The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

Zurich
Zurich Retail Protection, part of the Switzerland-headquartered Zurich Insurance Group, aka Zurich, has launched a private client service aimed at the ultra-high net worth market. The firm argues that a widening net of inheritance tax gives added urgency to the need for insurance-linked solutions.

Advisors will receive dedicated support from sales consultants, underwriters, case handlers and administrators for UHNW cases. Clients will also obtain fast-tracked medical screening, access to private medical clinics and support from a customer services team for post-issue servicing queries, Zurich said in a statement yesterday . 

As part of the roll-out, Zurich has launched a new wealth protection website hub and technical guide.

“As long-standing reliefs are scaled back and pensions are brought into the IHT [inheritance tax] net, families will have fewer ways to manage their exposure. This shift is driving increased interest in the role of life insurance can play in estate planning as it offers certainty and provides a faster solution for executors to settle IHT bills,” Andy Roberts, head of specialist propositions at Zurich UK, said.

Zurich has also produced three new calculators designed to aid advisor conversations with their clients.

7IM
UK-based 7IM has widened the range of its Income Model Portfolios as advisors get more demand for tax-efficient income solutions. 

The government’s squeeze to capital gains tax and other forces have prompted the wealth manager to act, it said in a statement yesterday. 

The managed income strategies were built on the foundations of a Balanced Income profile that has formed part of 7IM’s core model range since 2013.

The expanded proposition now spans six risk profiles – Cautious, Moderately Cautious, Balanced, Moderately Adventurous, Adventurous and Adventurous Plus. Each profile targets a natural yield of between 3 and 4.5 per cent. This is a significant uplift on more traditional core portfolios, while maintaining a strong emphasis on capital preservation and long-term income sustainability, the firm said.

The portfolios are actively managed, based on 7IM’s strategic asset allocation. 

“The changes to CGT thresholds and upcoming changes to the inheritance tax treatment of unspent pensions has changed how clients are thinking about income. As estates grow, many are gifting surplus income to beneficiaries in a tax-efficient way,” Ben Kumar, head of strategy – wealth, public policy and investment at 7IM, said. “This may actually end up being a positive for growth in the UK, with money being passed through the generations at an earlier stage and appearing in the 'spending’ economy far sooner.

“This trend is also evident in structures like family investment companies, where dividend income is often more efficient than capital growth. Overall, there is a clear shift towards income-led returns,” he said. 

Total costs on the portfolios range from 0.49 per cent to 0.62 per cent.