7IMNov 29 2017

Sanlam and 7IM launch Sanlam Onshore Bond to meet demand

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Sanlam and 7IM launch Sanlam Onshore Bond to meet demand

Additionally they said it will be "very different" from what is available through the majority of providers, and advisers would not be limited to insured funds.

Jonathan Polin, group chief executive officer at Sanlam, said that together with 7IM and its platform, the firms developed a solution to support financial advisers and help meet the increasingly complex requirements of their clients.

The Sanlam Onshore Bond can invest in authorised and regulated collective investment schemes.

The minimum investment is £5,000. For any subsequent investment after that, the minimum required is £1,000.

Provider view

Verona Smith, head of platform at 7IM, said: “This new launch is a much-anticipated product wrapper for advisers using the 7IM platform and fills a much needed gap in the market. This is the first time we have been able to add an onshore bond to the platform, the challenge historically being that most onshore bond providers only allow access to insured funds. We have enjoyed working with Sanlam on this important new product launch.

“In the spirit of the 7IM platform, the Sanlam Onshore Bond is open architecture to ensure that a firm’s centralised investment proposition could be supported within the bond.”

Mr Polin said: “This solution gives individuals the opportunity to pass on their wealth through the generations, in a tax-efficient, onshore trust environment.  

“We are one of only a small number of firms in the market that can provide these kind of bond structures, making the 7IM offering highly differentiated. Our partnership with 7IM reflects the progressive nature of our business and our steadfast commitment to providing a superior service for financial advisers and their clients.”   

Adviser view

Kevin Bailey, managing director at Wessex Investment Management, said: “The investment bond is a welcome addition to the range of products available via the 7IM platform as there was an obvious gap when compared to other adviser platforms. This offers additional planning opportunities for clients where an investment bond is appropriate. It is something we would consider, especially as it is open architecture as this provides clients with maximum flexibility, choice and is competitively priced. There are lower cost investment bonds available, but not all of them are open architecture.

“I note the charging structure has been tiered, so hopefully 7IM will be able to follow through with this on its platform to adviser charging so that we as financial planners can tier our charges too, to reflect greater flexibility across all the products available.

“7IM is keeping to its commitment to offering more to financial planners and making it more difficult to select against the platform as a whole.”

Charges (in addition to standard 7IM platform costs and underlying product charges)

0.25 per cent on first £100,000; 0.20 per cent between £100,001 and £500,000; 0.15 per cent between £500,001 and £1,000,000; 0.10 per cent on the value over £1,000,000.

Verdict

Advisers might well welcome this new bond offering that will give them more planning opportunities, but the charging structure should give IFAs a greater degree of flexibility.

Ima Jackson-Obot is features writer at Financial Adviser