The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has enhanced its educational materials for financial advisers and other investment professionals. The AIC’s new Knowledge base is a free resource consisting of six guides covering topics such as discounts and premiums, gearing, income, regulation, tax, platform availability and costs, REITs and VCTs.
A full list of topics covered by the guides can be found below. They can be accessed by financial advisers who are registered on the AIC’s website, a simple process that takes less than one minute (to register, go to https://www.theaic.co.uk/financial-advisers/register).
The resource forms part of the AIC’s financial adviser centre, which also contains e-learning courses for investment professionals within Learning Zone. Professionals can gain CPD and work towards completing the Investment Company Accreditation, a certificate from the AIC demonstrating their knowledge of investment companies.
Nick Britton, Research Director at the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “The free training and educational materials we offer financial advisers are an important part of our vision that investment companies should be understood and considered by every investor. More than 1,500 advice firms use investment companies for their clients and we are always happy to help advisers who want to learn more.”
Knowledge base: the six guides and the topics they cover
| Guide | Key topics covered |
| Introducing investment companies | An overview of investment companies and how they are different from other funds. |
| Why use investment companies? | Income advantages, performance benefits, access to less liquid assets and the risks of investment companies. |
| Structural features of investment companies | Discounts and premiums, gearing, governance, trading on the stock market, income features. |
| Practical considerations when using investment companies | Fees, costs and expenses; researching investment companies; platform availability and costs. |
| Regulation and tax | How investment companies are regulated; investment companies and the NMPI rules; tax issues. |
| REITs, VCTs and non-UK investment companies | Non-UK investment companies vs UK investment trusts, real estate investment trusts (REITs), venture capital trusts (VCTs). |
You can visit Knowledge base here.
