The Octopus Adviser Academy has launched as a response to increased demand for tax-efficient investing training.
The Academy will be available online with free registration and will count towards CPD hours.
Content provided through the website will focus on tax-efficient investments and planning, including information on venture capital trusts (VCTs), enterprise investment schemes (EISs)
and business property relief (BPR) – the government’s legislation behind a number of different inheritance tax products.
Advisers can participate in fully-accredited short learning courses aimed at helping to improve their knowledge of which products would be the most beneficial in terms of tax savings for their clients. Courses will continue to be developed in line with adviser requirements and demand.
The online training is available to registered advisers, and the individual’s FCA number is required at sign up. Courses are estimated to take roughly one hour to complete, including a quiz at the end. The CPD certificate will be available to download directly from the website immediately after the course is successfully completed.
Octopus also recently launched a microsite and guide to retirement planning following the legislative changes around access to pensions.
Many speculated that the pension reforms would result in a surge of new product innovation.
In the time since April, adviser ‘academies’ have been one of the most popular launches.
While it may not be the shiny new products that some hoped for, on the whole they make sense. Allowing people to take their entire savings in one go presents massive scope for poor decisions, but also the opportunity for advisers to help their clients make the most of their money.
The better advisers understand the options available – even if they thought they had a good understanding to begin with – the better off consumers may be.
This Academy focuses primarily on tax-efficient investing. This is a good choice, as one would be hard pressed to find anyone who does not want to save on their taxes. It follows other academy launches this year, such as Openwork’s offering.
On top of the fact that enrolment in the Academy is free, advisers receive extra encouragement to use the tool in the form of CPD points.
KEY FACTS:
• Open to all advisers with a FCA number to register
• Free to sign up
• Earn one hour CPD per course
• Suggestions for future courses can be sent to Octopus
