AIC: VCT flows could halve in 2014 if caught by UCIS ban

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has warned venture capital trust (VCT) fundraising will halve next year, if the vehicles are not granted an exemption from the FSA's sales ban on unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) to ordinary retail investors.

An FSA consultation paper on UCIS schemes, published in August, granted investment trusts an exemption to the ban. However, other closed-ended products, such as VCTs, were not specifically mentioned in the proposals, leaving providers unsure if their products were included. Ian Sayers, director general of the AIC, said the proposed ruling will have a detrimental effect on new flows into VCTs if only ‘sophisticated’ investors are allowed to invest in the products. VCT providers raised £330m during the 2011/12 tax year, but Sayers warned this could fall by 50% during next year’s fund...