The Budget cut to the lifetime allowance is set to fuel demand in VCTs and EIS, experts say.
The Chancellor said yesterday the current £1.25m allowance would drop to £1m, prompting criticism in the pensions industry.
But the move could be good news for alternative tax efficient schemes.
Will Fraser-Allen, deputy managing partner at Albion Ventures, said: "There is little doubt that this will increase demand, among a significant larger number of people planning for retirement, to invest in a broader range of tax-efficient pension supplements, including VCTs.
"We've already seen a substantial increase in investor interest in VCTs following earlier reductions in the pension lifetime allowance and expect this additional reduction to further boost demand."
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Oliver Bedford, manager of the Hargreave Hale AIM VCTs, said: "VCTs have become increasingly popular with investors looking for tax free income in retirement. The reduction in the tax free pension savings lifetime allowance from £1.25million to £1million is likely to reinforce that trend as more investors look to VCTs as a source of tax free income and capital gains exempt growth as they approach or enter into retirement."
Jason Hollands, managing director of Tilney Bestinvest, said: "The relentless cuts to pension allowances have already resulted in more and more affluent investors looking at alternative tax efficient schemes, namely VCTs and EIS, and the latest reduction is sure to fuel demand."
The Chancellor announced various changes to VCTs and EIS yesterday – details of which can be seen in full on our story HERE.
Currently there are no restrictions on the age of a business that can receive VCT financing.
But future VCT and EIS investments will be restricted to companies less than 12-years old, other than where the investment 'will lead to a substantial change in the company's activity.'
A total cap of £15m is being introduced on the amount of tax-advantaged funding a business can receive, which will increase to £20m for knowledge-intensive companies where the maximum staff size required under the VCT rules will increase to 499 employees (from 249).
Mr Hollands said: "It is unclear at this point whether this new cap replaces or is additional to the annual £5 million cap a business can receive in the form of VCT investment. If it replaces it, that could be a real positive.
"While the VCT industry is used to successfully accommodating periodic changes, the shift to direct new VCT investment towards earlier phase investments is likely to cause some head scratching at management groups, who will want to engage with HMRC to get clarity over what might constitute a 'substantial change in the company's activity.'
He added that competition for originating future deals at the more mature end of the new 12-year window could be "quite intense".
Mr Fraser-Allen said: "These amendments make sense in the context of obtaining EU approval and would appear to have minimal impact on the vast majority of schemes.
"Having managed VCTs for over 20 years we have yet to commit over £15 million in any portfolio company and cannot immediately think of an investment in a company for the first time that was over 12 years old. However, these changes underline The Treasury's continued commitment to supporting tax-efficient investment schemes and the role they play in support high growth small businesses and generating commensurate returns for investors."