Overview

Amati AIM IHT Overview Video with IHT Operations Administrator, Sally Ammar

Objective

The Service operates on the basis of a Model Portfolio of AIM-quoted stocks, which provides the template for the discretionary management of portfolios held by clients of wealth managers and other intermediaries. The stocks chosen for the Model Portfolio are those that to the best of our knowledge are likely to qualify for Business Property Relief (‘BPR’), and as such could potentially provide up to 100% inheritance tax relief after a holding period of two years (subject to the final determination of HMRC). Dividends received from portfolio companies are re-invested.

Philosophy & Key Benefits

  • Bottom up: Stock-picking driven by rigorous analysis.
  • Concentrated: Curating a diversified portfolio of the 25-40 well financed companies.
  • Growth approach: Selecting outstanding businesses with a genuine edge.
  • Portfolio construction, stocks fall into three segments: 
    • Management & Family Ownership
    • Established Technology
    • Durable & Defensive
  • Fundamental research: Our relationships afford us excellent access to company management which informs our thoughtful analysis.
  • ESG considerations: Integral to each manager’s due diligence and research.
  • Team approach: Allowing waterfront coverage and avoiding individual manager bias.
  • Risk management: Active monitoring with a focus on liquidity and diversification.

Key Information as at 29 February 2024

Launch date:29 August 2014
Total assets:£57.5m
Benchmark:Deutsche Numis Alternative Markets
Index, Total Return
Number of holdings:29
Investment Team:Paul Jourdan
David Stevenson
Gareth Blades
Scott McKenzie
Investment management fee:Annual 1% plus VAT on portfolio value,
paid monthly in arrears.
No initial charges
No additional platform or manager fees for dealing
Administration fee:Annual 0.3% on portfolio value,
subject to a £120 minimum
and £3,000 maximum, paid quarterly in arrearsAnnual £35 nominee fee
No additional charge for the ISA wrapper
HMRC-approved probate valuations £25
Other charges:Advisory charges
as agreed between the client
and their financial adviser
Minimum investment:£50,000
ISA:Can be held as an ISA

Why invest?

Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service is an adviser-led Service. If you wish to apply for the Service, please contact your financial intermediary.

Click here to view our fund brochure

Introduction

The Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service gives investors access to our selection of 25-40 qualifying AIM-listed companies in the market. After a period of two years, these holdings fall out of one’s estate for inheritance tax. This means that investors who are considering their inheritance tax liability can benefit from retained ownership of an investment portfolio and leaving a tax-efficient legacy, as well as considering other options such as lifetime gifting.

Amati’s AIM IHT Portfolio Service is run as a model portfolio, so even though each client owns the companies directly in their own name, all clients have portfolios that are as similar as is practically possible. In this way the service is set up to allow clients to benefit from the access that we have to the market as an institutional fund manager, with adjustments to the portfolio being made for all clients at the same time.

 

Why Invest?

1. Growth – AIM is home to many innovative and ambitious growth companies that have become leaders in their field meaning your money is supporting the future growth of the economy

2. Flexibility – Investors retain full ownership of their investments and therefore retain access (although selling assets may mean they are no longer IHT exempt).

3. Efficiency – AIM portfolio can become exempt from IHT after two years, much faster than many other forms of estate planning.

4. ISA Eligible – AIM shares can be held in an ISA which will be free from capital gains tax and income tax.

5. Simplicity – Investing in an AIM portfolio does not involve some of the legal complexities of other IHT solutions.

 

Financial planning

More and more families are facing inheritance tax bills as reliefs and exemptions remain unchanged while property values and savings continue to appreciate. Inheritance tax is paid on the money and possessions that individuals leave to their beneficiaries when they die.

The first £325,000 of assets are free from inheritance tax (the nil rate band), but everything over this level is taxed at 40%. In 2017, the Government introduced an additional inheritance tax allowance, called the residence nil-rate band which stands at £175,000. The current nil rate band for Inheritance tax has not changed since 2009 and is now frozen until 2026.

There are a range of tax planning solutions available to reduce or potentially eliminate the amount of tax beneficiaries are required to pay. Those include gifts, trusts and making the most of investments that qualify for Business Property Relief.

 

BPR

Business Property Relief (BPR) is a valuable relief from inheritance tax, allowing certain investments to be left to beneficiaries free from inheritance tax.

The investment becomes exempt from inheritance tax after being held for two years, provided the shares are still held at the time of death and continue to be BPR qualifying.

Specialist knowledge is vital when managing AIM IHT portfolios because not every AIM company will qualify for BPR. Crucially, the money is there to be used by the investor if needed during their lifetime, and by their beneficiaries in the future if not.

Why Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service?

Expertise – Our managers are a team of highly experienced investment professionals focusing on smaller companies listed on AIM and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

Track record – Our investment team have a strong track record of being able to identify the most promising growth companies on AIM and have been recognised through numerous industry awards over recent years for UK smaller company investment.

Cost and Charges – Our charges are competitive, differing from many competitors in that we do not levy an initial charge or charge additional platform or manager fees for dealing in the underlying shares.

 

 

The service operates on the basis of a Model Portfolio of AIM-quoted stocks, which provides the template for the discretionary management of your portfolio.

The AIM-listed companies that we invest in have to show good growth potential. But we also need to be confident that the companies we invest in will qualify for relief from inheritance tax.

The Portfolio is constructed with stocks that fall into three categories, seeking characteristics that have proven successful from an investment perspective:

1. Management & Family Ownership

  • Significant equity stakes held by management/family
  • Professionally managed with a long-term perspective
  • Strong and prudent balance sheet

2. Established Technology

  • Profitable with a history of growth
  • Cash generative and high margin
  • Clear USP and strong barriers to entry

3. Durable & Defensive

  • Attractive yield and well covered dividend
  • Defensive, non-cyclical earnings

The Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service has delivered strong performance and inheritance tax protection for an established base of clients. It is backed by a team with extensive experience and access to the opportunities within the market

Risk Warning

Prospective investors should be aware that the shares of AIM-quoted companies are likely to be more volatile and less liquid than those listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. This means that buying and selling portfolio holdings may take some time, and in a worst case scenario companies could be delisted from AIM, making them very difficult to trade. Any investment in equities is subject to risk, and smaller companies can involve more risk than larger companies. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invested.

Amati, in its capacity as discretionary investment manager, will select stocks which it expects to qualify for Business Property Relief, but it cannot guarantee that 100% of the portfolio will be exempt from IHT after 2 years, nor that the qualification rules as set out by HMRC will not change in future in a way that affects the status of individual holdings. Current tax rules and the available tax reliefs offered on investments into AIM-quoted stocks may change at any time, and there is a considerable risk that if the legislation changed in respect of these tax reliefs, then those portfolio companies that no longer qualified for such reliefs would be subject to heavy selling pressure, potentially leading to significant investment losses. The availability of tax reliefs depends on the portfolio companies maintaining their qualifying status and also depends on the individual circumstances of each investor. Neither past performance or forecasts are reliable indicators of future results and should not be relied upon. This investment product places your capital at risk and you may not get back the full amount invested.

 

Portfolio

As at 29 February 2024

Portfolio construction

Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Services targets a diversified portfolio of between 25-40 holdings in well financed companies which fit into one of the following baskets:

1. Management & Family Ownership

  • Significant equity stakes held by management/family
  • Professionally managed with a long-term perspective
  • Strong and prudent balance sheet

2. Established Technology

  • Profitable with a history of growth
  • Cash generative and high margin
  • Clear USP and strong barriers to entry

3. Durable & Defensive

  • Attractive yield and well covered dividend
  • Defensive, non-cyclical earnings

Performance

Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service versus Benchmark

* Amati AIM IHT Model Portfolio, Total Return (dividends reinvested)
** Numis Alternative Markets Index, Total Return (dividends reinvested. The stocks comprising the Index are aligned with the IHT Service’s investment objectives, and on that basis the Index is considered an appropriate performance comparator for the Service. Please note that the Service is not constrained by or managed to the Index.

 

Cumulative Performance Table
as at 29/02/2024

Time periodNav Total Return*
(%)
Index Return**
(%)
1 month-1.48-1.98
3 months3.212.9
6 months3.34-0.59
1 year-7.85-13.3
2 years-14.47-28.29
3 years-18.53-35.24
5 years4.15-13.56
Since launch***92.56.02

* Amati AIM IHT Model Portfolio, dividends reinvested, net of AMC (manual adjustment for Sep 14 - Feb 15), platform fees and trading costs, excluding advisory charges

** Deutsche Numis Alternative Markets Index, Total Return (dividends reinvested)

*** Since launch data is calculated from 29/08/2014 (date of initial cash position).
Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance

 

Discrete Performance

Discrete Performance
as at 29/02/2024

Period 12 Months toFund Return
(%)
Benchmark Return
(%)
31.01.2024-7.85-13.30
31.01.2023-7.18-17.29
31.01.2022-4.75-9.70
29.01.202120.4936.05
31.01.20206.10-1.88

Literature

Should you wish to receive our monthly fund factsheets by email, please contact: info@amatiglobal.com or call 0131 503 9115

For further information please speak to your financial adviser.

Ratings

How to Invest

For more information and to apply for the Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service please contact your financial adviser.

If you are an investor who is interested in the Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service and you don’t already have a financial adviser, you might like to visit unbiased.co.uk to find a professional adviser in your local area.

FAQs

Please find below answers to some of the most frequently asked questions for Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service. Should you wish to discuss another query, please contact us on 0131 503 9115 or email info@amatiglobal.com.

General

Designed to work in association with financial advisers, the Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service is a discretionary investment management service useful for the purposes of IHT planning. Amati works closely with financial advisers, who will assess the Service and consider whether the solution offered by the Service is suitable as part of each client’s overall investment strategy. If you do not have a financial adviser, please call our investor line on 0131 503 9115 or email info@amatiglobal.com.

Application documents can be requested by contacting our investor line on 0131 503 9115 or by email info@amatiglobal.com

Following acceptance of an application form, James Brearley will write to the client confirming acceptance and enclosing a form of Cancellation Notice. Each client may exercise a right to cancel the agreement by notification to Amati within 14 calendar days

£50,000

£20,000

£20,000

Clients can exit the investment by giving three months’ notice, although in most cases we would expect to liquidate the portfolio in a far shorter time, subject to liquidity. There are no exit penalties.

Upon receipt of cleared funds, we would typically invest them within five working days. However there may be times, when at the Manager’s discretion, the funds are invested outwith this timeframe

The model portfolio is a growth portfolio and any dividends are re-invested into the portfolio.

Yes, the BPR status of each portfolio holding is assessed by Philip Hare & Associates LLP and a report is issued twice-yearly. Any prospective investee companies are also assessed prior to investment. Periodic reports by Philip Hare & Associates, plus monthly internal compliance checks are carried out to ensure that all holdings are AIM-quoted.

To notify us of a change of address, please email info@amatiglobal.com advising of your name, client reference or account number, current address and your new address. Alternatively, you can write to us at the following address:

Amati Global Investors
8 Coates Crescent
Edinburgh
EH3 7AL

To notify Amati of the death, please contact our investor line on 0131 509 9115 or email: info@amatiglobal.com. Upon notification of the death, administrative activity in respect of the Portfolio will continue but no investment activity will take place, pending instructions from the executors or administrators of the estate.

Upon receipt of the original copy of the Death Certificate, Amati will facilitate the preparation of a Probate Valuation, which will incur a charge of £25 and will be deducted from the cash balance of the portfolio.

We will recognise the executor to an estate upon receipt of the Court sealed office copy of the grant of probate. The same procedure is required if you have been appointed as an Administrator to an estate, but in this case you will need to send us a Court sealed office copy of the grant of letters of administration

Any documents should be sent to:

Amati Global Investors
8 Coates Crescent
Edinburgh
EH3 7AL

If you wish to receive our fund fact-sheets by email once available, please email info@amatiglobal.com or call our investor line on 0131 503 9115.

You can transfer into the Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service using the following payment methods:

Cheque Bank Transfer ISA Transfer- Cash or in-specie Nominee Transfer- Cash or in-specie

 

Further information on the above payment methods can be found within our application form.

Online Portal

Yes, you can view your portfolio online by clicking here. If you have not already been provided with log on details, please call us on 0131 503 9115 or email info@amatiglobal.com.

Please note that the log on details are case sensitive and if the webpage pre-populates them for you, please clear and enter them manually.

Please try the troubleshooting tips below.

Please ensure the webpage you are using to log on is the Amati branded webpage and not James Brearley. You can log onto the Amati portal by clicking here.

The log on details are case sensitive

If the webpage has remembered your password, please delete this and enter manually

Please be aware Please be aware

Please be aware that the ‘Login’ button at the top of the page will direct you accordingly whether you have accessed the Amati website as a Private Investor or a Professional Investor

If you are still unable to log on, please contact us on 0131 503 9115 or info@amatiglobal.com

If you have clicked onto the Documents section on the portal but are unable to view them, please try the following troubleshooting tips below:

Please refresh the page either using the refresh tab on your browser or by pressing both Control (Ctrl) and F5 buttons simultaneously. If you have both a General and an ISA account, please check the Documents section under each account. If you are still unable to view your documents, please contact us on 0131 503 9115 or info@amatiglobal.com

Both clients and their financial advisers have access to the online portal, through which you will be able to view the following:

Portfolio Valuations Capital Tax Gains (CGT) Reporting Stock History Cash Statement Performance Reports Documents

 

Financial Advisers can also use the online portal to reconcile any advisory fees.