Find the right solution
A deep dive into Business Relief
Inheritance Tax can be a complicated issue and this content is designed for financial advisers, professional intermediaries and paraplanners. Please note that TIME is unable to provide investment or tax advice.
The need to look further
Inheritance Tax (IHT) revenues have increased substantially over the last decade and hit £7.1 billion for the last tax year (2022/23). A growing number of IHT planning services offer a solution to this problem and help investors to mitigate their IHT liabilities in just two years through investment in Business Relief (BR) qualifying assets. These services have proved popular and there are now over 70 BR services available in the market.*
Whilst the growth of this market is a positive development, this increased choice can make it difficult for advisers to effectively decide which BR service will be the best fit for their clients' IHT planning needs.
*Source: MICAP, February 2024
Learn how to research and compare Business Relief services
In response to the growing number of BR services available in the market, we have created a three-part training series to help you enhance your research process when choosing a BR service. The training is designed to highlight some of the key questions to ask providers when reviewing BR services and is broken down into three sessions, each lasting around 30 minutes and qualifying for structured CPD accredited by the CISI.
Session one – investment analysis
How to assess the BR portfolio and underlying investments
Session two – service analysis
A look at the service and value of an investment
Session three – provider analysis
How to assess the financial strength of BR providers
Our Regional Business Development Team can deliver the training in person or via webinar, please get in touch to learn more.
Evaluate the options to meet your clients' needs
Once you have conducted your research of the BR market and found the most suitable BR provider, it is important to understand the BR service itself and how it works.
Every client is different and they have their own objectives for Inheritance Tax planning. Some clients may focus on the stated target returns and look for a long and successful track record. Others may be more concerned about the impact of fees and how these charges can erode their investment performance.
In the context of leaving a legacy, some clients may prioritise the wider impact their investments can make and look to make a positive impact environmentally or socially.
With so many different routes to IHT planning it is important to fully understand your clients’ needs and if possible involve their wider family, as an intergenerational approach can improve the effectiveness of estate planning.
Provider literature to assist your research
Most BR providers offer a range of literature and resources and below are just a few examples of some documents that may prove useful when conducting your research.
|
Service brochure |
Performance factsheet |
DDQ and suitability reports |
Provider accounts
|
|
Resources to share with your clients
To offer full transparency on the fees and positive impact your client's investments can make, we offer bespoke reports for all of our IHT services.
Investment illustrations
Our illustrations are tailored for each client and include the investment amount and any upfront or ongoing adviser fees. You can then see the impact of both BR provider and adviser fees for different growth projections over 10 years.
These illustrations are great to share with clients and also to keep on file as part of your due diligence process.
Positive impact investing
We have created an ‘Impact Investment Report’ to easily demonstrate the positive impact of an investment in our IHT service, TIME:Advance. Each report is tailored to your client and clearly shows the clean energy generation and carbon offsetting potential of their investment.
The report can be requested alongside our TIME:Advance illustrations.
