APRIL 2020 SECTOR REVIEW – FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR DEFINED FUND RANGES

We want you to achieve your investment goals, so to make sure we continue to offer you a high quality and varied choice of funds, we have completed the third stage of a review of our defined fund ranges. In this third step, we have looked at Asian Bond, North America Equity and Asia Pacific Equity. 

Why we conduct reviews

By reviewing funds on a regular basis, using tools from independent global investment research company Morningstar®, the company that powers our interactive fund centres, we seek to identify and add funds that stand out in their respective peer groups for performance, risk/reward balance, objectives or investment style. We also look at funds that analysts at Morningstar believe will outperform their sector. 

A review isn't just about adding funds. Importantly, we also take steps to remove funds we feel are no longer appropriate for the range. Our goal is to provide you with a best of breed range of quality funds covering a variety of sectors, regions and asset classes.

THE CHANGES FOR APRIL 2020

We're pleased to announce the addition of a number of new funds across the products listed above, which are available for investment from April 2020. These are now featured in the fund guides published from April onwards and in the fund centres.

We've also removed some funds with immediate effect and these are now closed to new business and switches in. Existing investors affected by the removals will be written to in April providing them with two months’ notice of our intention to switch their holdings out and into an alternative fund. These clients can continue to invest in the closing fund(s) until we switch them out. Switches will take place between 17 June and 22 June 2020. Samples of these letters can be viewed opposite.

If you are happy with our choice of receiving fund then you do not need to do anything and will be switched automatically (including redirection of any regular payment allocation where applicable). However, if you would prefer to switch to a different fund it’s very easy to do. Switches can be submitted by completing and returning a Fund switch instruction form or, if registered for online switching, conducting a switch online fast and efficiently.

Click on the sliders below to see details of the changes for each product range.

Notes:

Information contained within these tables is sourced from Morningstar® and is correct as at 19 March 2020.

* Morningstar® awards a Star rating based on historic returns adjusted for risk and charges, with the top 10% of funds in a category awarded a 5 Star and the bottom 10% a 1 Star. Morningstar also award a Bronze/Silver/Gold award for those funds which have been analysed and are believed to possess the ability to outperform funds in the same category over a market cycle (five years or greater). ** Ongoing Charge (“OCF”) includes the Annual Management Charge plus other operational expenses, so better reflects the total costs applied to the fund.