Platinum Investment Bond ™

Platinum, established in 1994, is an Australian-based investment manager that focuses on one asset class - international shares, or, more simply put, we provide access to portfolios of listed companies from around the world. Platinum offers only one core investment style - we seek out companies whose true worth and prospects are yet to be fully recognised by the market. Past performance shows that our approach is one that has worked in different economic climates and withstood the test of business cycles.

The Platinum Investment Bond (Bond) is an investment vehicle that offers potential tax advantages not available through many other savings and investment products.

The Bond is about establishing a long-term plan for investing. With regular contributions, the potential benefit of compounding can create powerful opportunities for your future, in a tax effective way.

The Bond is a collaboration between Platinum Investment Management Limited, trading as Platinum Asset Management (Platinum), the manager responsible for the investments of the Bond, and Australian Unity, who is responsible for the administration and client servicing of the Bond.

The Bond provides access to two investment options, the Platinum International Fund established in 1995 and/or the Platinum Asia Fund established in 2003. For further information on these investment options, refer to 'How it works'.

The Platinum Investment Bond is a long-term and potentially tax effective investment product.

Contemporary investment bonds serve a range of purposes and can benefit a wide variety of investors.

Many people use investment bonds to save for something significant – this could be retirement income, complementing your super, a child’s future, or a home renovation.

Your money is pooled with money from other investors and then invested in the underlying investment option/s you choose.

The Platinum Investment Bond offers two different investment options, the Platinum International Fund and the Platinum Asia Fund. To learn more about our options click here.

You can invest in one or both of the investment options.

The minimum investment into Platinum Investment Bond is $1,000, and you are able to make minimum additional contributions of $50 per investment option.

The following can be owners of a Platinum Investment Bond policy:

• individual and joint investors aged 16 years and over;
• a parent or guardian on behalf of a child under 16 (you can invest on behalf of a child who is under the age of 16 whilst retaining full control of the investment. It can then be transferred to the nominated child, as specified in your application, between the ages of 10 and 25 (Vesting Age);
• companies and trusts (including deceased estates).

You can invest in your own bond or do so with a partner, friend, or family member.

You can start at any time. If you start earlier, the greater the ability to reap the potential rewards of compounding returns and tax planning over the long term.

Make sure you are eligible:

• You are at least 16 years old and an Australian resident

To make your application as easy and quick as possible, make sure you have ready:

• Your latest contact details
• You only require either a current passport, drivers licence, medicare card or visa to pass the online ID process. However, if your personal details and your identification is not successfully verified, you may be required to provide an additional form of identification.
• Bank Details (BSB & Account number)

And most importantly make sure you read and understand the Product Disclosure Statement.

Get started now with our online application.

You will only need to provide additional documents to verify your ID if you do not pass the online ID verification process.

The online ID verification process is incorporated into our online application form and allows us to confirm in ‘real time’ your identity based on information you have provided.

You will be immediately advised when completing the online ID process as to whether your verification has been successful. Where your verification has not been successful, you will be informed as to what further information and identification documents will be required. These documents must be provided in a certified copy format. This means that a copy of the document has been certified by an eligible certifier. Please note that we generally accept an electronic copy of a certified document. You can scan and email to the address below to finalise your application.

Scan & email
platinuminvestmentbond@australianunity.com.au

You can invest as much as you would like in your first year.

You can also choose to make additional investments, and, every year after that you can increase the contribution and invest a maximum that is equivalent to:

• the total that you invested in the previous year PLUS
• 25% of that previous year's amount

At the end of the tenth anniversary, withdrawals from the Platinum Investment Bond will be tax free.

For instance, if you initially invest $5,000, then in the second year you can increase the contribution to $6,250, and in the third you can increase to $7,813. This includes contributions set up through a regular investment plan and/or lump sum contributions you may make through the year.

You don’t have to make additional contributions, but if you do AND

• you contribute more than 125% of the amount contributed in the previous year; or
• you didn’t make a contribution in one year, but resume contributions in the following year.

then the start date of your investment is altered to the policy commencement date in the year the contribution was made. This means you would need to wait another 10 years to withdraw your investment tax free.

A regular Investment plan can help to ensure that you do not lose the tax effectiveness associated with your investment bond.

Maximum additional contribution

The graph above shows, starting with a contribution of $10,000 in Year 1, how much you can contribute in each year following the 125% rule.

There are some important terms you should know before you apply.

• Owner: the person who “owns” the Platinum Investment Bond and makes the important decisions
• Life insured: Since the Platinum Investment Bond is structured as a life policy, a life insured has to be nominated. This means that the Platinum Investment Bond will mature (tax free) if the life insured dies. The owner of the Platinum Investment Bond will nominate the life insured in the application form.
• Beneficiaries: these are optional and receive the proceeds of the Platinum Investment Bond should the life insured/s pass away.

The Platinum Investment Bond allows you to pass your investment to nominated beneficiary(s) tax free if you pass away. Beneficiaries can be of any age, non-related, or even a company, trust or charity.

One of the great advantages of the Platinum Investment Bond is its structure as a life insurance policy, giving you control over how, when and who benefits from your investment when you pass away.

Through the Platinum Investment Bond you are required to nominate a “life insured”, a person whose life is insured under your policy. The death of the life insured will trigger the policy to mature. If this occurs your full investment will be paid with no additional personal tax payments, regardless of whether you have reached the 10-year tax paid status.

The policy owner automatically becomes the life insured person, at the time of application, unless a different person is nominated.

You can nominate life insured person(s) at any time during your policy. However, if you nominate one or more persons as the life insured, the Platinum Investment Bond will not mature until the last nominated life insured person passes away.

You can nominate either a life insured or additional beneficiaries at any time. This can be done through your investor portal access.

What happens will depend on how you have structured the life insured and beneficiary nominations.

Yes, you can invest on behalf of a child under age of 16 whilst retaining full control of the investment. It can then be transferred to the nominated child, at the vesting age you specify in your application, which must be between the ages of 10 and 25. The Platinum Investment Bond cannot be transferred to a child under the age of 10.

Vesting age – the age that you choose for the nominated child to receive a transfer of the policy.

Once the nominated child has reached the vesting age, the Platinum Investment Bond automatically transfers to the child without incurring any fees or charges to the Platinum Investment Bond under their name.

Importantly, the 10-year rule does not restart and the original commencement date of the investment continues, ensuring that the 10-year tax concessions are preserved.

If the Platinum Investment Bond has been transferred to the child during the ages of 10 to 16, any withdrawals and contributions need a parent’s or guardian’s consent.

You can change the vesting age at any time before it occurs. This can be done through your investor portal access.

If you change your mind or your circumstances change after you have made an application, you must write to us within 14 days of receiving your welcome email or five business days after your investment is issued (whichever is earlier) and advise that you wish to exercise your cooling off rights.

We will issue a refund, but the amount repaid will be net of any applicable costs (transaction, tax, or duty) incurred, and will also reflect any increases or decreases in investment value since its receipt. This could result in you receiving less than your original investment.

In order to finalise your application, we use an online ID verification process, which allows us to confirm in ‘real time’ your identity based on the information you have provided.

If you do not pass the online ID process, your application can still be submitted however you will need to scan and email your identity verification documents to the address below to finalise your application.

You will be immediately advised when completing the online ID process as to whether your verification has been successful.

Scan & email
platinuminvestmentbond@australianunity.com.au

We will contact you if we need anything further to complete the application. (Please note that if your online ID verification was unsuccessful, we will only finalise your application once we have received and processed your ID documents).

Otherwise, your initial contribution will be deducted from your bank account on the date you nominated. To avoid delays, make sure you have funds ready in your account.

Once the initial contribution has been received, we’ll send a welcome email normally within 5 business days. The email will provide you with details on how to register for the online account where you can download your Certificate of Investment and manage your investment.

You can withdraw your money at any time, and for any purpose, but the main thing to consider is any potential tax impact when you withdraw your money.

The potential tax benefits of investment bonds means that they are designed to be held for 10 years in order to maximise the tax effective nature of the bond.  

However, even if you do make a withdrawal within the first 10 years, you can take advantage of the 30% tax offset rule to reduce your personal income tax. This tax offset is available to offset the tax already paid in your account on investment earnings, at the rate of 30%. 

Should you need to withdraw from the bond within 10 years the following rules apply:

One-off withdrawals from the Bond are permitted subject to a minimum withdrawal of $500. If the balance of your investment falls below $1,000 then we may treat your withdrawal request as a full withdrawal. When considering any withdrawals during the first 10 years of the policy you should consider the tax implications in line with the 10-year rule. If you have invested across both investment options a partial withdrawal will be processed according to your default investment allocation, unless you advise us differently.

Please note that at all times you must maintain an account balance of $1000 in your investment. If you make a withdrawal that brings your account balance below $1000, we will withdraw the entire amount and close your investment.

Due to the ongoing nature of regular withdrawals, if you wish to make regular withdrawals, you must maintain a minimum investment balance of $5,000.

No personal capital gains tax is incurred for switching between investment options or when making withdrawals from your investment, although income tax may apply on any withdrawals made within the 10 year period. Refer to “When can I access my money” for more details.

Switching investment options is where you transfer your funds from your current investment option to another on the Platinum Investment Bond investment menu.

Once invested, the welcome email which we send will have all of the details required for you to register for the online Investor Portal.

This is where you will be able to see your transactions, download your statements, update your details, and much more.

You can change your investment options at any time. This can be done through your Investor Portal access.

An investing transaction cost (ITC) will apply at the time you switch across to the newly selected investment option. For more information on the current ITCs that apply to the Platinum Investment Bond, please refer to the latest version of the PDS.

Your switch request will be processed the same day, where we receive it before 1:30pm (South Australian time). You will receive confirmation from us within 5 business days of your transaction having been finalised.

While you remain invested in the Platinum Investment Bond, the tax rate that applies to your investment earnings is 30%, and it is paid within the account.

If you make a withdrawal within the first 10 years of your investment, any additional personal tax you may need to pay will depend on when you have taken it out. Even in this case, you may be entitled to a 30% tax rebate to offset the tax already paid in the bond while it was invested.

The following table shows the tax treatment that applies to investment earnings. This is based on an example of $900 in investment earnings being withdrawn:

While you remain in Platinum Investment Bond, you do not have to pay additional tax as it is paid from the Platinum Investment Bond at the tax rate of 30%.

This means that you don’t need to declare anything in your tax return for as long as you remain invested in the product. The only time you may pay any additional tax is if you make a withdrawal within the first 10 years of your investment, but you will be entitled to apply an offset of the 30% tax already paid in the Platinum Investment Bond.

This refers to the tax that is paid from the Platinum Investment Bond, on your behalf while you’ve been invested. Therefore, it is considered ‘tax paid’ – the tax is paid by the issuer (and not the individual through a personal tax return.)

Here are some key features that make it a great way to invest for your retirement, complementary to your superannuation:

• there are no caps on the amount you can contribute in the first year of your investment.
• you can then contribute up to 125% of each previous year’s contributions. So, if you contribute $5,000 in Year 1 with the Platinum Investment Bond, you can contribute up to $6,250 in Year 2, and then up to $7,813 in Year 3. The more that you contribute in Year 1, the more you can benefit from the 125% rule on contributions for investment bonds.
• there is greater flexibility in accessing your monies prior to your preservation age, if you do need the monies (subject to the 10-year rule )

You can change your regular investment plan at any time. This can be done through your investor portal access.

When you change your regular investment plan, it is important to consider the 125% rule which applies to contributions to the Platinum Investment Bond.

Your online account is where you can access your investment information and where we'll keep all of your important notifications.

Through your online account access, you can:

• view your account details;
• view your statements and transactions;
• view your 125% rule status;
• change your contact details;
• change your beneficiary details;
• change your regular investment plan details;
• switch between investment options;
• make withdrawal requests; and
• make contributions.

The valuation of investments is generally carried out each business day and unit prices are disclosed on our website once a week.

To see the latest unit prices for the Platinum Investment Bond, please click here.

Yes, they can. If you have family or friends who would like to assist with your investing goals, you can give them the BPAY details for your account. You can obtain your BPAY details from the Investor Portal.

The 10-year rule is a key part of the unique advantage that investment bonds can offer over traditional savings products.

An investment bond held for 10 years, means that you can then start withdrawing your money when you need it and not pay any additional personal tax (after an investment bond has been held for 10 years).

You can access your funds at any time to take your money out earlier if you need to. If you do make a withdrawal within the first 10 years, the investment earnings portion of your withdrawal will be taxed.

How your investment earnings are taxed will depend on the timing of your withdrawal. Even in this case, you may benefit from a tax offset of 30% to account for the tax paid on your earnings while retained in the Platinum Investment Bond.

Below is a guide as to how withdrawals are taxed, based on an example of $900 in investment earnings:

The 125% contribution rule is very closely linked to the 10-year rule for investment bonds.

If you remain invested in the Platinum Investment Bond for 10 years, you can then withdraw your funds with no personal tax to pay. However, in order to maintain the original date from which the 10-year period is calculated, if you are making additional contributions, you cannot breach the 125% rule.

This means that in each successive year, you can only contribute up to 125% of the previous year’s contributions. For example, if you contribute $5,000 in Year 1, you can contribute $6,250 in Year 2 and $7,813 in Year 3.

If at any point you contribute more, it will reset the start date of the 10-year period. This is important, as it can delay your ability to maximise the tax effectiveness of your investment.

For more information on the 125% rule refer to the PDS.

We will normally provide a reminder/alert two months prior to your anniversary date, to let you know where you stand with regards to the 125% rule. This will assist you to monitor your additional contributions.

Setting up a regular investment plan with ongoing contributions can also help you manage this.

Investments in investment bonds do not normally attract CGT.

If you make a withdrawal from your bond within the first 10 years (in normal circumstances), your earnings will be simply assessed at your marginal tax rate – which could be as low as zero, depending upon your taxable income. You will also receive an automatic bond tax offset for your personal tax– currently equal to 30% of your assessed amount.

Effectively, you only have to pay personal tax (but not CGT). If your marginal tax rate is greater than 30% you will only pay personal tax on the excess.

Note: The above answers on tax (including CGT) are brief and general information, and should not be taken as specific tax advice to an individual investor. Also, tax laws and guidelines can change from time to time. Appropriate, independent and timely advice should be sought from a professional tax adviser.

The 50% CGT discount is only available if you are assessed for CGT.

Your realised investment bond growth is not treated as a realised capital gain, under current Australian tax rules.

Note: The above answers on tax (including CGT) are brief and general information, and should not be taken as specific tax advice to an individual investor. Also, tax laws and guidelines can change from time to time. Appropriate, independent and timely advice should be sought from a professional tax adviser.

You may pay tax on other investments which generate income and realised capital gains within 12 months even while your investment continues to be held and no withdrawals are made.

In contrast, you may only have to pay personal tax on your investment bond in the year that you make a withdrawal.

But, there will be no personal tax to pay when you withdraw:

• After 10 years (and without triggering the 125% rule).
• At any time – including within 10 years, if the withdrawal is due to
• Death, accident, serious illness or other disability affecting the person you have nominated as the life insured.
• Unforeseen serious financial difficulties affecting you (as bond investor).
• Within 10 years (in normal circumstances)
• If the 30% bond tax offset equals or exceeds your tax.

None of these special investment bond tax concessions are available with any other investment.

Any comparison between investments should take into account your current and expected future circumstances, tax and any other relevant considerations. We would encourage consulting a licensed financial adviser.

Note: The above answers on tax (including CGT) are brief and general information, and should not be taken as specific tax advice to an individual investor. Also, tax laws and guidelines can change from time to time. Appropriate, independent and timely advice should be sought from a professional tax adviser.