{"id":1440,"date":"2011-11-09T10:31:21","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T09:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/esmartproducts.co.uk\/?p=1440"},"modified":"2011-11-09T10:31:21","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T09:31:21","slug":"take-aim-with-your-investments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/?p=1440","title":{"rendered":"Take AIM with your investments"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Invaluable tax break for experienced investors<\/h3>\n<p>Saving tax is a preoccupation for many investors. However, for  some experienced investors the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)  offers an invaluable tax break in the form of business property relief  (BPR).<br \/>\nAIM\u00a0is the most successful growth market in the world. Since its  launch in 1995, over 3,000 companies\u00a0from across the globe have chosen  to join AIM, helping smaller and growing companies raise\u00a0the capital  they need for expansion.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Strong grounds for optimism<\/strong><br \/>\nThe most recently published survey of AIM companies and  investors shows that there are strong grounds for optimism about the  future of AIM and the small-cap sector.<\/p>\n<p>Total fundraisings by companies on AIM were up 24 per cent in  2010 and the number of new companies that joined nearly trebled. The AIM  All-share Indices increased in 2010 by more than 40 per cent,  out-performing the FTSE 100 over the same period.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Inheritance tax savings<\/strong><br \/>\nBy investing in certain AIM-listed companies, experienced  investors could potentially save some 40 per cent on inheritance tax  (IHT) on their eventual estate.<br \/>\nThe shares that can be traded on AIM must not be fully listed on  the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and will fall outside an investor\u2019s  estate providing they are held for just two years. The shares must be  held beneficially for the investor, which can be done either directly or  via an investment manager.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No portfolio size limit<\/strong><br \/>\nThere is no limit to the size of the portfolio, which can in all  respects be treated like a normal portfolio. Shares could be \u2018swapped\u2019  for other AIM shares without losing the IHT break. The shares must be  held until death; however, if they are cashed and the proceeds not  reinvested in other BPR qualifying shares, they will fall back into an  investor\u2019s estate and be taxed accordingly.<br \/>\nIt\u2019s therefore important that the portfolio can be earmarked for  the estate and won\u2019t be needed during a person\u2019s lifetime, although it  is, of course, possible for it to revert back to the investor should  they subsequently need the funds for expenses such as retirement home  fees.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lower level of due diligence<\/strong><br \/>\nLiquidity risk is an important consideration and investors need  to accept that AIM companies are subject to a lower level of due  diligence than main listed firms. But a \u2018normal\u2019 equity portfolio of LSE  stocks also carries risk for investors. AIM now has a market value of  \u00a375bn, according to the LSE.<\/p>\n<p><em>There are plenty of well-run, highly successful companies  listed on AIM with a strong market capitalisation. These companies offer  BPR and therefore IHT advantages should a person holding them die,  unlike their listed counterparts.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Investing is not just about tax breaks, it also needs to  make commercial sense. A tax break won\u2019t compensate for a poor  investment decision and you should always seek professional advice to  discuss you particular situation.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Investments in AIM companies are by their nature generally  considered to be higher risk. The value of these investments and the  income from them can go down as well as up and you may not get back your  original investment. Past performance is not an indication of future  performance. Tax benefits may vary as a result of statutory change and  their value will depend on individual circumstances. Thresholds,  percentage rates and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance  Acts.<\/em><\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/\/Users\/stevewright\/Desktop\/esm41\/images\/e.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"260\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Invaluable tax break for experienced investors Saving tax is a preoccupation for many investors. However, for some experienced investors the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) offers an invaluable tax break in the form of business property relief (BPR). AIM\u00a0is the most successful growth market in the world. Since its launch in 1995, over 3,000 companies\u00a0from across&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/?p=1440\" title=\"ReadTake AIM with your investments\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}