RC Brown AIM IHT ISA

RC Brown is a boutique investment management business with £375 million of assets under management, including £38 million within the AIM IHT service (December 2023).

The business was founded by Bob Brown, the current chairman, in 1990, and all members of the RC Brown team – directors, managers, and administrators – are equity shareholders or have equity options in the business. 

The investment team is experienced and has an investment strategy focused on finding opportunities in the primary market, e.g. new share issues. It is the same investment strategy the business has followed for 30 years through its other mandates, including the IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities Fund. It sets it apart from other AIM IHT portfolios, which may participate in – but do not have a focus on – primary opportunities.

• Portfolio of 30-40 AIM stocks
• Focus on primary market opportunities
• Minimum investment £20,000 – you can apply online
• Apply in an ISA: top up or make a new subscription online using the link below. To transfer existing ISAs, please download, print and complete the ISA Transfer Form and post it to us
• Apply outside an ISA: please contact us for details

The manager

RC Brown is a Bristol-based boutique investment management business founded by Bob Brown in 1990. Bob was previously at DRG, where he took the investment management of the DRG Pension Fund in-house. His team from the DRG Pension Fund followed him when he set up RC Brown. For the following two decades, the business specialised in managing portfolios for company pension schemes and major charities. In 2009, it expanded its offering to include private client investment management services. 

RC Brown has been investing in the AIM market for more than 20 years, and in 2018 launched its own AIM IHT portfolio service.

All members of the RC Brown team – directors, managers, and administrators – are equity shareholders or have equity options. RC Brown believes this means its employees are motivated to provide the highest standards of service to clients. The business manages £375 million on behalf of its clients, with £38 million invested within the AIM IHT portfolio service (December 2023).

The service is managed by two investment directors, Oliver Brown and Neil Whelan. 

Oliver has over 17 years of investment experience and is lead manager of the IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities Fund. This fund often shares ideas with the inheritance tax service. Oliver is a qualified chartered accountant who joined the family business in 2006. 

Neil has over 20 years’ experience in the investment industry and has held a number of investment management roles in the South West and Wales. He joined RC Brown in 2016 and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. 

Oliver and Neil are supported by three investment professionals, including Chairman Bob Brown.

The custodian for this service is RCBIM Nominees Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of RC Brown Investment Management PLC) which will hold your shares on your behalf.

Investment strategy

RC Brown’s investment strategy is focused on identifying and exploiting opportunities in the primary market (i.e. new share offers), as well as participating in secondary offers by existing shareholders. 

The company has followed this strategy since it was founded in 1990, adopting it in both its unit trust, IFSL RC Brown UK Primary Opportunities Fund, and the AIM IHT investment service.

RC Brown identifies four key scenarios which might give rise to a primary market opportunity:

1. Initial Public Offering (IPO) – Companies issuing shares for the first time, e.g. when they are admitted to AIM 
2. Placings by companies – AIM-quoted companies might look to raise additional capital for expansion by issuing new shares 
3. Offers by shareholders – Existing shareholders might look to sell a large position in a company which might be difficult to sell in the secondary market
4. Sub-underwriting shares – Buying shares not taken up by shareholders in a recent rights issue, typically at depressed prices 

The main reasons RC Brown pursues this strategy are:

• Discount to market price: typically issue new shares at a discount (usually 2–10%) to the current market price, to attract investors
• Accounting clarity: A company wishing to raise capital needs to provide an update to investors/prospective investors. This allows RC Brown to complete its due diligence and be as confident as it can in the company’s financial position
• Deal flow: RC Brown is a known primary market participant and sees many opportunities throughout the year, but only invests in a fraction of these.

Investors can choose whether their portfolio should remain in cash whilst RC Brown invests into primary market opportunities as they arise, or whether it should be invested over a matter of weeks into RC Brown’s current buy list. The latter option might appeal to investors who wish to start the two-year minimum holding period as soon as possible. The construction of client portfolios will be determined by market conditions and opportunities at the time of investment. Each client’s portfolio may, therefore, differ slightly.

Current portfolio overview

Investors into the service can expect to receive a portfolio of 30 to 40 holdings across a range of sectors. The average market cap is £440.6 million and around 65% of the assets in the service are invested in businesses with market capitalisations greater than £250 million (December 2023). 

The charts below show the portfolio sector breakdown for the top 10 sectors, which together account for c.85% of the portfolio, and the market cap value distribution. 

Sector breakdown (%)

Market capitalisation breakdown (%)

Examples of portfolio companies

Elixirr International

Founded in 2009, Elixirr International is a global management consultancy. The founding team believed larger consultancies were too “impersonal”, leaving a gap for a bespoke service. This strategy has helped the business attract global clients, including Bloomberg, HSBC, and luxury fashion house LVMH.

Elixirr joined AIM in July 2020, raising £20 million. The business has made considerable progress since, completing five acquisitions and nearly tripling its share price (December 2023). Past performance is not a guide to the future.

In the six months to June 2023, the business reported revenue growth of 23%, up to £41.1 million. These results were underpinned by strong organic growth in key client accounts and cross-selling from previous acquisitions. 

The AIM IHT service invested in the company at IPO. Elixirr currently has a market cap of £293.1 million (December 2023). 

SigmaRoc

SigmaRoc invests in high-quality lime and limestone quarries to extract materials for the construction, agriculture, and environmental sectors.

The group follows a “buy and build” strategy, targeting asset-backed sites in fragmented markets. It then uses its scale and active management to improve efficiency and create value. Currently, the group has more than 90 sites across Northern Europe and the UK.

In the six months to June 2023, revenues grew to £290 million, up 17% compared to the same period the previous year, while net margin increased slightly to 21.9%. More recently, the group reported a positive trading update, with its performance in infrastructure and industrial markets offsetting weaker residential construction activity. 

In November 2023, SigmaRoc launched a £200 million equity raise as part of its acquisition of the European lime assets of global materials business CRH for $1.1 billion. RC Brown participated in this raise, adding to its existing holding.

SigmaRoc currently has a market cap of £370.5 million (December 2023). 

Watkin Jones

As is to be expected, not all investments will be successful. Watkin Jones is an example.

Watkin Jones is a developer and manager of student accommodation assets. RC Brown considered the business to be in an attractive sub-sector of the property market, underpinned by a growing student population. 

However, the weaker economic climate impacted demand and lead to delays in selling sites. This, combined with higher debt costs and remedial work on legacy properties, led to the company’s gross profit falling nearly 50%.

RC Brown exited its holding at a loss in Q4 2023, based on concerns the company would need to raise money to reduce its debt.

Performance 

The RC Brown AIM IHT portfolio service was launched in April 2018. The chart below shows the performance over five years compared against a peer group of other AIM ISA portfolios available via Wealth Club. Like other IHT portfolios, this is a discretionary managed service so each portfolio is likely to be different.

Five-year cumulative performance to 31 December 2023

Access to your investment

Investments in this portfolio are for the long term. However, if your circumstances change, you can sell some or all of your shares, although sometimes this can take a while depending on market conditions and liquidity. In normal market conditions, RC Brown aims to fulfil withdrawal requests within 30 days but this is not guaranteed. Any amount you withdraw will no longer be IHT free. Withdrawals may result in a Capital Gains Tax liability unless held in an ISA.

Risks – important

This, like all investments available through Wealth Club, is only for experienced investors happy to make their own investment decisions without advice. Those considering AIM Inheritance Tax Portfolios should be comfortable with the significant risks of investing on AIM.

AIM IHT portfolios should only form part of a balanced portfolio. Your capital is at risk and you should not invest money you cannot afford to lose. If a service is managed by a small investment team, it could create key person risk. The fewer the companies included in the portfolio, the higher the risk of loss if things don’t go to plan. 

AIM stocks can be hard to sell, particularly at the smaller end of the market, and can be illiquid. AIM shares can be very volatile especially if the market falls sharply. The difference between the buying and selling price (spread) of AIM shares is often wider than the spread for shares listed on the main market.

Eligibility for BPR, based on current rules, is assessed at the date of death and will depend on the companies in the portfolio remaining qualifying. Broadly speaking, you will need to have held a BPR qualifying stock for at least two years and still hold it on death to qualify. Tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.

Before you invest, please carefully read the Risks and Commitments and the offer documents to ensure you fully understand the risks.

In recent months, there have been widely reported rumours that the government might change or abolish IHT. It is currently unknown if and when any decision might be announced.

Charges

A summary of the main charges and savings is shown below. The investment may have additional charges and expenses. Please see the fees document for more details. If you would like a full breakdown or a personal illustration, please let us know.

Our view

RC Brown is an established investment management boutique with a close-knit investment team. All members of the team have a stake in the business, which may translate into high levels of service for clients, and greater dedication from the investment team. 

The business has a long history of investing in AIM and has followed its primary market opportunities investment strategy for over 30 years. 

The service has a simple and competitive fee structure, compared to other AIM ISA portfolios. The minimum of £20,000 could make it a contender for this year’s ISA subscription.

Wealth Club aims to make it easier for experienced investors to find information on – and apply for – investments. You should base your investment decision on the offer documents and ensure you have read and fully understand them before investing. The information on this webpage is a marketing communication. It is not advice or a personal or research recommendation to buy any of the investments mentioned, nor does it include any opinion as to the present or future value or price of these investments. It does not satisfy legal requirements promoting investment research independence and is thus not subject to prohibitions on dealing ahead of its dissemination.