Sanlam UK is to cease charging VAT on its model portfolio services (MPS) from 1 April.

The firm joins a growing band of investment managers removing VAT following discussions with HMRC.

Fund managers who have axed VAT recently include Charles Stanley, 7IM, Brooks Macdonald and AJ Bell.

The change will apply to all MPS where there is no “personalisation” at an investor level, Sanlam UK says. The Active, Index and Socially Responsible strategies are among the models impacted by the change. 

South African-owned Sanlam says that “every endeavour” is being made to implement the change across multiple wrap and fund supermarket platforms from 1 April but for some platforms implementing the changes may prove challenging from an operational perspective. 

Sanlam says it will brief individual IFA firms shortly about the specific timelines for the changes depending on which platforms assets are held. 

Sanlam UK has a number of businesses including Sanlam Private Wealth, a discretionary fund manager, a boutique asset firm called Sanlam Investments, a Financial Planning arm called Sanlam Partnership and Sanlam Wealth Planning, national financial adviser with 55 UK-based advisers. 

Sanlam has more than £15 billion of assets under management or influence.