virtualWRAP

The clarity website enables clients to view the total value of all their investments in one place, as part of our virtualWRAP concept.

clarity’s virtualWRAP is independent of any particular fund platform/fund provider meaning clients can view all the investments they hold including those held on different fund platforms (e.g. those held with Aegon, FundsNetwork and Transact).

The main advantages of clarity’s virtualWRAP are detailed below:

• it provides an instantly accessible, single point of reference for both client and adviser to view the total value of a portfolio held across all platforms, and those of the component parts.
• it enables both client and adviser to see the asset split of a portfolio (e.g. the amount invested in equities, bonds, property etc.) and the facility to check this split against any agreed target asset allocation.
• where the appropriate permissions have been granted clients can see combined valuation/asset allocation reports for their own holdings and those of their spouse/partner/ family members. For guidance regarding how to set up permissions to view another’s holdings please see the following link: https://www.clarityglobal.com/jointvaluationguide.
• the consolidation of holdings in a single place simplifies the administration of a portfolio.
• a consolidated transaction history is available to aid any tax reporting requirements.

It is worth noting that wrap providers generally charge fees based on the value of the funds held within the wrap. clarity’s virtualWRAP allows clarity clients to benefit from the advantages detailed above for no additional charge above the Invest or Portfolio(+) charges.

The new clarity website also provides clients with the facility to create separate portfolios from their investments and designate funds for a particular purpose e.g. long term investments, pensions, school fees etc. For more information about creating portfolios please see the following guidance: https://www.clarityglobal.com/createportfolioguide

Fund Platforms

We ordinarily recommend that clients invest via a fund platform where possible. Most platforms enable unit trusts/OEICs to be held directly and also within ISAs, SIPPs and insurance bonds. Using a fund platform offers a number of advantages including access to a wide range of funds, low cost switching and simplified administration.

We have primarily recommended Aegon and FundsNetwork as platform providers and for most clients they continue to offer a cost effective and suitable way to hold their investments. Aegon is the UK's largest independent investment platform, with over £38bn assets under administration (as at Q2 2012). FundsNetwork is the UK Investments platform provided by Fidelity Worldwide Investments, with over £37bn assets under administration (as at 30/06/2011). Investing through either platform enables investors to gain access to over 1,300 funds from more than 70 fund managers.

However, a significant number of clients also have individual equities, gilts and investment trusts that cannot currently be held on these platforms. If you use Aegon and/or FundsNetwork as a platform provider for your investments and have holdings that cannot currently be held on these platforms, you can add these holdings to those within your virtualWRAP by either:

• manually adding these holdings to the clarity website on the other assets page or,
• using a platform that enables you to hold these other assets such as Transact.

Moving platform to platform as situations change is becoming increasingly simple and in most cases this can be done in-specie. If you wish to consider either of these options further, or if you have any questions regarding the above, please contact your usual clarity adviser (tel. 0800 368 7511) or email enquiries@clarityglobal.com.