Elite and Prestige accounts

To get an Elite or Prestige Account you must be aged between 18 and 89 and have at least £1m to invest.

Our Elite and Prestige accounts are unit-linked offshore investment bonds that you can open in your sole name, or as a joint account. The bond is divided into up to 998 separate, identical policies – giving you flexibility on how you withdraw your money.

Set up in 2003, CLI Institutional offers an unrivalled level of security to high-net worth investors. Thanks to its company structure, it provides policyholders with a high level of protection.

Greater investor protection

Through CLI Institutional, we can be more exclusive about the type of business we write. The company can only issue unit-linked life assurance policies and cannot undertake any other form of insurance business, which limits the types of risk the business is exposed to.

This means that policyholders with CLI Institutional are protected from certain business risks that other insurance companies take, and which policyholders generally have no control over.

Policyholders are also protected by the Isle of Man Life Assurance (Compensation of Policyholders) Regulations 1991. This scheme offers compensation if a company is unable to meet its liabilities, paying policyholders up to 90% of the company’s liabilities.

Managing your investments

Prestige Account

Manage and control your own investments or nominate a fund adviser to do this for you.

Elite Account

With this account, you can appoint a discretionary fund manager or someone else to select and manage the investments on your behalf. You can also choose to hold the assets through a platform and make use of the services they offer.

Access a wide range of investments

Both accounts give you access to an almost unlimited range of investments from across the globe including:

• Unit trusts
• Investment trusts
• Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs)
• Cash deposits

With The Elite Account, you can access  a number of platforms and discretionary fund managers.

You can also split your investments across different platforms and different discretionary fund managers.

With so much choice, our investment governance team is on hand to offer guidance on which investments can be held in each account.

Explore all your investment choices.

What are the risks?
As with any investment, the value can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Different investments have different levels of risk and past performance is no guide to future performance.

All withdrawals are free of charge.

Regular withdrawals

You can set up regular withdrawals every month, quarter, half-year or year. The minimum amount you can withdraw is £50. There’s no maximum amount as long as you keep £50,000 invested.

One-off withdrawals      

You can cash in (surrender) part of your investment at any time. The minimum amount you can withdraw is £200. There’s no maximum amount, as long as you keep £50,000 invested.

5% tax-deferred withdrawal allowance

If you pay tax in the UK, you can withdraw up to 5% of your original investment each year without having to pay any tax on it. Payments made to your adviser may be included in this allowance.

If you don’t withdraw the full 5%, the remaining allowance can be carried over into the next year. You can do this until you’ve withdrawn 100% of your original investment.

Cashing in

You can cash in your investment in full, at any time. Although you should always speak to an adviser to discuss any tax implications.

Annual management charge

This charge is for setting up and looking after your investment. It is taken every three months and varies according to the size of the original investment. You’ll need to pay:

• 0.25% a year on investments between £1m and £5m
• 0.20% a year on investments of £5m and above

Administration charge

If you have the Prestige Account, you’ll need to pay us a quarterly administration charge for looking after the investment. See charges and fees.

There’s no administration charge for the Elite Account.

Investment management charges

Different types of investments have different charges, so these will depend on which investments you choose.

If you decide to nominate a fund adviser or use a platform then your adviser will let you know what the charges will be for these services.

Paying your adviser

If you want us to pay your adviser we offer two options:

• We can deduct the adviser charge from your investment before, or after the money is invested
• We can pay your adviser on a quarterly, half-yearly or yearly basis

You can pay your adviser a set amount or a percentage of the investment’s value.

The charges for your account depend on how your account is set-up. You’ll find details of the charges on your personal product illustration which your adviser will request from us.

Investment growth

You’ll enjoy mostly tax-free growth on your investment. Capital growth and income generated within our funds are tax-free. However, withholding tax might be charged on some investments and this cannot be claimed back.

Withholding tax is tax which has been deducted at source, for example a company might have to pay tax on its dividend payments.

If you cash in or fully surrender your investment you may have some income tax to pay.

It’s important to remember that the value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. The way funds have performed in the past is no guide to future performance.

Inheritance tax

If your bond isn’t in a trust, there may be inheritance tax to pay when you die. By placing your investment in a trust, there may be less inheritance tax to pay, or none at all.

Tax rules depend on individual circumstances and may change. Speak to an adviser, if you need more information on tax.

Explore our trusts and see how they could help you pass on your wealth in a tax-efficient way. 

You can use a trust with your Elite or Prestige account. This could reduce the amount of inheritance tax that needs to be paid when you die.

These accounts can used with the following trusts:

• Gift and Loan Trust
• Gift Trust
• Probate Trust
• Excluded Property Trust

Trusts explained. Find out more about the types of trust we offer and how they could help you pass on your wealth in a tax-efficient way.