Pru predicts EIS and VCT surge after MIP clampdown

High-net-worth clients on the hunt for tax efficient savings vehicles following the Budget clampdown on maximum investment plans (MIPs) are likely to turn to enterprise investment schemes (EIS) and venture capital trusts (VCTs), the Prudential has predicted.

Chancellor George Osborne announced earlier this month a new £300 monthly contribution limit on MIPs from April 2013. Matthew Stephens, head of product and sales technical at Prudential, said high earners had been using MIPs to shelter their income from tax since the annual allowance on pension contributions fell to £50,000 in April 2011. Providers had been pushing MIPs as a tax efficient vehicle in the run-up to the annual allowance cut with Legal & General launching a MIP in 2010. However, high-net-worth clients will now look for other tax efficient vehicles, Stephens said. "E...