Pushing offshore investment

Typical objections cited against offshore funds actually represent the main advantages, says HSBC's David Chellew

A survey of intermediaries conducted in the first quarter of this year found the biggest issues facing investment houses selling funds domiciled outside the UK are: access to information, administrative complexity and tax treatment for the investor. These issues are some of the greatest advantages of Sicavs over Oeics. Firstly, the positive tax treatment of domestic funds is not as clear cut as you might think. A UK individual investor is likely to be better off in a bond or money market fund based outside the UK. Second, the key reason why a UK-domiciled Oeic investing in certain equit...