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News from FSL – July 2021

This is the 8th issue of our quarterly newsletter. Please forward this newsletter to any colleagues that might be interested, they can subscribe by clicking here. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, to unsubscribe click here.

Product & Service Update

CGiX Upgrades:

FSL have recently undertaken a complex development project to refactor our calculation service.

The focus of this project was to upgrade the code base to ensure we are using a current development language which follows best practice.  This will make it easier to maintain, allowing us to add new functionality and update our tax rules much quicker than before.

A much more obvious and instantaneous benefit is we have made ‘Full Calculations’ approximately 30% faster!

This release is now available and will be part of any future releases you will take.  Please contact the BA team for further information.

Offshore Reporting Fund:

FSL have expanded their ORF offering to the accountancy sector after increased interest from new customers from this industry.

The need for accurate ORF data for clients to report their tax liability to HMRC on time involves a large amount of time-consuming and complicated work – more organisations are seeing the appeal of outsourcing this task.

New Security Specialist:

As part of our ongoing commitment to security, FSL have recruited a full time Security Officer.  This role will be separate from line of business functions to ensure impartiality.  The Security Officer is responsible for overseeing the IT, Information and Data security of the entire organisation.  This will include strategic vision, scoping of requirements, design, development, implementation, incident response, budgets and adherence to all necessary protocols, regulations and any legal requirements.

Final OTS CGT Report

The Office of Tax Simplification finally published their second and final report of their review of Capital Gains Tax (CGT).  The report can be read in full here and considers a range of key practical, technical and administrative issues, based on the present policy design principles of CGT.  It also highlights a broader concern about the low level of public awareness of the tax, and the extent to which the administrative systems could do much more to support taxpayers.

Fourteen recommendations are made, three aim to make a difference over the long term, some are standalone issues and the majority address issues that affect significant groups of people.

The report includes an Investor Issues section that is mainly focussed on the Enterprise and Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes.  However, some evidence was also considered regarding foreign assets.  HMRC statistics suggest that approximately 1 in 10 people in the UK have foreign assets.  The OTS suggests that it would be simpler if the calculation of capital gains/losses resulting from the disposal of a foreign asset were completed in the foreign currency and then converted to sterling at the exchange rate on the date of disposal.  This adjustment to the rules would remove the need to calculate the sterling equivalent of the acquisition cost and of any subsequent costs.

Though the report is lengthy, there are no major policy change recommendations that would alter the current system.  However, these could still come as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

If you have any concerns about the impact of the review on CGiX or would like to discuss further, then please contact:

     FSLBA&I@financialsoftware.co.uk

FSL News & Views Update

FSL’s Relationship with Objectway & Temenos:

CGIX now has certified integration capability with Objectway’s EXIMIUS portfolio management system.  We are also pleased to announce our new partnership with Temenos, to prove the interfaces between their wealth solution and CGiX.

FSL Chain Mail:

The most recent edition looks at the latest cyber news and what is being done to mitigate the risks to investors.

Focus on ESG:

Two recent articles on ESG include a brief history of ESG and a closer look at how the UK finance sector is preparing for the UN COP26.

Some Facts & Figures from CGiX:

A summary of the transactions, calculations and reports run on CGiX gives us a view of the activity being processed by our software.

New Members of the FSL Team:

Over the past 18 months the team at FSL has continued to grow with additions to the Data Team, Research Team and an ESG specialist.

ESG Portfolio Rating & Modelling Tool

With new research showing that around 83% of advisors now include ESG when discussing client investments, we are proud to announce the creation of a new tool that gives you the ability to both manage and model change scenarios for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data.

Following comprehensive user research and co-created with one of our CGiX customers, it has a user-friendly interface and provides clear ESG portfolio reporting for your clients.  The tool offers ESG model analysis and the ability to compare ratings against other models or the client’s portfolio.

The tool’s What-if capability for portfolio adjustment and rebalancing will allow you to run scenarios on possible changes and see the impact on the ESG score.

The tool is provided via two data options, either with built in ESG data or with the ability to take data from your own vendor.

If you would like more information on this new tool or for a demonstration, then please contact:

info@financialsoftware.co.uk