The Aegon CT UK Property Trust has suspended trading across the following fund ranges:
- Pension – from 14 October 2022
- Aegon Retirement Choices (ARC) – from 12 October 2022
Why we’ve suspended trading
At 12 noon on 10 October 2022, the CT UK Property Authorised Investment Fund (the underlying fund of the Aegon CT UK Property Trust) suspended trading due to a high number of investors seeking to cash in their fund holdings.
It takes time for the underlying fund manager (Threadneedle Investment Services Limited) to sell properties in order to raise cash levels within the fund to meet redemptions (payments out). As a result, the underlying fund manager took the decision to suspend trading in the CT UK Property Authorised Investment Fund.
We therefore made the decision to suspend trading in the Aegon CT UK Property Trust until we receive further guidance from Threadneedle Investment Services Limited.
What does this mean for investors?
This means investors are currently unable to invest in, switch out or withdraw money from the Aegon CT UK Property Trust until such time as the fund manager resumes trading. However, the funds will continue to publish a daily price.
What happens to regular payments?
Regular payments into impacted funds can continue however they will not be invested directly into the fund but instead applied to either:
- the Cash fund (for pension investors)
- the individual cash facility (for investors on ARC)
Pensions investors can submit a request to redirect any regular payments they currently make into this fund by completing section 3 of our ‘Alteration of fund choice’ form.
Investors on ARC can gain access to any payments redirected to their individual cash facility as a result of this suspension. They can redirect any regular payments they currently make into this fund by completing the ‘Recurring investment instruction for regular contributions’ form.
What happens to regular withdrawals?
For pension investors
Investors will not be able to access their holdings in the impacted fund or funds until they resume payments out.
We’ll defer redemptions (payments out) from the fund for up to 12 months from the date of an investor’s instruction depending on the type of plan they’re invested in. We’ll advise investors of the deferral period that applies to their policy if they request a transaction.
Deferred redemptions relate to delaying payments from the fund, which means investors will not be able to cash in their investment during this period. If they have confirmed that they wish the transaction to proceed we will process it at the end of the deferral period.
For ARC investors
If investors are currently taking regular withdrawals from their account, only hold impacted funds and there is no cash in the cash facility to cover withdrawals from the impacted funds, these withdrawals will have to stop until the fund suspension is lifted.
However, if investors have other investments in their portfolio, withdrawals will, as far as possible, be taken from them in line with their terms and conditions.
What happens if I hold these funds in a model portfolio?
If investors hold any of the funds as part of a model portfolio and the portfolio experiences a rebalance, the impacted fund will be excluded and the remaining funds will be rebalanced proportionally.
Regular and single payments into model portfolios can continue, however any amount which would otherwise have been invested into the impacted fund will be moved into the investor’s individual cash account facility, where it will remain until they give us a clear instruction to switch into an alternative investment, if they wish to do so.
What happens to dividend income?
If investors are currently receiving income from their product in the form of dividends, these will continue as normal if the impacted fund pays any while suspended.
Why was no warning given?
We don’t give advance notice of any changes that could lead to some investors getting an unfair advantage over other investors.
What do current investors need to do?
If you’re uncertain about how this affects your investments, please speak to a financial adviser in the first instance. If you don’t have a financial adviser you can find one in your area via moneyhelper.org.uk/choosing-a-financial-adviser.
Alternatively, you can contact us. To get in touch, please visit our support page.