"There is speculation that changes to CGT are in the Chancellor’s mind, so there’s an expectation that we’ll hear more in his spring statement."
The new tool’s reporting functionality allows advisers and para-planners to gather information to help manage their client’s CGT liabilities.
The new tool, which will also soon be available on the Aegon Platform, provides an enhanced user experience with the ability to easily demonstrate a number of scenarios to the client. The functionality provides options of both manual and automated ‘what if’ scenarios to provide a comprehensive overview of a client’s liabilities depending on different factors and help visualise realised and unrealised positions.
• Manual What-If Scenarios: The tool has the ability to allow users to input a client’s current CGT allowance, include off-platform realised gains or losses, and losses from previous years, and select the specific assets they wish to produce a summary for. It accommodates the selection of the full sale amount or for advisers to specify a sale amount per asset and generates an on-screen summary, which can then be downloaded as a PDF or in Excel and shared with the client.
• Automated What-If Scenarios: There is also more comprehensive tax optimisation functionality, which allows advisers to target a gain amount (such as the tax free threshold), which generates the optimal way of realising that gain. It also includes similar functionality for targeting proceeds with the engine suggesting the optimal way to realise the targeted proceeds. This also includes functionality so the optimisation tools are at an investor level considering all relevant accounts on platform in addition to off platform positions. Summary reports are then produced with options to download as PDF and Excel. It also provides the capability for certain assets to be excluded from the calculation.
Yesterday, it was revealed that HMRC are sending out 14,000 'nudge' letters to people who have sold a residential property during the 2018/19 tax year asking them to check whether they owe Capital Gains Tax.
Ronnie Taylor, chief distribution office at Aegon, commented: “We’re always looking to bring in enhanced functionality that makes life easier for advisers. When it comes to platform tools we know that CGT calculation engines are highly valued and the introduction of the ‘what if’ functionality delivers a premium tool to advisers who monitor their clients’ CGT positions.
“Although the autumn budget has been cancelled, there is speculation that changes to CGT are in the Chancellor’s mind, so there’s an expectation that we’ll hear more in his spring statement. Any changes will drive increased demand from clients, anxious to understand their before and after liabilities. Having the ability to present realised and unrealised positions, in a range of scenarios, and in an easily digestible format is a real coup.
“We’re delighted to have worked with FinoComp to deliver this to the market and look forward to the development of further gains reporting and scenario planning in the future.”
