On 15 November 2023, we’re closing the Aegon Standard Life Global Absolute Return Strategies (BLK) fund across all share classes available in the Aegon TargetPlan fund range.

To prepare for this, on 8 November 2023, we’re switching current investors into the Aegon Blackrock Dynamic Diversified Growth (BLK) fund.

We’re writing to those affected to let them know about the closure.

Why the fund is closing

The underlying fund manager, Standard Life, has decided to close the underlying fund on 15 November 2023, so we’re closing our version of the fund.

What this means for investors

On 8 November 2023, we’ll switch all investors into the Aegon Blackrock Dynamic Diversified Growth (BLK) fund.

When this happens, the additional expenses will increase from 0.03% to 0.04% (these are the day-to-day costs associated with the administration and management of the underlying assets). We’ll update our literature and our website as soon as we can, but you may notice the old and new information in use for a time.

More about the Aegon Blackrock Dynamic Diversified Growth (BLK) fund

We’ve chosen this fund as we believe it’s the most broadly similar fund in our fund range in terms of where it invests and what it aims to do.

The fund aims to provide a return on your investment (generated through an increase in the value of the assets held by the fund) over the medium term (3 consecutive years), which exceeds the Bank of England’s Base Interest Rate by 3.5% (before charges). The fund invests on a global basis at least 80% of its total assets in fixed income securities (such as bonds), money-market instruments (e.g. debt securities with short-term maturities), equity securities (e.g. shares), funds, deposits and cash.

There’s no guarantee the fund will meet its objective. The value of an investment can fall as well as rise, isn’t guaranteed and you may get back less than you invest.

For more information you can view the fund factsheet on the ‘Fund prices and performance page’ and selecting ‘TargetPlan funds’.

What current investors need to do

If current investors are happy for their investment to move to the Aegon Blackrock Dynamic Diversified Growth (BLK) fund, they don’t need to do anything. However, if investors feel that this fund isn’t suitable for them, they can switch their investment and redirect any future investment, free of any switch charge, into an alternative fund or funds of their choice.

If current investors wish to do this, they can view the funds available to their plan by logging into TargetPlan, selecting ‘Fund Information’ from the Dashboard and selecting the “Switch funds” button to make the switch.

If you would like more information, please speak to a financial adviser. If you don’t have a financial adviser, you can visit moneyhelper.org.uk/choosing-a-financial-adviser to find the right one for you.