments). The issue serves the issuer to raise capital. The publication of a new crowdfunding campaign on the platform, for example, can be regarded as the issue of a capital investment.

Issuer

The issuer provides investment opportunities. In the case of a share, for example, the issuing company is the issuer. Accordingly, the issuer of a loan is the borrower.

kWp

kWp is an abbreviation for kilowatt peak. In the field of solar energy, this refers to the maximum power generated by a solar PV system.

Lender

A lender or creditor is a private or legal person who lends money to a borrower for a certain period of time and receives interest on it.

Loan

A loan is a legally binding contract between a lender and a borrower. The lender gives the borrower an amount of money to use freely. The borrower agrees to pay an predetermined interest rate and to repay the loan amount.

Loan portfolio

Companies generally finance themselves through various loans from different lenders. These loans are summarized under the term loan portfolio.

Maturity

The maturity of a loan is the point at the end of its term when it becomes due. At this point, the investors get their invested capital back.

Maximum investment amount

The maximum investment amount is the highest amount of money that an investor can invest in a project on the platform. On the one hand, this is determined by the Small Investor Protection Act, on the other hand, the issuer can set such an upper limit. This would be a measure, for example, to give as many investors as possible the opportunity to invest in a certain project. See "Investment limits for private investors" for more information on the statutory maximum investment amounts.

Minimum investment amount

The minimum investment amount is the smallest possible loan amount that individuals can invest. This is €100 at ecoligo invest.

Participatory loan

In the case of a participatory loan, the lender receives a variable interest rate rather than a fixed one. In most cases, the interest rate depends on the economic results of the company, i.e. whether it achieves a certain turnover or profit. To date, no participatory loans have been issued through ecoligo invest.

Payment date

The payout date is the date on which an amount of money (for example interest) is paid out.

Photovoltaics

Photovoltaics is a field of technology involving the direct conversion of sunlight, i.e. electromagnetic radiation, into electricity. This electricity can then be used for other purposes.

Project owner

The project owners are the companies that borrow money for clean energy projects through ecoligo invest. These are private companies (e.g. GmbH or UG).

Qualified subordination

The qualified subordination is a special form of subordinated loan. The lender confirms that they will receive their claim only after all other creditors and will also only assert their claim as long as the repayment does not lead to the insolvency of the company taking out the loan.

Redemption

Redemption is the repayment of a capital debt.

Repayment date

The repayment date is the date on which borrowed capital is repaid (redeemed).

Return on investment

The rate of return on investment represents the percentage of interest on the capital invested.

Savings bond

Savings bonds are a form of fixed-interest securities issued by banks. They guarantee the holder a fixed interest rate over a fixed term. ecoligo invest does not offer savings bonds.

Service fee

The use of ecoligo invest and the investment in projects are free of charge for crowdinvestors. Nevertheless, costs are incurred in the operation of the platform. To cover these costs, the companies that finance projects via ecoligo invest pay a service fee to the platform operator. The service fees are part of the transaction costs of financing projects on ecoligo invest.

Small Investor Protection Act

The Small Investor Protection Act (Kleinanlegerschutzgesetz) is a German article law that serves to protect private individuals when investing in the grey capital market. The law can be viewed here.

SSL encryption

Sensitive data is protected during transmission on the Internet by being encrypted. We do this via SSL encryption, which uses an algorithm with up to 256 bits. As soon as the encryption is activated, the address bar of the browser turns green.

Subordinated loan

Subordinated loans are loans that are repaid only after senior creditors, such as banks or suppliers, have been repaid. For legal reasons, investments into ecoligo's projects are exclusively subordinated loans.

Term

Credit term or loan term is the duration of the loan. There may be different durations that a lender can choose from.

Time deposit

A time deposit, also called fixed-term deposit, is an investment with a financial institution with a term of at least one month. Time deposits are typically used as a short- to medium-term capital investment. During the agreed term, the capital invested as a time deposit is usually not available to the investor. This is the same as a fixed deposit. ecoligo invest does not offer time deposits.

User account

An ecoligo invest user account allows registered users to view or edit their data. You can also find all relevant contracts and your investment history there as well as details of the referral programme. You can log in to your user account here.

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