Inheritance Tax Solutions

Inheritance tax (“IHT”) is a tax levied in the UK on the value of the taxable estate of an individual in the event of their death. The rate of IHT is currently 40%. inheritance tax solutions

An individual’s taxable estate is the value of their taxable assets in excess of the “nil rate band.” Each individual has a nil rate band of £325,000 and can also make use of any unused nil rate band of a spouse who dies before them. This gives each married couple the ability to pass on up to £650,000 to their descendants without an IHT charge. From 6 April 2017, an additional nil rate band will be available to be set against the value of the family home – the additional nil rate band will be £100,000 per person during the tax year ended 5 April 2018, rising to £175,000 per person from 6 April 2020 onwards.

A common way for an individual to mitigate their family’s exposure to IHT is to give assets away to their children. However, in order for such a gift to be fully effective for IHT purposes, the donor must survive for seven years – and more importantly, the donor will actually have to give up control over the donated assets. An alternative strategy could be to invest in assets which are exempt from IHT, such as assets which qualify for Business Property Relief (“BPR”).

Qualifying for BPR

If an individual has held an asset which qualifies for BPR for at least 2 years at the time of death then the value of that asset is not included in the individual’s taxable estate for IHT purposes. Therefore the individual must survive for 2 years rather than 7 and does not have to give anything away.

BPR was introduced in 1976 to enable the owners of small trading businesses to pass their businesses to their successors without an IHT charge. Prior to the introduction of BPR, the businesses would quite often need to be sold by the successors simply to fund the IHT liability, and that was felt to be detrimental to the economy of the UK. The BPR rules have been broadened over time and BPR now applies to most business assets and shares in unquoted trading companies.

The Mariana Estate Planning solution is an investment product designed to utilise BPR whilst preserving investors’ capital. For more information please contact your financial adviser.

The information set out above is a general summary of the IHT and BPR legislation currently in force in the UK. It should not be relied upon as financial or tax advice. Before investing in any financial product appropriate professional advice should be sought.

BEFORE ACCESSING OUR WEBSITE AND ANY OFFERS YOU SHOULD READ THE FOLLOWING.

This section is intended for financial advisers and investment professionals only. It contains material that is not aimed at retail investors. Please do not proceed unless you are a financial adviser or an investment professional.

The information on this website does not and is not intended to constitute or form part of an offer, subscription recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product or to take up any services. The Mariana website does not offer investment or financial advice and should not be treated as doing so. If you are advising an investor or facilitating their investment (on an execution only basis, for example) in relation to a product referred to on the Mariana website you should satisfy yourself about the terms of the investment by reference to the full product documentation together with any ancillary materials which Mariana may provide and you should be familiar with the Key Features & Risks set out below for 1) Structured Investment products and 2) Tax Efficient Investment Products. Mariana is unable to provide any guidance as to whether a product is suitable for the individual circumstances of a client or appropriate for their attitude to risk.

Mariana does not offer Advice

The information contained on the Mariana website is for general information use only. It does not offer investment or financial advice and any information contained on this website should not be construed as investment, legal, tax or any other form of advice. If in any doubt about information on this website you should contact your account manager or email [email protected].

Past performance

Past performance is not an indication of future performance and should not be used to assess the future returns or the risk associated with your investment. It is possible to get back less than you originally invested in any of the investment products referred to herein.

Importance of Financial Advice

Investors considering an investment in a Mariana product must read and understand the full product brochure. It is important that the risks and potential rewards of a product are clearly explained to an investor by their adviser. You should note that Mariana insists that all applications to invest in Mariana product are placed through a regulated financial adviser.

Structured Investment Products: Key Features/Risks

Capital at Risk

Direct investment into a market brings with it the risks of that market since an investment’s value is likely to rise or fall in proportion to the movement of the market. Structured investment products are different in that they can change the risk and/or the return that an investment in a market may provide. Structured investment products achieve this by incorporating derivatives, named so because their performance is derived from the performance of the chosen underlying market, rather than investing directly into the market itself. Many structured investment products are not fully capital secure. They are described as ‘capital-at-risk’ and they offer enhanced income or growth but to achieve this put conditions on how or whether your capital will be repaid when the investment matures.

Counterparty Risk

Even when a structured investment product offers the full return of your capital, the return of capital is likely to be subject to counterparty risk. This is the risk that the issuer (the counterparty) of the investments underlying a product becomes insolvent or bankrupt. However remote this risk may appear, it always exists. To reduce it, we suggest that structured investment products are used only as part of a broader portfolio and that investors diversify their structured investment products across a range of counterparties. For more information about structured products and capital-at-risk products you can visit www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.

Early encashment

Structured investments products are designed to be held until maturity and early encashment may result in a capital loss for a significant period of the investment term, particularly as there may be charges that adversely impact the value in the early years. There may also be liquidity constraints with structured investments before the stated maturity date. Details of these are outlined in our brochures.

Compensation/FSCS

Prospective investors should understand that Plan assets (i.e. the underlying investments) will be held on their behalf by the administrator and custodian but they will not have any direct legal interest in the investments or any direct rights against the issuing counterparty in the event that the counterparty becomes bankrupt or enters into an insolvency process and cannot pay its debts. Prospective investors should also be aware that under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) rules whilst they may be eligible for compensation in the case of the insolvency of Mariana or the administrator and custodian, they are unlikely to be eligible for compensation if the counterparty becomes insolvent.

Tax Efficient Investment Products: Key Features/Risks

Capital at Risk

Tax Efficient Investment Products typically invest in the shares of small higher risk unlisted companies. The valuation of these shares depends on the value of the assets acquired by the companies plus any income that is derived from those assets. This is not guaranteed and you may lose money. The value of shares can fall in value as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested.

Concentration Risk

The nature of the Tax Efficient Investment Product is to invest in a small number of unquoted companies and furthermore there is likely to be significant sector bias. Portfolio diversification will, therefore, be limited.

Liquidity Risk

Redeeming your investment may take time. Investments in unquoted companies can be difficult to sell, especially when compared with quoted companies where there is normally a liquid exchange for buyers and sellers. Mariana aims to provide funding to support on-going liquidity. However, these arrangements are not guaranteed

Forward looking statements

Brochures dealing with Tax Efficient Investment products may contain forward-looking financial statements and illustrations. Such forward-looking financial statements and illustrations, by their nature, are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and the actual results may differ materially as a result of various factors, and therefore reliance should not be placed upon them.

Legal and regulatory

There may be changes in the future to the legal framework and regulatory status surrounding the strategy of the Tax Efficient Investment Products and its investee companies and their assets. An example may include the reduction or removal altogether of UK government renewable energy subsidies and incentives like the RHI, ROC and FiT schemes, which may negatively affect the performance of Mariana Tax Efficient Investment Products.

Long term investment

In order to qualify for tax relief in relation to certain tax efficient strategies, investors may need to keep money in the relevant Tax Efficient Investment Product for at least a minimum qualifying period, and investors may need to continue holding the investments in some cases until their death to benefit from, for example, IHT relief.

Tax changes

Tax rates, benefits, allowances are based on the current levels, legislation and HMRC practice. More importantly they can vary significantly from person to person, and tax legislation is subject to change and cannot be guaranteed.

The Website

Considerable care has gone into the preparation and maintenance of this website. However, Mariana accepts no liability in connection with its use or the use of information it contains. No warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information it contains and no liability is accepted for any errors or omissions. Where references or links to third party websites are provided, Mariana does not endorse or make any representation about the third party or any information, material or products sourced through the third party link, or any result that may be obtained from using or entering into a transaction with the third party.

This website may not be reproduced (in whole or in part), transmitted (by electronic means or otherwise), modified, linked to or used for any public or commercial purpose without the prior written permission of Mariana.

If you are outside the UK

Users accessing this website from outside the United Kingdom should note that local legislation may not permit Mariana to offer products where they are.

Users and prospective investors should be aware at all times of the applicable laws and regulations in different countries; in particular, in the United States of America where Mariana services and investments are not licensed or authorised.

Mariana is authorised and regulated by the FCA No: 551170

By clicking AGREE, you confirm that you are an investment professional and have read, understood and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you do not accept these terms, please do not continue to use or access any pages of this website.

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RISK WARNING

The following pages refer to Mariana investment products. It is important that you read and understand the risk statements below before you proceed.

Mariana’s investment products may provide both individual and institutional investors with flexible and innovative investment solutions offering varying levels of risk, asset exposure, capital protection and tax exposure.

It is important, however, that you understand the risks attached to your investments. The key risk factors are summarised below, but please remember that these are general risks and the risks that are relevant to individual products are set out in the brochure for that product.

Mariana does not provide investment advice in relation to investment products and we strongly recommend that you discuss any proposed investment with your financial adviser before you invest.

Investment in a Mariana product should form part only of your investment portfolio. You should also maintain savings you can access at short notice in case of emergency to meet any short term cash needs that may arise during the term of your investment.

Investment Risk – This is the risk arising from the market(s) or asset(s) into which your investment is made or to which the performance of your investment is linked. Their value might decrease, which could cause you to lose money or, if they increase, the amount of the increase may be greater than the return you get from your investment in a Mariana product.

Counterparty Risk – This is the risk that the financial institution by whom your investment is backed gets into financial difficulties and does not, or cannot, pay the amounts due in relation to your investment. This could cause you to lose some or all of your money and any investment returns that would have otherwise been payable.

Term Risk – This is the risk that an investor’s circumstances could change, forcing the early encashment of an investment. Such early encashment will be subject to a fee and the amount repaid is likely to be less than the initial capital invested. An investor should be aware that they may not be able to access the value of their investment immediately.

Inflation Risk – This is the risk that inflation may reduce the real value of your investment over time.

Tax Risk – The values of any tax reliefs generated by your investment will depend on your individual circumstances. You should note that the levels and bases of taxation and reliefs available may change in the future and changes may be applied retrospectively.

ISA Transfer Risk – if you wish to transfer an existing ISA, it must be done in cash. This means that your existing ISA manager will sell your investment and you are likely to be charged an exit fee. There is then the possibility of a loss of income or growth if markets should rise while your transfer is being processed.

Cancellation Risk – This is the risk that if you decide to cancel the investment after it has been purchased you are likely to lose some of your money.

It is important that you read all the related Mariana product literature carefully and in full so that you understand how the product works and can decide whether or not you are prepared to accept the risks and the possible consequences of investing in a particular product, before proceeding with your investment.

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