By SALLY BRENT 20/08/2010
Unfortunately it is not many happy returns for investors in with-profit bonds as performance remains disappointing. However the 10th anniversary could be a good opportunity to get out and move to alternative investments.
In most, but not all, cases our view is that investors should consider exiting their With-Profits bonds. There are a number of reasons:
Lack of transparency
In recent years With-profit funds have applied Market Value Reductions (MVRs) to the surrender value of the investment when markets have performed badly. This makes it very difficult to establish a true valuation and understanding of performance.
Tax inefficiency
With-profits bonds are taxed internally on both income and capital gains at a rate of approximately 20%. Any additional tax liability (for higher rate tax payers) will be liable to income tax and not capital gains. So this means you cannot use your Capital Gains Tax allowance of £10,100 and you could pay more on the gains through the higher rates of income tax (upto 50%).
Many with-profit funds were caught out by the bursting of the dot com bubble and entered the bear market between 2001 and 2003 with high exposure to shares. Their response was to cut exposure to shares, which harmed performance when equity markets rallied strongly from March 2003. Many funds failed to learn their lesson, and were again caught out with high equity allocations as the credit crisis drove equity values downwards during 2008.
Why is the 10th Anniversary important?
As mentioned many WPB’s have exit charges, also known as Market Value Reducers or Market Value Adjusters. However a significant number allow investors to exit the plans on the 10th anniversary without these penalties.
What to do next
Here are some of the key questions that you should ask:
- Is there an MVR? If so, will there still be one on a special date (e.g. 10th Anniversary) soon?
- Will you incur a tax charge by surrendering now?
- Are you already using your ISA allowance in full?
- Are you optimistic that bonus rates will increase?
- If you’ve answered ‘No’ to each of these questions then you should probably be considering surrendering your bond.
For further guidance including ideas on what to do with the proceeds of your with profits bonds please call one our Investment Professionals on 020 7189 9999.
The value of your investment and the income derived from it can go down as well as up and you can get back less than you
originally invested. Decisions should be based on individual fund characteristics and investment profiles. Ths
article does not constitute investment advice.