Parkinson: ‘cap not competitive’
Tax cap cut
on the cards as
Guernsey aims
to woo wealthy
Less than a year after setting
a cap on the maximum
amount of tax payable by
its wealthiest residents,
Guernsey is considering
reducing this level in an
effort to persuade more
rich individuals to move to
the island.
It is believed that
the cap – of £250,000
($450,000), and payable
on non-Guernsey-sourced
income – did not affect
any existing Guernsey residents
when it took effect
on 1 Jan. It is also much
higher than similar tax
breaks offered by Jersey
and the Isle of Man.
Guernsey Treasury and
Resources Department
deputy minister Charles
Parkinson said: “The tax
cap is not competitive, so
the department is considering
whether it would benefit
the island to offer a
more attractive deal.”
Its decision to open the
matter up for consultation
comes as offshore centres
around the world generally,
and in the waters off the
coast of Britain in particular,
fine-tune their tax-friendliness
to woo business.
It also coincides with
efforts by countries such
as the US, the UK and
Germany to plug loopholes
in their tax codes
and pursue tax evaders.
Details of the proposals
have been sent to
Guernsey’s main accountancy
and legal organisations,
and are also available
at www.gov.gg/tax.
EEA ‘black box’ analysis to
divine future market trends
BY HELEN BURGGRAF
EEA Fund Management is
launching a fund that will
use ‘black box’ analysis of
historic data to determine
future directions of markets,
in a manner similar
to that of Man Group’s
famous AHL Fund.
The system on which
the fund is based is the
brainchild of the fund’s
Futures Fund back-tested performance
% 30
75
60
45
15
0
-15
S&P 500
Nov ’06 Feb ’07 May Aug Nov
1 Nov’06 – 1 Sep’08. Source: EEA
‘Tidy up’ of QROPS rules likely
as clamour for change grows
BY DANIEL JUDGE
The UK government may
propose amendments to
the Qualifying Recognised
Overseas Pension Scheme
(QROPS) rules, industry
sources believe.
It is thought certain
areas of the QROPS may be
‘tidied up’ to clarify what
the rules allow scheme
operators to do, with the
aim of eradicating abuses
of the system.
Any rule changes are
likely to mainly focus on
how benefits are taken. If
amendments are suggested
it is thought they will be in
the Pre-Budget Report.
Calls from pension providers
and advisers have
been growing for greater
certainty over the status of
QROPS following HM
Newedge CTA Index
manager, Darran Goodwin,
a former pan-European
equity sales trader at
Bear Stearns.
“This is a black box algorithmic
model, developed
over a number of years by
myself,” he said.
To of the end of August,
the strategy on which the
fund is based had generated
a total return over the
preceding 21 months of
EEA Futures Programme
Feb ’08 May
Revenue & Custom’s
(HMRC’s) decision in May
to strip Singapore schemes
of approval. This fuelled
speculation that more jurisdictions
would be targeted
in a crackdown on providers
said to be operating
against the regime’s spirit.
The wording on the
official QROPS-approved
list was altered last month
to state that inclusion did
not represent a verification
by HMRC that a scheme
abided by its rules. The
new text also warned policyholders
they would face
a tax charge if they transferred
their pension to a
scheme that did not meet
QROPS conditions.
It has even been suggested
QROPS may be shelved
completely and replaced
with a new regime.
OCTOBER 2008 [www.international-adviser.com] INTERNATIONAL ADVISER 11 5
Aug
FUND FACTS
Name: EEA Futures Fund
Minimum investment: £50,000
or $100,000
Charges: 2% AMC, 20%
performance fee
Launch date: 1 Oct ’08
41.54%, according to EEA.
It said these results had
been audited and authenticated
by KPMG.
Goodwin said the EEA
Futures Fund aims to generate
an uncorrelated 15%
to 20% return pa after fees,
by investing both long and
short across all commodity
and financial markets, with
commodities accounting for
about 60% of the portfolio.
“It takes long-term positions,
attempting to identify
price trends and works on
the basis that once established,
they tend to last
longer and go further than
expected,” he said.
Boal & Co expands
pension solutions
with SIPP option
Isle of Man-based actuary
Boal & Co has added a
SIPP to its range of QROPS
pension solutions.
The Balley Chashtal SIPP
creates a trio of qualifying
recognised offshore pension
schemes offered by the
firm. The first two, launched
in April, are trust-based.
The launch coincides
with a change in UK pension
rules that from October
allows people to transfer
their state second pension
into a SIPP rather than a
pension fund managed by
an insurance company.
ASSETS
Permissible assets in the
SIPP include equities, fixed
income, mutual funds, bank
and building society accounts,
insurance bonds and property.
NEWS
NEWS
IN BRIEF
Sign up for free place
at IA Singapore forum
Financial advisers
can sign up for a free
place at International
Adviser’s Singapore
Investor Forum by
logging on to www.
international-adviser.
com/events. It is on
29 Oct at the Marina
Mandarin Hotel and
speakers include
fund managers
from HSBC, New
Star, Collins Stewart
and Castlestone.
Fidelity aids choice
with tax ‘analyser’
Fidelity FundsNetwork
has launched a tax
wrapper ‘analyser’ to
help advisers choose
which products best
suit their clients’
investment needs.
It allows an adviser to
run various investment
scenarios based on
user-defined inputs.
Aegon unveils bare
discounted gift trust
Aegon Scottish
Equitable has launched
a bare discounted
gift trust. It enables
investors to make a
gift that will be exempt
from IHT after seven
years, while permitting
predetermined regular
withdrawals from the
underlying bond.
Extra 5% allocation
on Skandia account
Skandia International
is offering investors
an extra 5% allocation
on its Royal Skandia
Managed Savings and
Pensions Accounts
provided they invest
the minimum premium
for at least ten years.
The offer ends on
31 Dec.
For the current and all
previous editions, with
full news archive, go to
www.international-adviser.com
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