EQ Investors (EQ), the boutique wealth manager led by John Spiers, has added a new selector wrapper tool to its Simply EQ investment-advice service. The online tool is designed to help bridge the ‘financial advice gap’ by indicating which tax wrappers best suit an individual’s personal circumstances.

Differing taxation of an ISA, SIPP or general investment account (GIA) are built into the tool which allows the individual to run various investment scenarios based on user defined input.

The tax wrapper selector tool:

·         Caters for variations of current and future personal tax status

·         Takes into account age of investor, investment time horizon, CGT, ISA and pension allowances

·         Allows for inheritance (IHT) planning

·         Shows results relative to each wrapper type.

John Spiers, Chief Executive at EQ said: “From a tax perspective, selecting the right investment wrapper can make a significant difference to returns. Tax planning is an integral part of the investment process, especially with the layers of complexity that now exist.”

Spiers added: “Tools like this demonstrate the different factors and level of understanding that need to be considered when planning investments. We hope to help people understand their options and guide their way through, what can be, a very complex landscape.

“In the last couple of months we have published a number of guides and launched a calculator that allows DIY investors to work out the time it takes to invest well.”