AJ Bell Investcentre has launched a discretionary loan trust for advisers managing clients’ inheritance tax (IHT) and estate planning needs.

This is the business’s third trust following the launch of a discretionary gift trust and absolute gift trust for use with AJ Bell Investcentre General Investment Accounts (GIA) in December.

AJ Bell worked collaboratively with Technical Connection to develop the trust deeds, which are designed to give advisers access to flexible, open architecture solutions amid an increase in the number of families being brought into the IHT net.

Research from AJ Bell and Ad Lucem found that 63 per cent of advisers saw IHT and estate planning as an important or critical part of their proposition, while 76 per cent said they would value access to open architecture investing through a GIA, coupled with a range of trusts with full provider support.

The discretionary loan trust is available on the AJ Bell Investcentre advised platform and can used with GIAs, with advisers being able to access supporting documents on all three trusts.

AJ Bell also announced it will launch its first onshore bond link “in due course”, aiming to provide advisers with a comprehensive range of tax planning tools.

“It is no secret that advisers need a range of tools and investments to plan tax efficiently for clients, particularly when guiding them through the increasingly complex estate planning process,” commented AJ Bell advised product director, Mark Rendle.

“That is why we have launched our third trust in a matter of months, providing advisers with an even wider range of investment options to protect client wealth and improve the intergenerational wealth transfer process.

“We are listening to advisers’ concerns in an ever-changing and uncertain tax environment, and we want to ensure they are supported as comprehensively as possible in navigating it with client money.

“Alongside our range of trusts and other enhancements to our advised platform, the launch of our first onshore bond link in due course will help to further build out our proposition and achieve that goal.”

Technical Connection managing director and founder, Tony Wickenden, added: “Tax effective estate planning that gives clients control and access of the underlying investments is well served for those with investable cash by a wide range of excellent investment bond and trust combinations.

“We have been delighted to collaborate with AJ Bell to create some similarly tax effective and flexible estate planning solutions where the underlying investment of choice is a GIA.

“We believe that investment choice should not be restricted when a trust is appropriate, and all of the trusts and a wide range of supporting documents come with detailed adviser and client facing guides to their legal and taxation treatment to aid that process.”

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