What are the attractions of investing in a property Common Investment Fund?
Charity investors have a significant advantage over all other investors in property thanks to their exemption from stamp duty (currently 4 per cent on all transactions over £500,000). However, most charities do not have sufficient funds to create a portfolio that is large enough to spread the risk of owning individual properties. At present, a Common Investment Fund is the only indirect property investment vehicle that allows charities to take advantage of this exemption (and thus to receive better returns on their investment). As a registered charity, a Common Investment Fund is itself exempt from stamp duty. Unlike property unit trusts there is also no requirement to hold a certain percentage of the fund in cash or readily realisable securities. In addition, Common Investment Funds can avoid many of the problems associated with some other types of indirect property investment. For example, some funds have complex structures and excessive charges, which are often obscured from investo
