Trading activity suspension - funds with exposure to Russia
Due to the increasing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, market conditions have been significantly impaired causing trading issues for funds that have high exposure to Russia. We have had to take immediate action in relation to funds that featured in our defined fund ranges.
We have been advised that a number of funds with investment in companies listed in Russia have taken steps to temporarily suspend either subscriptions, redemptions or both as a result of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the international community, and the suspension in trading of foreign entities invested in Russia by the Russian government.
The situation with Russia is rapidly developing and therefore subject to change at short notice.
We have therefore taken the following actions for the below RL360 unit-linked funds, that feature in our defined fund ranges opposite, which have suspended certain trading activity:
| Name and ISIN of the Suspended Fund | Effective date | Suspension details | Name and ISIN of the Default Fund for regular payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSBC GIF Russia A Acc USD LU0329931090 | 28 Feb 2022 | Suspension of redemptions and subscriptions (i.e switches-out, switches-in, regular and lump sum payments). Regular payments will be redirected into a cash fund ("the Default Fund") available to the policy with immediate effect. | Aberdeen Standard Liquidity (Lux) USD A2 Acc LU0049014870 |
| Liontrust Russia A Acc GBP GB00B04H0T52 | 28 Feb 2022 | Suspension of redemptions and subscriptions (i.e switches-out, switches-in, regular and lump sum payments). Regular payments will be redirected into a cash fund ("the Default Fund") available to the policy with immediate effect. | Aberdeen Standard Liquidity (Lux) GBP A2 Acc LU0049015760 |
| JPM Emerging Europe Equity A Acc EUR LU0210529144 | 25 Feb 2022 | Suspension of redemptions and subscriptions (i.e switches-out, switches-in, regular and lump sum payments). Regular payments will be redirected into a cash fund ("the Default Fund") available to the policy with immediate effect. | Aberdeen Standard Liquidity (Lux) EUR A2 Acc LU0090865873 |
| BGF Emerging Europe A Acc USD LU0171273575 | 1 Mar 2022 | Suspension of redemptions and subscriptions (i.e switches-out, switches-in, regular and lump sum payments). Regular payments will be redirected into a cash fund ("the Default Fund") available to the policy with immediate effect. | Aberdeen Standard Liquidity (Lux) USD A2 Acc LU0049014870 |
| BGF Emerging Europe A Acc EUR LU0011850392 | 1 Mar 2022 | Suspension of redemptions and subscriptions (i.e switches-out, switches-in, regular and lump sum payments). Regular payments will be redirected into a cash fund ("the Default Fund") available to the policy with immediate effect. | Aberdeen Standard Liquidity (Lux) EUR A2 Acc LU0090865873 |
| Barings Eastern Europe A Inc USD IE0000805634 (In our Preference fund range only) | 1 Mar 2022 | Suspension of redemptions and subscriptions (i.e switches-out, switches-in and lump sum payments). | N/A |
At this stage, we do not know how long the trading activity suspensions will last, but fund managers are monitoring the situation daily.
When a fund suspends publishing a Net Asset Value (NAV), we are unable to accurately price the fund in our clients' plans. In these circumstances it may be necessary to reflect the unit price of the suspended fund as zero in plans until the fund starts trading again.
We have written to impacted plan owners, or their appointed investment adviser, to notify them of the trading suspensions and the course of action we have taken in regard to redirecting regular payments, if applicable to their policy. A sample of the letters issued can be found opposite.
We will write to plan owners again once we have further updates in regard to the suspensions.
Notes:
Net asset value, or NAV, represents the value of an investment fund and is calculated by adding the total value of the fund’s assets and subtracting its liabilities. Investment funds use NAV to calculate the price per share of the fund.