Investments

Once you have decided on your contribution percentage, you need to be happy with how the contributions are being invested. Contributions are used to buy units in investment funds, with the number of units in your account increasing each time a contribution is added. However, the value of your account will also be determined by your investment choices.

Click the tabs above for more information about Target Date Funds (TDFs) and the range of self-select funds available through the Scheme's investment platform. You can mix your investment options across any combination of funds – you just need to ensure your total allocation equals 100%. 

It's important to review your investment choices on a regular basis to make sure they're still appropriate for when you intend to retire and the returns you hope to achieve. In particular, you may find the following information helpful:

  • If you don't make a fund choice, the Trustee has chosen TDFs as the default investment fund because they believe these are suitable for most members. TDFs invest in a range of different investment types – all with different levels of risk appropriate to your age. The mix changes automatically as you head towards retirement. By default, you are invested in a TDF targeting retirement at age 65, but you can change this target age if you wish. A factsheet is available for each TDF.
  • Factsheets are also available for each self-select fund on the platform. These factsheets explain the fund's objectives, its recent performance and the charges that apply.
  • The DC Chairman’s Statement and the Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) set out the Trustee’s policies in relation to the default investment fund, their objectives in providing the full range of self-select funds and the charges that apply.

Charges

The Occupational Pensions Schemes (Charges and Governance) Regulations 2015 cover a range of measures aimed at controlling the level and range of charges in ‘qualifying schemes’. In particular, charges applicable to the default option, i.e. the Target Date Funds in the case of the ABF Scheme, are subject to a cap of 0.75% annually of funds under management (or an equivalent combination charge) from April 2015. The charges on the Target Date Funds are considerably lower than this cap. Some of the other funds have charges in excess of 0.75%, these funds are not subject to the above-mentioned Regulations and you should check the specific fund information for more details.