FCA finally listens to feedback on VCTs and EIS

There had been strong hints the new financial services regulator, the FCA, was preparing to make the right decision about whether VCTs and EIS could be sold to ordinary retail investors.

However, many in the industry will have breathed a big sigh of relief when the final confirmation came through in its policy paper on Unregulated Collective Investment Scheme (UCIS) sales on Tuesday. “Following analysis of the feedback, a number of products now lie out of scope of the marketing restrictions,” said the FCA. “These include exchange-traded products, overseas investment companies that would meet the criteria for investment trust status if based in the UK, real estate investment trusts and venture capital trusts. “Enterprise investment schemes and seed enterprise invest...