Users of the independent wrap Ascentric now have access to Tax Elected Funds (TEF) for the first time following the launch of Querns Income First Fund on the platform. The fund is provided by Querns Asset Managers and is managed by former New Star managers Stephen Whittaker and Phil Roantree.
TEFs were introduced in the 2009 Budget and became effective last September. For holdings in tax efficient wrappers such as an ISA or a SIPP the fund pays out dividends from stocks and interest from bonds gross, so the investor has the same treatment as if the assets were held directly. Prior to the TEF regime, it was only possible to receive gross interest from UK funds that paid interest distributions, although these funds required a minimum 60% invested in fixed interest investments.
Querns Income First Fund has none of these restrictions and is the first TEF to be marketed in the UK. It has no initial charge and a low annual management charge of 0.75%. The fund’s TEF status allows it to produce a high monthly income from a portfolio of UK equities and Sterling corporate bonds without the restrictions on asset allocation that affect traditional funds.
John Tierney, Sales and Marketing Partner at Querns commented, “Ascentric is one of the few platforms able to handle TEFs, and their growing number of high calibre advisers will be able to make the most of the tax advantages that this fund provides.”
Richard Goodall, Sales and Marketing Director at Ascentric stated, “Given the tax efficiency of TEFs, I am surprised that there haven’t been further launches of this kind. We are delighted to offer the first TEF available in the market as it provides further product choice and asset diversity for Ascentric users.”
D.C.