What advisers need to know: Achieving balance with bonds

‘Tax tails shouldn’t wag the investment dog, but consider the kennel’

clock • 4 min read

In the second of a series of post-Autumn Statement technical articles, Les Cameron looks at en vogue bonds – but also questions if they have ever been out of favour…

As the consequences of the Autumn Statement bed in, one of the themes I have been hearing is that "bonds are back". But have they actually ever been away? Insurance bonds have long since been a part of mainstream financial planning. As has the world of open-ended investment companies (OEIC). Some investments, smoothed funds being the prime example, can only be held in a tax wrapper. But in this age of open architecture tax wrappers, where the necessary investment is often available both inside and outside a tax wrapper, the use of bonds is predominately a tax-led decision. I'll assume...

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