Aegon has today announced the launch of an enhanced capital gains tax calculator, developed in partnership with software development specialists, FinoComp, a Bravura Solutions Ltd company, for advisers using the Aegon platform.
The new tool’s reporting functionality allows advisers and para-planners to gather information in a simple and intuitive way, helping to manage their client’s capital gains tax (CGT) liabilities.
The new tool provides an enhanced user experience with the ability to easily demonstrate a number of scenarios to the client. The functionality provides options of both manual and automated ‘what if’ scenarios to provide a comprehensive overview of a client’s liabilities depending on different factors and help visualise realised and unrealised positions.
- Manual What-If Scenarios –
The tool has the ability to allow users to input a client’s current CGT allowance, include off-platform realised gains or losses, and losses from previous years, and select the specific assets they wish to produce a summary for. It accommodates the selection of the full sale amount or for advisers to specify a sale amount per asset and generates an on-screen summary, which can then be download as a PDF or in Excel and shared with the client.
- Automated What-If Scenarios –
There is also more comprehensive tax optimisation functionality, which allows advisers to target a gain amount, which generates the optimal way of realising that gain. It also includes similar functionality for targeting proceeds with the engine suggesting the optimal way to realise the targeted proceeds. This would also include functionality so the optimisation tools are multi-account aware to allow investor level selection. Summary reports are then produced with options to download as PDF and Excel. Note that it would provide the capability for certain assets to be excluded from the summary. Finally, the ability to input a system wide minimum asset sale value will be provided
Ronnie Taylor, Chief Distribution Office at Aegon commented:
“We’re always looking to bring in enhanced functionality that makes life easier for advisers. When it comes to platform tools we know that CGT calculation engines are highly valued and the introduction of the ‘what if’ functionality delivers a premium tool to advisers who monitor their clients’ CGT positions.
“With an autumn budget on the horizon and growing speculation of changes to CGT, the timing couldn’t be better. There will be heightened demand from clients, anxious to understand their liabilities, before and after any changes. Having the ability to present realised and unrealised positions, in a range of scenarios, and in an easily digestible format is a real coup.
“We’re delighted to have worked with FinoComp to deliver this to the market and look forward to the development of further gains reporting and scenario planning in the future.”
Ray Tubman Managing Director at FinoComp said:
“We think that this is an absolute game-changer for CGT tools and are delighted to be bringing this to market on the Aegon platform. We instigated a substantial research project and identified that the functionality of existing CGT tools offered in the market were quite simply, not fit for purpose. Not only were they not providing key calculation and scenario-based requirements, but they were also highlighted as one of the most valuable services Advisers desire from their platform providers. With a modern data interface, scenario processing and the ability to ingest data across multiple platforms we believe this latest microservices enhancement, which can be integrated with any technology, will significantly improve the service advisers will be able to offer to their clients.”
