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What is a family investment company (FIC)?

An FIC can apply to many different types of company structures used for different purposes although originally they began as estate planning vehicles. This guidance note summarises how an FIC can be a useful structure for a family business and provides links to additional sources of information. The structuring of FICs is a complex area with a lot of options on how to hold the shares, etc, therefore if an FIC structure is implemented, advice should be taken from relevant legal and tax experts.

Essentially, an FIC is simply a company that has been established with the specific purpose of meeting the needs of, usually, a single family. An FIC allows the founders of the business to retain some involvement in the company and possibly a managed income stream but also pass the investments down to their children or grandchildren. They may be favoured above trusts because they are a more familiar structure but the option of using trusts should also be considered,