Wealth advisers are showing growing acceptance of Enterprise Investment Schemes because of the tax benefits involved for their clients, Lee Goggin, a sector specialist has said.
Mr Goggin, co-founder of findawealthmanager.com, a site that helps investors choose wealth managers, said: “The reduction in the amount people that can invest in their pensions each year, and the government’s clampdown on aggressive tax avoidance measures, means that wealthy investors are running out of ways to invest significant sums of money tax-efficiently.”
The 39-page HMRC document Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme Commentary Note, released in December last year, showed EIS flows had been increasing, with more than £1bn invested in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 tax years
He said there were risks in using EIS but it could form part of a diverse portfolio.
Adviser view
Jason Hollands, managing director, business development and communications, for UK-wide firm Tilney Bestinvest, said: “HMRC has taken a very robust approach to aggressive forms of tax planning, so it has helped drive investors towards schemes that have full statutory backing.”
Amount raised for EIS in:
2008/2009: £517.7m
2009/2010: £622.7m
2010/2011: £548.8m
2011/2012: £1.032bn
2012/2013: £1.015bn
