An enterprising alternative

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) offer many attractions to investors, primarily because of the tax breaks on offer. But an equally attractive option - especially (but not entirely) from the tax-relief point of view - exists in the form of the Government-sponsored Enterprise Investments Scheme (EIS)

When looking for alternatives to investing in Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), it is perhaps appropriate to begin by examining why individuals would want to invest in VCTs. There are basically two reasons for investing into VCTs: the investment case and the tax case. One should not, of course, allow the tax tail to wag the investment dog, but there is no ignoring the fact that the generally perceived view is, as Martin Churchill, editor of Tax Efficient Review, has put it: "VCTs are the best vehicle available, combining reliefs, a quote, a spread of investments and a fund manager." In very ...