Thanks BrassTacks. I have to admit I'm not very optimistic about...

Thanks BrassTacks. I have to admit I'm not very optimistic about this. I would expect TISA to have access to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced people in this area and would be surprised if they made a mistake. Also I wouldn't expect the ISA regs to list investments that are not eligible-if an investment isn't in the eligible list it must by definition be ineligible.

I'm also not sure how thorough MTR were in obtaining advice. I understand that they were told merely verbally, with no written confirmation, that the CDIs would be OK for ISAs. Unfortunately, whilst you would expect regulations to be drafted in a completely unambiguous manner, they are not. I used to be Compliance Officer for a small firm of investment managers and on occasion found that even the FSA/FCA couldn't say what their own rules meant, and had to seek guidance from very expensive lawyers even a QC. Even worse they expected relatively tiny regulated businesses to do the same.

By the way, who do you mean by "the FO"? I can only think of the Foreign Office!