AXA launches Estate Planning Account

AXA Wealth Management has added the Estate Planning Account with guarantees to its range of offshore propositions.

The new Estate Planning Account from AXA Isle of Man will complement the company's IHT proposition by providing customers with a straightforward inheritance tax planning solution. As with the Estate Planning Bond the Estate Planning Account is a unit linked investment that combines a capital redemption bond with a trust and cannot be surrendered during the lifetime of the settlor.

The Estate Planning Account aims to:

Reduce clients' potential UK IHT liability
Provide clients with an ‘income' for life
Increase the value of clients' investments over the medium to long term.

The key features of the new product include one transparent charging structure, a choice of over 200 AXA Select and over 50 AXA Family Funds, with a maximum age of entry of 79 years. In addition, the Estate Planning Account offers the options of a guarantee to protect the settlor's 'income', from, for example, poor stock market performance. There is also a legacy guarantee available which protects the value of the initial investment, minus any withdrawals, regardless of investment conditions. These guarantees are provided through the funds set up by AXA Sun Life.

The Estate Planning Account is the latest in a suite of guarantee products from AXA, and further options are set to launch over the next 12-18 months. These products draw on AXA's international experience and expertise in the guarantees market, in particular, AXA's leading position in the US, Japan, and mainland Europe.

Mike Foy, Managing Director, AXA Isle of Man, said: "The launch of the Estate Planning Account enhances our existing range of Inheritance Tax planning products, being a more straightforward version of the Estate Planning Bond. Whilst retaining some of the Estate Planning Bond's most important features, like the optional guarantees, customers now have further choice in selecting an effective IHT solution."