--- title: "Wealth managers ditch Octopus inheritance tax scheme" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/297128481.md" description: "Leading wealth managers, including St James’s Place, Fairstone Group, and Openwork Partnership, have stopped recommending Octopus’s Inheritance Tax Service (OITS) due to performance scrutiny. The scheme is frozen for redemptions amid a complex takeover deal, causing investor concerns over transparency and liquidity after revelations of investments in failed hospitals." datetime: "2026-08-27T05:35:18.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/297128481.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297128481.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/297128481.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Wealth managers ditch Octopus inheritance tax scheme Octopus’s inheritance tax scheme has been ditched by a string of leading wealth managers amid growing scrutiny over the fund’s performance. St James’s Place (SJP), Fairstone Group and Openwork Partnership, which advise millions of customers, have all stopped recommending the Octopus Inheritance Tax Service (OITS). OITS, a subsidiary of Octopus Group, has raised money from 18,000 pensioners with the promise of lowering their inheritance tax bills by investing in businesses to qualify for relief. However, the scheme has been plagued with uncertainty in recent weeks after it was frozen to redemptions and pensioners were banned from withdrawing their cash. Octopus has also faced growing scrutiny about its transparency after The Telegraph revealed that savers had been bankrolling failed hospitals and care homes. This raised questions over whether pensioners had been given adequate information about the performance of their investments. In a sign of growing scepticism about the fund’s performance, SJP stopped recommending OITS to its numerous clients last year. Two other advisers, Fairstone Group and Openwork Partnership, also dropped the fund from its panel of business relief investments in October and May respectively. Thousands of investors have been unable to withdraw their savings from the fund since last month. Advisers were told on July 9 that OITS withdrawal requests would be paused for “approximately one week”. It told financial advisers that this was because its trading subsidiary was in the throes of a takeover deal which would change the value of savers’ investments. Advisers were then informed that the pause would continue for a further six to eight weeks. After The Telegraph revealed that the scheme had been suspended, Octopus updated its website to inform investors and the public that the scheme had been temporarily paused. Sources familiar with Octopus’s thinking said that the pause had been extended because of the transaction’s complexity. Some investors have become increasingly concerned about the extent of the suspension, during which the value of their investments has dropped. It is understood that Octopus has communicated extensively with customers that have outstanding withdrawal requests, including offering direct phone calls with affected individuals. It has also conducted a webinar for advisers and clients to explain the ongoing pause and the reasons for it. SJP’s decision to suspend the scheme was first reported by Citywire. Kristy Barr, the head of retail investments at Octopus Investments, said: “We are currently progressing a potential transaction involving part of the Octopus Inheritance Tax Service portfolio which, if completed, could be an important positive step for investors and the long-term outlook for the portfolio. “The transaction could have a material impact on value but the ongoing complex and dynamic nature of the discussions means it is not currently possible to determine the valuation impact accurately. Put simply, we don’t believe it would be fair for some investors to buy or sell at a price that doesn’t reflect the true value of what they hold.” SJP, Fairstone Group and Openwork Partnership declined to comment. ### Related Stocks - [STJ.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STJ.UK.md) ## Related News & Research - [Is Owens Corning (OC) Stock A Bargain Or Fairly Priced?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298123031.md) - [DynaResource Receives US$4.0 Million in IVA Tax Refund | DYNR Stock News](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298045265.md) - [Knight Therapeutics wins Colombia approval for Tavalisse in chronic ITP](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297703037.md) - [US Senate Democrats urge Postal Service to halt work on mail-in voting rules](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298060966.md) - [Missouri asks Supreme Court to restore GOP-friendly congressional map](https://longbridge.com/en/news/298110530.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**