Advisers will now be able to access Brown Shipley’s Alternative Investment Market portfolio service on the Ascentric platform.
Ascentric today (24 May) announced the two companies had signed an agreement making the portfolio service, which contains 20 Aim-listed stocks, available to its advisers.
The discretionary managed model service offers inheritance tax benefits by investing in Aim-listed stocks, which qualify for business property relief.
The portfolio has a maximum investment of £500,000 and an annual charge of 1.25 per cent with no initial cost.
Portfolios are covered in Ascentric’s ‘inclusive’ platform charging option at 0.3 per cent a year.
Ian Sackfield, chief executive of Brown Shipley, said the company has been looking to push into the IFA market by making its specialist services with a “competitive charging structure” available to more advisers.
In March, Brown Shipley announced Don Smith had been appointed chief investment officer and Alex Brandreth as deputy, following the departure of Kevin Doran.
Jason Hemmings, founding partner of Edinburgh-based Cornerstone Asset Management, said: “We have been calling for an Aim portfolio on platforms to complement our existing multi-asset model portfolio approach.”
By bringing the IHT planning strategy under the umbrella of a platform, he said moving client assets off platforms to access Aim portfolios is “now no longer the only option”.
Mr Hemmings also suggested the offering gives clients Aim exposure with a much smaller initial commitment compared to most direct providers.
katherine.denham@ft.com
