AJ Bell Investcentre has today launched its first onshore bond link, the Countrywide Assured Onshore Bond, in partnership with Countrywide.
Offering a range of benefits to advisers and clients including simpler tax reporting, tax efficient estate and trust planning, and flexible investment management, the Countrywide Assured Onshore Bond can now invest through the AJ Bell Investcentre platform in General Investment Accounts (GIAs).
Countrywide Assured have been selected as the first onshore bond partner for AJ Bell Investcentre because of their focus on supporting the open architecture investment style that is valued by advisers and clients. Countrywide Assured’s emphasis on growing their product base and presence in the UK market, supporting platforms and advisers, makes them the ideal partner.
The introduction of onshore bonds and trusts, alongside AJ Bell’s existing solutions including offshore bonds, means AJ Bell now offers advisers and their clients an even more comprehensive suite of tax planning tools. This will enable advisers to meet clients’ IHT and wider tax planning needs by investing tax efficiently using a GIA.
Mark Rendle, AJ Bell advised product director, says:
“As advisers continue to navigate a constantly evolving tax environment to protect client wealth, we’re pleased to announce the addition of the Countrywide Assured Onshore Bond to AJ Bell Investcentre, having recently also launched our third trust in a matter of months. Alongside our existing suite of tax and estate planning tools including offshore bonds and trusts, the onshore bond augments one of the more comprehensive IHT planning suites in the advised market via Investcentre, providing advisers with a range of flexible, tax-efficient solutions to deal with the evolving needs of clients.”
Jackie Ronson, Countrywide Assured CEO, adds:
“We are excited to announce our partnership with AJ Bell, a leading UK investment platform. This collaboration allows us to expand our presence in the onshore bond market, offering customers greater choice and flexibility. Our collaboration gives AJ Bell Investcentre advisers and their clients access to the financial planning advantages of our onshore bond proposition and allows us to bring the product to a wider range of customers.”
How does the Countrywide Assured Onshore Bond work?
The Countrywide Assured Onshore Bond will offer tax planning benefits to customers alongside offshore bonds already available via the AJ Bell Investcentre platform.
Countrywide Assured will open an AJ Bell Investcentre GIA in their name as an investment within any client’s bond, with all assets and cash held in the bond account owned by Countrywide Assured.
Onshore bonds have a range of functionalities to benefit advisers and clients:
- Tax efficiency. Onshore bonds are structured to benefit from UK tax rules:
- Tax-deferred income – investors can withdraw up to 5% of the original investment each year without immediate tax liability, allowing for flexible income planning.
- Top-slicing relief – when tax is calculated on capital gains, typically at the point of surrender or maturity, investors may benefit from spreading the gain over the bond’s lifetime, potentially reducing the tax rate.
- Simpler tax reporting. Unlike an unwrapped GIA, onshore bonds are taxed under UK corporation tax rules, which normally simplifies annual tax returns for UK residents as tax is only likely to become due at certain events, not every year.
- Estate and trust planning. They can be placed in trusts to manage wealth transfer efficiently, and their structure is based on segmentation, which can make it easier to assign and release parts of the bond to beneficiaries.
- Investment flexibility. Onshore bonds offer access to a wide range of funds and allow switching between them without triggering a tax event. This flexibility supports dynamic portfolio management over time.