Bestinvest
 | |
| Type | Limited |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Area served | United Kingdom |
| Key people | John Spiers, Peter Hall, Jason Hollands, Gareth Lewis, Donald Reid, Lee Dooley, Tim Stalkartt and 3i |
| Products |
Self-Invested Personal Pensions |
| Employees | 200 |
| Website | www.bestinvest.co.uk |
Bestinvest is a financial services group based in Mayfair, London. It provides independent investment advice, financial planning, wealth management and execution-only services predominantly to private investors. The group serves 70,000 clients through its website, telephone-based investment advisers and face-to-face meetings with independent financial advisers. Clients' investments are generally in funds - unit trusts, OEICs and investment trusts - or bespoke discretionary funds.
History
The company was founded in 1986 by John Spiers[1] . Bestinvest began as a specialist firm focused on researching and broking tax-efficient investments including Business Expansion Schemes (BES), from which the firm took its original name (BESt Investment). Following the abolition of BES, the company re-focused on the Personal Equity Plan market, attracting new clients predominantly through its high media profile in the national press, including the launch of its high profile Spot the Dog report which named consistently poor investment funds. The company also earned a reputation as a smaller company specialist when it won the mandate to be the Investment Adviser for the AIM Distribution Trust VCT. From the mid-1990s it grew into a broader based private client investment advisory business, pioneering discount broking on unit trusts and OEICs, promoting the use of online fund supermarkets and establishing a discretionary investment management arm. In July 2007 it was bought by management and 3i.[2] The company acquired HW Financial Services, the financial services arm of Haines Watts the accountancy group, in January 2010.[3]
Operations
The company provides independent investment advice, discretionary investment management and financial planning services to individuals and companies, charities and other financial institutions. Available products include Individual Savings Accounts (ISA), Unit Trusts, Self-invested personal pensions (SIPP) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCT).[4]
The company has one of the largest independent research teams in the UK retail funds industry, and is well known for its research and ratings of investments.
Services
The company’s range of services caters for clients who manage their own investments, those who require advice and those wish to have their investments managed for them. Bestinvest pioneered independent fund research[citation needed] and has expanded its execution only services through Bestinvest Select, revamped its advisory services in 2011 and developed new portfolio management services. The business manages private portfolios on behalf of its clients and offers a range of discretionary portfolio management solutions. The company also manages five multi-manager funds (IFSL Bestinvest Multi-Asset Portfolio funds).[5] held in an Open Ended Investment Company OEIC managed by Gareth Lewis, Head of Investments.
Other services include wealth planning for private clients, mortgage-broking and general insurance offered by a subsidiary Lovat Insurance Brokers Limited.
References
- ↑ John Spiers returns to Bestinvest - The Times
- ↑ 3i back Bestinvest - 3i Press Release
- ↑ HW Financial Services links with Bestinvest
- ↑ O'Neill, Moira (20 January 2011). "Hit the January VCT sales". Investors Chronicle. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ↑ Bestinvest launches new multi-asset funds - Business Week