A break from the norm

tax efficient vehicles

Despite the reduction in tax relief on VCTs there are still a number of investments that offer investors tax breaks, though they should also be aware of their limitations before they invest

There are five groups of tax effective products: Isas, pensions, venture capital trusts (VCTs), enterprise investment schemes and for inheritance tax mitigation (IHT), Aim stocks. The use of Isas is a given in any financial planning conversation but with the annual investment limits always likely to be modest they will only ever mop up small amounts of assets. Pensions, similarly, are a foundation stone of most investor portfolios because of the attractive tax relief at entry and within the funds. However, they are not the investment panacea that they once were. Taxed income, compulsory a...