Venture capital trusts (VCTs) have been added to the Growthinvest and will have a dedicated area on the website of the adviser platform.
The platform currently offers the chance to invest in EIS and SEIS funds, portfolios and individual companies.
The service will now include new VCT offers, alongside data on existing VCTs and links to third party information and research, and can facilitate both execution-only and advised investments.
David Lovell, operations director at GrowthInvest, said the move to include VCTs on the platform is in response to demand from clients.
He said: “Advisers and their clients have given us a clear message that they wanted to see new VCT offerings up on the platform, and that they wanted to make the investment process as smooth and straightforward as possible.
"Subject to the specific requirements and agreement of each venture capital trust, we are now able to offer an online VCT investment service.
"We believe that a single consolidated tax efficient portfolio has a number of clear benefits in both the short and long terms, and is the logical step for the vast majority of tax efficient investors."
VCTs offer a 30 per cent up front tax break as long as the shares are held for five years, while any income or capital growth garnered from the investments is also tax-free.
Jack Rose, head of the tax-efficient division at LGBR Capital, said: "Advisers are always keen to look for effective tools and technology that can help their clients, and bringing VCTs into line with EIS portfolios on a single online platform will make a lot of sense for many advisers."
david.thorpe@ft.com
