Author Archives: Jessica Kavavila

Highlights from the first ever BPR showcase event, held at the London Stock Exchange. An audience of over 60 financial advisers networked with and heard from eight leading fund managers who between them represent over 90% of the BPR investment universe. The showcase format allowed advisers to compare eight BPR investment solutions in one morning, and gave managers the opportunity to pitch their investment strategies directly to IFAs.

Some of the highlights from our recent EIS Masterclass held at DWF’s offices in the iconic ‘walkie-talkie’ building. The event covered the political outlook for EIS, due diligence, suitability, research into the correct level of diversification, analysis of the fees charged by EIS funds and insights into how managers put together and run their portfolios.

Matt talks about the driving forces behind increasing levels of adviser engagement in EIS and how the industry is responding. He also addresses the issue of supply of product, and why advisers shouldn’t be waiting for the “new renewables” to come along. We also talk about whether there are any emerging risks to the EIS scheme, and finally Matt talks about the differences between EIS funds and portfolio services.

Philip gives us a unique take on how politicians view the EIS scheme and discusses the levels of awareness of the scheme among small businesses. We consider how his research indicates that there is the potential for more growth in EIS and the importance of lobbying efforts at a national and European level. Finally, we talk about what his research means for advisers and how advisers should consider it.

Henny Dovland talks about TIME Investment’s new EIS offering in Dry Bulk Shipping. She discusses why this sector is a non-contentious fit with EIS, and why this is crucial in the light of the recent regulatory changes. Henny also covers why TIME think that now is the right time to invest in shipping and takes us through some of the other features of the product, including the asset backed nature of the investment and how that gives assurance around opportunities to exit. We also examine exactly how the underlying assets earn revenues, and what the best-case, worst-case and base-case returns to investors are likely to be. Finally, we cover the fee structure of the product and how the charges have been structured to allow the maximum amount of tax relief.

In this in-depth interview, Robert takes us through the five step process an EIS manager typically goes through to put together, run and eventually exit a portfolio of EIS investments. He covers sourcing deal flow, selecting opportunities, structuring deals, ongoing management and finally (and most importantly!) exiting investments. We discuss the numbers involved, the challenges encountered at each step and how EIS managers overcome them. Finally, we get his opinion on the future of the EIS scheme in the light of the recent changes to the legislation governing the scheme.

Goncalo discusses the alternative finance sector as a whole and what it means for advisers, why the new Innovative Finance ISA will be more important for debt rather than equity based crowdfunding and why the UK is miles ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to funding small companies. We also talk about what “localism” means online and what his platform does to help prevent investors being diluted at a later date.

Justin focuses in on the positives of the financial services industry and whether alternative investments are better at the efficient allocation of capital. He also talks about why volatility and liquidity are as important as performance when it comes to portfolio construction and we touch on supporting small businesses and localism.

Danby tells us why some advisers should be considering more alternative investments, and how they can overcome some of the practical barriers that are holding advisers back. We discuss why having an investment committee could be a crucial step and finally we try and answer the key question for advisers – are alternatives worth the time and effort that they need to spend on them?