Impacts on
these products
Why our RL360 Quantum, Oracle, Paragon and LifePlan annual review is important to us
Once a year we do a full review of the fund links for the above products and listen to your feedback regarding the funds you'd like to see in the range.
We put the requested funds through a rigorous process to assess their suitability and only those that meet the grade have a chance of being added. Our prime goal of the fund review is to ensure we maintain varied fund ranges that consist of good, solid performing funds. We know funds can suffer peaks and troughs when markets are going through turbulent times so we take this into account.
We look to fill gaps in the fund offering, such as introducing new themes. A full review of the existing links is necessary to ensure they still remain attractive. Not all funds perform well all of the time. Funds that performed well in the past but have since lost their edge may have to be replaced with funds who are experiencing stronger growth in their respective sector.
We've now completed this process and are pleased to announce the results.
Our pick of the crop
For RL360 Quantum, Oracle, and Paragon - 28 core new fund links
We've introduced more GBP funds; we've filled a gap in the range by adding in a number of regional small and mid-cap equity funds; we've also got 6 new fund managers on board to complement our current family of fund houses; and for those who have a strong bias towards socially conscious funds, we've introduced 2 more ethical funds which are strong performers vs their peers.
Click here to see a summary of new fund additions.
For RL360 LifePlan - 18 core new fund links
A key consideration for the LifePlan fund range is volatility. We can't add in the same equity funds that we can for Quantum, Paragon and Oracle as we need steady performing funds. We're pleased to be able to add some of the more stable performing equity funds and these, along with other additions, will enhance the range with 5 new sectors across 5 new fund houses. We're also adding 3 ethical funds.
Click here to see a summary of new fund additions.
Download the Investment Guides and bulletins opposite for full details of the range including objective information, charges and past performance.
Welcome to the family
Click on each name below to reveal a little more about the new fund houses joining our family.
Kames Capital
Kames Capital is a specialist investment management business
From Edinburgh and London we manage £55 billion (€75 billion)* on behalf of UK and international clients – including wealth managers, financial advisers, family offices, pension funds, financial institutions, government agencies and individuals.
Kames Capital’s heritage dates back to 1831, when the Scottish Equitable Life Assurance Society was founded.
Today Aegon has a global asset management operation, organised into client-centred investment platforms, with Kames Capital (the new name for Aegon Asset Management UK) focused on third-party retail and institutional clients across the UK and continental Europe.
Our re-branding to Kames Capital is helping us build recognition in our chosen markets, while differentiating our capabilities from other companies within the Aegon group.
* Source: Kames Capital as at 30 September 2015.
Kames Capital's website
Legg Mason
INDEPENDENT EXPERTISE. SINGULAR FOCUS.®
Since its founding in 1899, Legg Mason has evolved into one of the largest asset management firms in the world, serving individual and institutional investors on six continents.
Today's Legg mason is a globally diversified family of independent investment managers who are each widely recognised for their specialized expertise, commitment to long term performance and outstanding client service. The distinctive Legg Mason "multi-manager" business model provides clients with a broad spectrum of investment solutions across asset classes, geographies and channels. Legg Mason's corporate services include global retail distribution, capital management, as well as fiduciary and governance oversight. The diversification and balance of Legg Mason have fuelled the company's performance over its thirty year history as a public company.
Legg Mason's assets under management as of December 31, 2015 were $671 billion.
Legg Mason's website
Matthews Asia
A Focus on Investing in Asia
Matthews Asia is an independent investment management firm focused solely on investing in Asia. Founded in 1991, Matthews Asia specializes in actively managed, bottom-up portfolio management, with a focus on generating long-term investment performance. The firm’s mission is to provide Asian equity and fixed income strategies that build wealth over the long-term for global clients that include institutions, financial intermediaries and private investors.
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the firm also has offices in London and Hong Kong dedicated to serving its clients. As of December 31, 2015, the firm had 38 professionals on its investment team and managed US$25.5 billion of client assets, primarily through a family of Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS funds and a family of U.S.-domiciled mutual funds.
Matthews Asia's website
PIMCO
Who We Are
PIMCO is a global investment management firm with a singular focus on preserving and enhancing investors’ assets.
We manage investments for institutions, financial advisors and individuals. The institutions we serve include corporations, central banks, universities, endowments and foundations, and public and private pension and retirement plans. We also serve advisors and individuals set on personal financial goals, from preparing for retirement to funding higher education.
For more than four decades, our mission has been grounded in a holistic investment process designed to apply rigorous top-down and bottom-up analysis of inputs to identify investment opportunities and risks. Since our founding in Newport Beach, California, in 1971, we have grown into a team of more than 2,300 dedicated professionals, with offices in 12 countries and trading operations in North America, Europe and Asia. We have an established reputation of innovation, and we continue to evolve as a provider of investment solutions across all asset classes.
As of December 31, 2015: $1.43 trillion assets under management*
* Effective March 31, 2012, PIMCO began reporting the assets managed on behalf of its parent’s affiliated companies as part of its assets under management.
PIMCO's website
Polar Capital
Company Profile
Polar Capital is a specialist investment management company offering professional and institutional investors a range of fundamentally research-driven funds diversified by asset class, geographical and sectoral specialisation. Since its foundation in 2001, it has steadily grown and currently supports 11 investment teams managing 24 funds and five managed accounts across a range of long-only and alternative products, with combined AUM of US$11.9 billion.¹
Consistent with Polar Capital’s founding strategy of fostering an equity culture amongst its employees and providing high levels of transparency to clients, 34% of the equity is currently held by Directors, founders and employees. Polar Capital Holdings plc has two key corporate investors: Caledonia Investments plc, a London listed investment trust with a notable track record of backing emerging companies in the financial sector, owns 9%, and XL Group plc, an Irish-domiciled NYSE-listed company, which though its subsidiaries and under the XL Catlin brand, provides insurance and re-insurance worldwide and has a proven pedigree of taking minority interests in alternative asset managers, holds 8%.¹
Polar Capital is principally located in London and maintains offices with investment staff in Tokyo, Connecticut, Jersey and Geneva.
Polar Capital LLP is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and registered as an investment adviser with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
¹All data as at 31 December 2015.
Polar Capital's website
T.Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price Company Profile
Founded in 1937 by Thomas Rowe Price, Jr., T. Rowe Price is an independent investment management firm solely focused on providing investment management and long-term results for our clients.
A global firm, operating in 41 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East, managing over £517.7bn in assets across a full range of investment strategies. We employ 5,999 people worldwide, including 496 investment professionals and 71 portfolio managers. Our portfolio managers have an average 21 years’ investment experience and 16 years’ tenure with the firm.
Our significant organisational and financial stability (no long-term debt, significant liquid assets and shareholder equity) and experience through all types of market conditions contribute to a proven business strategy designed to produce strong performance for the long-term.
Figures as at 31 December 2015.
T.Rowe Price's website