In short…
An Innovation Investment Fund (FCPI — Fonds Commun de Placement dans l’Innovation) finances innovative SMEs — biotech, deeptech, digital — and gives an income-tax reduction of 18% of the subscription, capped at €12,000 (single) or €24,000 (couple). The performance potential is higher than a FIP’s, and so is the risk: a wide dispersion of outcomes, where a few successes must offset several failures. A conviction holding, to be sized with measure.
- 18% reduction of the subscription, capped at €12,000 / €24,000
- Targets innovation: high potential, but high dispersion and high risk
- Gains exempt from income tax on exit (18.6% social levies still due)
Simulate your FCPI reduction
The simulator applies the rate and the cap. Your data is neither stored nor transmitted.
FCPI simulator
Finance innovative SMEs and cut your tax by 18% through an Innovation Investment Fund (FCPI).
Results are provided for purely illustrative and educational purposes, based on the parameters you enter and simplified assumptions (2026 taxation, constant return, excluding inflation). They constitute neither personalised investment advice, nor tax advice, nor an offer to subscribe. Some investments carry a risk of capital loss. Before any decision, speak with an advisor.
Why the FCPI is the most aggressive bet in tax-efficient investing
The FCPI shares the FIP’s tax mechanics — 18% reduction, the same caps, the same 5-year minimum lock-up — but differs in its hunting ground: innovative SMEs. Biotech, disruptive technologies, digital, energy transition: companies with strong growth potential, but also a high probability of individual failure. It is a regulated form of venture capital, accessible with a tax benefit.
This nature changes everything about the return profile. Where a regional FIP aims at gradual value creation, an FCPI rests on dispersion: across a portfolio of innovative SMEs, several will disappoint, a few will fail, and ideally one or two spectacular successes will pull the overall performance. It is the very logic of financing innovation.
The patrimonial interest is therefore that of a measured exposure to an aggressive, uncorrelated asset class, whose entry risk is softened by the 18% reduction. But that reduction does not protect against an underperforming portfolio: the FCPI is a conviction holding, to be reserved for the most dynamic — and most expendable — part of your savings.
The 3 truths about the FCPI
A higher potential, paid for by a higher risk
The FCPI offers a tenser risk/reward than the FIP: the gain potential is real on innovation’s successes, but the probability of individual failure of the holdings is high. The 18% reduction softens the entry; it in no way guarantees a positive outcome. On this kind of holding, you must accept a wide dispersion of results, from very good to frankly disappointing.
Long illiquidity and capital not guaranteed
Like any private-markets fund, the FCPI locks the units for at least 5 years, with real liquidity often at 6–10 years, as disposals are made. The capital is not guaranteed and the exit value may be below the subscription, even after the reduction. This holding only suits capital you do not need and whose volatility, or even partial loss, you accept.
The choice of manager makes all the difference
In innovation capital more than anywhere, the gap between managers is huge: the ability to source the right deals, support them, and exit at the right moment. Two FCPIs advertising the same reduction can deliver opposite results. The team’s track record, its specialisation and the fee level outweigh the headline tax rate. And the benefit counts towards the global cap on tax breaks of €10,000 per year.
Worked example — Thomas, 41, founder of a SaaS start-up in Bordeaux
Thomas, taxed at 45%, understands the risk of innovation capital and wants to expose an aggressive part of his savings to it while cutting his tax. He pays €12,000 into an FCPI. Here is what the simulator calculates, dispersion included:
| Indicator | Amount | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | ≈ €12,000 | under the single-person cap |
| Tax reduction (18%) | ≈ €2,160 | in the year of subscription |
| Net cost price | ≈ €9,840 | after the reduction |
| Possible exit range | €0 to > €12,000 | wide dispersion, capital not guaranteed |
Illustrative example — figures simplified for clarity and not contractual.
The €2,160 reduction brings Thomas’s cost price down to ≈ €9,840. In a favourable scenario, the portfolio’s successes can take the exit value beyond the subscription, with a capital gain exempt from income tax. In an unfavourable scenario, the exit value may be below the capital, or even nil on some lines.
It is this dispersion that must be accepted knowingly. Thomas, who runs a technology company himself, understands the logic and limits this holding to the most aggressive part of his savings. The FCPI is never a core portfolio investment.
The FCPI hinges on the manager, not the reduction
This simulator quantifies the 18% reduction. On an innovation-capital holding, performance depends above all on the quality of the management team and its ability to select and support SMEs. An FCPI chosen for the tax benefit alone, without looking at the manager and the fees, exposes you to a disappointment the reduction will not offset.
Balmont Conseil is an independent wealth-management firm, a member of ANACOFI, with no capital ties to any management company. We select FCPIs on the manager’s track record and specialisation, and size them to their proper place in a controlled allocation. Let’s arrange a meeting to place this lever within your overall strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an FCPI and a FIP?
Both share the same tax mechanics (18% reduction, the same caps, a 5-year minimum lock-up), but differ in the underlying. A FIP finances diversified regional SMEs; an FCPI specifically targets innovative SMEs (biotech, deeptech, digital). The FCPI offers a higher performance potential, at the cost of a more marked risk and dispersion of results.
Is the FCPI riskier than a FIP?
Generally yes. Financing innovation rests on a wide dispersion: several holdings will disappoint, a few will fail, and performance depends on rare successes. The 18% reduction softens the entry but does not protect the capital. The FCPI is a conviction holding, to be reserved for the most aggressive and expendable part of your savings.
What is the exit taxation of an FCPI?
If you respect the holding period, any capital gain on the sale of the units is exempt from income tax. The 18.6% social levies remain due on that gain, however. The income-tax exemption therefore does not cover the whole exit taxation.
How do I choose a good FCPI?
In innovation capital, the gap between managers is considerable. You must look at the team’s track record, its sector specialisation, its ability to source and support innovative SMEs, and the fee level. Two FCPIs advertising the same 18% reduction can deliver opposite results: the choice of manager largely outweighs the tax rate.
Why entrust the choice of an FCPI to Balmont Conseil?
Because an FCPI’s success comes down to the quality of the manager, hard for an individual to assess. Balmont Conseil, an independent ANACOFI member, is tied to no management company: we compare FCPIs on the teams’ track record and specialisation, and retain only those that deserve it, sizing them to their proper place in your allocation.
Results are provided for purely illustrative and educational purposes, based on the parameters you enter and simplified assumptions (2026 taxation, constant return, excluding inflation). They constitute neither personalised investment advice, nor tax advice, nor an offer to subscribe. Some investments carry a risk of capital loss. Before any decision, speak with an advisor.