Brexit FAQs

Following the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, very little has changed about how we look after your client’s investments. We put plans in place to make sure we could run our business and manage your client’s money before we left the EU and, now the transition period has ended, we continue to do this.

It’s important to note that we cannot give advice to your clients. If we don’t have the information to answer your client’s question, you may find it at either of these two websites:

https://www.gov.uk/government/brexit

https://www.abi.org.uk/

Should my client take all of their money off the platform now that the UK has left the EU?

We don’t give advice about how you should manage your client’s money. Passporting arrangements are no longer in place and you will need to make sure you have the appropriate basis for dealing with clients in the EEA.

My client set up their account with Ascentric when they were in the UK, but now they live in an EU/EEA country. What will happen to their money?

Clients that use our platform must have a UK bank account. We’re aware that some UK banks have stated they are not permitted to operate in some jurisdictions or will no longer allow EEA clients to bank with them. We recommend you check the situation with the banks your clients use and the rules in their country of residence. If your client doesn’t have a UK bank account, we will be unable to work with them, as detailed in our Terms.

Will you continue to deal with new and existing EEA clients?

Although we will still continue working with EEA clients, we no longer accept new EEA clients on the platform. Please also be aware that EEA clients will no longer be able to open new wrappers on the platform. This is potentially subject to change, as the negotiations continue, and we’ll keep this under review for now.

Will the rules around death benefits be changing as a result of Brexit?

No. This is set by UK legislation. We can’t comment on how any death benefits will be taxed in your client’s country of residence, if they live outside of the UK. This has always been the case though and Brexit doesn’t change that.

Will our charges remain the same?

We don’t expect our current charges to change as a result of Brexit. If there are any changes to our charges for any reason, we will communicate them in the usual way.

Changes to ISA regulations and the FCA Temporary Permissions Regime

ISA regulations are being amended, with the changes coming into force on 31 December 2020. Any EEA domiciled UCITS fund sold under passporting arrangements, that haven’t subsequently been registered with the TPR, will no longer meet ISA regulations and will be closed to new investment from UK investors from 1 January 2021. HMRC have confirmed that investments that currently qualify to be held in an ISA can remain, however additional subscriptions into these funds won’t be allowed from this date.

Clarification on whether a fund is or isn’t registered with the TPR is included on the FCA register.