From 16 June 2021, the Total Charge/Fund Charge for some Scottish Equitable/ Aegon Schroder funds will change. You can see the revised charges for affected funds outlined in the tables below.
Nothing else about the fund will change because of this. For example, the fund manager and Aegon risk rating will remain the same.
The changes in more detail
The underlying fund manager, Schroder Investment Management Limited (Schroder) have changed the way they charge for the management of their funds. Previously, their charges were made up of several different costs, reflecting the annual cost of Schroder managing and administering the funds as well as additional costs of third parties providing services to the funds (such as trustees fees, custody fees, audit and/or professional fees).
Their new charging structure groups these costs together into one single “Schroders Annual Charge”, which they hope will provide greater clarity for investors. As a result, we’re updating our charges; both old and new charges are shown in the tables below:
Pension funds:
| Mnemonic (fund identifier) | Fund name | Current Total Charge* (%) | New Total Charge* (%) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XCE | Aegon Schroder European Recovery | 1.89 | 1.91 | +0.02 |
| XSV | Scottish Equitable Schroder Absolute Return Bond | 1.62 | 1.60 | -0.02 |
| SAA | Scottish Equitable Schroder Asian Alpha Plus | 1.96 | 1.92 | -0.04 |
| XSO | Scottish Equitable Schroder Global Emerging Markets | 1.95 | 1.97 | +0.02 |
| XST | Scottish Equitable Schroder Tokyo | 1.97 | 1.96 | -0.01 |
| XSA | Scottish Equitable Schroder UK Alpha Plus | 1.91 | 1.92 | +0.01 |
| SUK | Scottish Equitable Schroder UK Smaller Companies | 1.91 | 1.92 | +0.01 |
Life funds:
| Mnemonic (fund identifier) | Fund name | Current Total Charge* (%) | New Total Charge* (%) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XSA | Scottish Equitable Schroder UK Alpha Plus | 1.91 | 1.92 | +0.01 |
| XSU | Scottish Equitable Schroder UK Mid-250 | 1.97 | 1.96 | -0.01 |
* This includes a standard 1% product charge, a fixed management fee and expenses that vary with the day-to-day costs of running the fund.
ARC funds:
| Mnemonic (fund identifier) | Fund name | Current Fund Charge** (%) | New Fund Charge** (%) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZHZ | Scottish Equitable Schroder Absolute Return Bond (ARC) | 0.62 | 0.60 | -0.02 |
| ZKF | Scottish Equitable Schroder Asian Alpha Plus (ARC) | 0.96 | 0.92 | -0.04 |
| ZID | Scottish Equitable Schroder Global Emerging Markets (ARC) | 0.95 | 0.97 | +0.02 |
| ZIG | Scottish Equitable Schroder Tokyo (ARC) | 0.97 | 0.96 | -0.01 |
| ZIH | Scottish Equitable Schroder UK Alpha Plus (ARC) | 0.91 | 0.92 | +0.01 |
| ZIJ | Scottish Equitable Schroder UK Smaller Companies (ARC) | 0.91 | 0.92 | +0.01 |
** This is on top of any product or adviser charge you pay and includes a fixed management fee plus expenses that vary with the day-to-day costs of running the fund.
These changes will also impact our European Equity Select Portfolio and North American Equity Select Portfolio. You can read the article outlining these changes here.
What this means for investors
Investors may notice these changes in our literature and on our website from 16 June 2021. The changes will be implemented gradually across our material, so you may notice both the old and new information in use for a time.
For more information on these funds, you can view the fund factsheets via the ‘Fund prices and performance’ page on our website and selecting ‘Other fund ranges’ or ‘Aegon Retirement Choices (ARC)’.
What you need to do
Existing investors don’t need to do anything. If you’d like more information, please speak to your financial adviser. If you don’t have one, you can find one in your area at moneyadviceservice.org.uk