Recent research carried out by Intelligent Partnership between January and April this year shows that over three quarters of advisers expect to do more BPR qualifying investments in the next two years, a small increase on the 2015 figures. However, the same research also found that advisers are concerned about the time and effort involved in identifying, reviewing and conducting due diligence on a representative sample of the principal offers in the market.
With this in mind, and with additional concerns regarding a lack of transparency around the underlying investments and ease of comparing different offers, Intelligent Partnership this week hosted the first of a series of showcase events for tax efficient investment products at the London Stock Exchange, with the focus on Business Property Relief (BPR). The goal was to give financial advisers and wealth managers a chance to learn more about the BPR investments in the market and to provide an opportunity to meet the providers face-to-face. If you are interested in stock picking services check out this jason bond picks review and click here to get a loan for your investment portfolio. Statistics show the rising trend for BPR has been growing for years, thanks to house price inflation and the freezing of the nil rate band since 2009, which has tripled the number of estates liable to IHT since that time.
Guy Tolhurst, Managing Director of Intelligent Partnership said, “The showcase format was designed to provide helpful insights to advisers actively engaged in tax planning for their clients, to give them updates on developments affecting BPR and identify differentiators between eight managers, their offers, the underlying investments and due diligence considerations.”
The event took place at the London Stock Exchange and featured eight providers; Blackfinch, Downing, Foresight, Ingenious, Octopus, Oxford Capital, TIME, and Triple Point.
Belinda Thomas, Partner at TriplePoint: “Intelligent Partnership has a great reputation for delivering valuable education and research for advisers and we’re proud to be associated with them and these events.”
Attending the event were 64 delegates. Data collected at registration from the advisers that are already active in this area suggests they are doing an average of £1.1m of BPR business per year and they will each typically work with up to four different managers, so getting to know the range of opportunities on offer is crucial.
Ian Scott, a Senior Associate at Howard Kennedy LLP, added: “It was a good opportunity to understand the products on offer, a comprehensive and well structured event. If anyone’s in the market, they need to be here”. And Daniel Blanning, Head of Research at Star House Financial Services Ltd found it “very useful to see all of the providers at the same time as I just don’t have time to go and meet them all separately.”
The format included a three minute elevator pitch from each manager, followed by a longer 15 minute presentation to provide more technical detail – the order of which was determined by a live draw. Information included overall AUM, relevant AUM, company history,underlying investments and strategies, track record, performance history, liquidity provision and exit options.
Various themes emerged from these sessions, with the managers providing details on the level of returns, their own costs and fees and how the investor’s net return is derived.
Several managers referenced the entry of younger investors into the BPR market in the last few years, with a desire to retain more control of their money and showcased offers with target annual returns ranging from 1.5% to 6% for those still in wealth accumulation mode. Despite this capital preservation remained the manager’s first priority.
The use of tangible assets to back investments as a risk mitigator was also a common component of the investment propositions, property development loans, where the manager has first charge over the land/property until the loan is paid off, providing returns uncorrelated to the main markets. The continuing use of renewables highlighted a major advantage of BPR. Unlike EIS and VCTs, renewables projects are still BPR qualifying assets – popular with managers because of their predictable and secure income streams, backed by government subsidised premiums.
Non-correlation was also one of the features cited for the creation of BPR products robust enough to stand alone, without the 40% IHT mitigation benefits, so that any regulatory change would still leave a viable investment. That said, every manager reported there had been no instances where a BPR claim had not been upheld after the death of a client. Which is rather regrettably termed a “successful death”.
The presentations and the extended networking breaks were also ideal for those less experienced in BPR. Christina Georgiou, a senior paraplanner at Fleet Street Financial Ltd, said: “We haven’t done any BPR business yet, but our client base is ageing so it’s been very useful for us to get better informed today.”
For advisers who want to take advantage of the opportunity to hear from eight leading Fund Managers who manage BPR qualifying investments in one morning, Intelligent Partnership are hosting two further BPR Showcase events in Cheshire and Bristol. The events are being held at the Mere Golf Resort in Knutsford on the 25th May and the Aztec Hotel & Spa in Almondsbury on the 7th July. They are free for advisers to attend and you can sign up here.