Specialist investment support
Tax-efficient investment suitability support
Research, due diligence and suitability reports for tax-efficient investments, including Business Relief, EIS, AIM portfolios and VCTs.
Tax-efficient investments can play an important role in financial planning, IHT planning and wider investment strategies, but they are rarely simple advice cases.
We help advisers evidence the research, reasoning and trade-offs behind specialist investment recommendations, so the advice is clear, client-focused and robust enough to stand up to review.
Why it matters
Tax relief should not do all the heavy lifting.
The tax position might be the reason the conversation starts.
But it should not be the only reason a recommendation is made.
Specialist investment cases need careful consideration of the client’s position, the investment risk, the trade-offs involved and how the recommendation fits within the wider financial plan.
A good suitability report should not just describe the relief. It should evidence the trade-off.
How we help
We support the research and report writing behind specialist advice.
Our team works alongside advisers to strengthen the research, analysis and suitability reporting that sits behind tax-efficient investment recommendations.
We do not replace the adviser’s role. We support it by helping make the advice file clearer, better evidenced and easier to defend, either as a one-off case or as part of wider outsourced paraplanning support.
- Product and provider research
- Due diligence on the proposed solution
- Reviewing the client objective and advice rationale
- Checking whether the recommendation is proportionate
- Identifying gaps in the information provided
- Challenging whether the risks and trade-offs have been properly explained
- Preparing clear, client-focused suitability reports
- Supporting advisers with one-off cases or wider capacity needs
Areas we support
Tax-efficient investment cases need specialist evidence.
We can support advisers with research and suitability reports across four common tax-efficient investment areas used within IHT planning, tax relief planning and wider investment strategies.
Business Relief
Support where Business Relief is being considered as part of IHT planning or wider estate planning, including client objective, qualifying conditions, holding period, liquidity and investment risk.
EIS
Support with the suitability considerations behind EIS recommendations, including tax position, investment experience, capacity for loss, illiquidity, exit risk and proportionality.
AIM portfolios
Support with AIM portfolio recommendations, including smaller-company exposure, volatility, qualifying assumptions, liquidity and wider estate or investment planning context.
VCTs
Support with VCT research and suitability reporting, including tax relief, income expectations, holding period, liquidity, client understanding and investment risk.
At a glance
Suitability and evidence across BR, EIS, AIM and VCT cases.
Each area has its own rules, planning uses and risks. But the same broad suitability themes keep appearing: understanding, risk, liquidity, capacity for loss and whether the tax benefit is doing too much of the talking.
This table gives a simple way to think about the main suitability focus, key risks and evidence points across the four areas covered in our guide. It can also support firms reviewing their centralised investment proposition or specialist investment approach.
This is not a replacement for full research or advice. It is a practical sense-check for the areas that often need to be properly evidenced before a recommendation is finalised.
Speak to us
Need support with a specialist investment case?
If you have a Business Relief, EIS, AIM portfolio or VCT case coming up and need support with the research or suitability report, we can help.
Whether it is a one-off case or part of a wider advice process, our team can work with you to make sure the recommendation is clearly researched, evidenced and explained.
