Diana French has spent more than a decade in the venture capital trust (VCT) market. Once seen as a niche, end-of-year tax product, VCTs are moving into the mainstream of financial advice, often forming part of annual planning alongside pensions and Isas.
French explains what’s driving that shift, how advisers can frame the balance between risk and tax relief, and why education, tools and softer skills will be crucial as inheritance tax changes loom.
Tom Browne:
You’ve said VCTs are becoming part of regular financial advice. What’s driving that shift from a niche, seasonal product to something more mainstream?
Diana French:
Awareness has grown significantly. When I started in the market over 12 years ago, the conversation was, ‘What is a VCT?’ Now it’s, ‘Tell me about your VCT.’
We should be delivering practical tools, webinars, guides and calculators
If clients do a VCT once, they often repeat it in following years and it becomes part of their annual planning alongside pensions and Isas. The tax year-end is still busy, but now the activity is much more spread out because clients know they want to invest and just get on with it.
Browne:
Triple Point often highlights the balance between risk and tax relief. How should advisers frame that?
French:
VCTs are high risk, and it’s important to remember why they exist. Introduced in 1995, they were designed to encourage investment in early-stage, high-growth businesses — the backbone of economic growth and job creation.
But the government also appreciated that asking people to invest into those sorts of companies was quite high risk compared to other mainstream investments, and that’s where the tax wrapper comes in. For the past 15 years it’s been consistent: up to 30% upfront income tax relief, tax-free growth and tax-free dividends, on the condition they’re held for five years.
One of the best parts of my role is seeing how solutions are used in practice, and helping put that together
Browne:
You’ve emphasised the importance of client-friendly literature. What do advisers say they need most from providers?
French:
One of the things we ask advisers is, ‘What can we be doing more of?’ The answer is always: education. It’s about doing that in the right way — simple, straightforward, but most importantly bringing it to life.
Planning scenarios are always popular when we do them at events. For each of our products, we’ve built a suite of scenarios based on conversations with advisers. Other advisers might find those interesting because they could be the solution to a client’s problem. That education piece is a really important part of what we do.
Browne:
The inheritance tax (IHT) calculator you’ve launched reflects the 2026 and 2027 changes. What feedback have you had?
We hear thousands of adviser conversations. That gives us insight into best practice we can share
French:
It’s been very positive. I think it was one of the first calculators to factor in those changes.
Take a married couple with a £1m estate and a £1m pension: today, no IHT issue, but by April 2027 suddenly there’s a significant liability. The calculator shows your position today, in April 2026 when business relief changes take effect, and in 2027 when pensions come into scope. That visual tool really helps start conversations.
Off the Record: Antonia Medlicott, founder and managing director of Investing Insiders
Browne:
Triple Point’s survey shows over 90% of advisers expect more clients to need IHT planning. Is the profession ready?
French:
Yes, that’s correct, and 93% of respondents to the same survey say it will directly impact the advice they provide.
I have a lot of empathy for advisers. Clients who don’t have a problem today may face one after the rules change, while long-standing plans will also need revisiting. We’re also seeing clients start to think about IHT earlier, prompted by the debate around pensions.
Our inheritance tax calculator is a visual tool that really helps start conversations
Browne:
Where do you see the biggest gaps in adviser education or support?
French:
If we think back to just the past couple of years, there’s been so much change — the Budget, the impact on IHT, changes to pensions, and a lot of regulatory change too. There’s a lot to navigate and sometimes it’s difficult to stay on top of it all.
For example, the October 2024 Budget was announced, but the detail in terms of the consultation and the draft legislation came out only four or six weeks ago. So, you’ve got the theory, and then you’ve got the practical application. The sheer volume of it is challenging, which is why I think it’s important for providers like us to help with that through the content we put out.
Browne:
You’ve worked across product, sales and strategy. How do you see providers’ roles evolving?
When I started over 12 years ago, the conversation was, ‘What is a VCT?’ Now it’s, ‘Tell me about your VCT.
French:
We should be delivering practical tools, webinars, guides and calculators. One advantage of being on the provider side is we hear thousands of adviser conversations. That gives us insight into best practice we can share.
Estate planning is particularly hard to raise with clients — families are complex, and people don’t like talking about mortality. We ran a webinar on softer skills for those conversations, built on adviser experiences. For me, one of the best parts of the role is seeing how solutions are used in practice, and helping put that together.
Browne:
Thanks so much for your time!
Tom Browne is editor of Money Marketing
