Standard Life to scrap rebates and go 'clean' by April 2014

Standard Life's wrap platform is to scrap rebates on new and existing business and move to a clean share class only model by the start of the 2014/15 tax year, Investment Week can reveal.

The group has reacted to the decision by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to tax rebates with a move to scrap them entirely from its platform by April next year. Crucially, the move would impact the legacy book, with the group aiming to remove rebates on legacy business held on the platform from April 2014. While the group cannot force clients to move into clean share classes, as the old bundled share classes will be subject to HMRC's new tax, it will likely be in clients' best interests to convert to the new clean share classes and avoid the tax, allowing Standard Life to then ...