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Re-registration transfers

A re-registration transfer is where we transfer assets from your current provider without selling them. ARC customers can understand more here.

At Aegon, we’re committed to offering as much choice and value as possible. And as part of this we’ve made it easier for you to request re-registration transfers (in specie transfers) on Aegon Retirement Choices (ARC).

If you're a customer, we recommend you speak to a financial adviser so you can understand any potential implications and make an informed decision. We understand not all our customers have a financial adviser so we're able to accept requests directly from our existing customers. If you're a new customer to Aegon, you must speak to a financial adviser before requesting a re-registration transfer. 

If you don't have a financial adviser, you can visit MoneyHelper to find the right one for you. There may be a charge for this. 

The questions below will help explain our process for re-registration transfers and we've also added some of the terms we use and what they mean to the bottom of this page. If you're a financial adviser, the process may differ slightly, but we've highlighted that at the relevant parts.

A re-registration transfer is where we can transfer the asset(s) from your current provider without selling it. It includes several individual assets, including collective investment schemes such as unit trusts and open-ended investment companies (OEICs). These collective investment schemes are usually offered by a range of different fund managers. 

There are several reasons to consider re-registering assets rather than transferring in cash, including:

  • Assets remain invested in the market during the transfer.
  • Potentially has lower costs as there's no need to buy and sell assets.

If you're a customer and you're at all unsure, please speak to a financial adviser. 

We support re-registration transfers involving a wide range of assets that are available on ARC. This includes collective investment schemes such as unit trusts, OEICs and exchange-traded funds (ETF), as well as equities.

However some providers may not support re-registration transfers that contain certain assets that you want to transfer – either from or to us. So it’s best to speak to the current provider before you transfer. 

Please note that only we can hold Aegon insured funds on ARC, so they must be sold before you request a transfer from us to another provider. 

Yes. Although we don’t apply any charges for re-registration transfers to or from us, some providers do. So please make sure you understand whether any charges apply before you start the transfer.

Managers of collective investment schemes always apply a charge for managing funds. This charge is defined by variables such as the objectives of the fund and its past performance. Some providers and financial advisers can secure discounts on these charges for their clients.

This means that when discounts are agreed, the fund manager will create a ‘fund class’ to reflect each discounted charge, so customers and financial advisers know which discount applies. A single collective investment scheme may have multiple fund classes available but an equity or ETF will only have one fund class.  

Re-registration transfers can be complex as there are a number of parties involved, and sometimes can take several weeks to six months (especially for some pension transfers). So it’s important you know that when the re-registration transfer is in progress, you can’t include these assets being transferred, in other transactions. 

When we receive a re-registration transfer request, we contact the current provider to make sure we can accept the assets. As we have a wide range of collective investment schemes available with discounted charges from fund managers in place, this may mean that it’s less expensive to hold the same fund with us compared to the current provider.

So, in some circumstances, there may be a temporary delay as the current provider will need to arrange a fund class conversion before we accept the transfer. We'll never convert your fund class into one that's more expensive, the ongoing charges figure (OCF) will always be the same or less.

If you're a customer please read the re-registration transfer authority form carefully. We need you to complete this form and return to us before we request your re-registration transfer. Please note that fund class conversions only apply to collective investment schemes such as unit trusts and OEICs and don’t apply to equities or ETFs.

  • If we hold the same fund class as the current provider – there’s no need to convert the fund class and the re-registration transfer to us will go ahead as normal.
  • If there's a fund class with a lower ongoing charges figure (OCF) available – we’ll ask the fund manager to convert the funds we receive into that fund class, unless you tell us not to. We'll do this once we complete the re-registration transfer. Please note that the fund class conversion is at the fund manager’s discretion and in some circumstances, they may not perform the conversion. 

For financial advisers only - If you have access to fund classes exclusive to your clients, we'll convert them into the fund class with the lowest OCF that's available to you. If this isn't the exclusive fund class, you'll need to ask us to convert the fund class once we've completed the re-registration transfer. You can find the applicable charges on our list of available funds.

  • If we can’t accept the transfer – you may need to request a sale to cash or switch to a different collective investment scheme before transferring to us. If a sale, switch or fund class conversion is required, the current provider will contact you. 

To request a re-registration transfer to us from the current provider, please follow the steps below. Please note that you can request re-registration transfers to the ARC SIPP online.

  1. Contact us to request an illustration that will show the fund class(es) that will be held if you transfer and following any fund class conversion. If required, we’ll also provide:
    1. The re-registration application form. 
    2. The re-registration authority for the relevant product - General Investment Account (GIA), Stocks and Shares ISA or Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).
    3. The relevant key features document. 
    4. The terms and conditions. 
    5. The key investor information document (KIID) that relates to the fund(s) you're transferring.

We also suggest that you get confirmation from us that we can hold the fund class(es) with your current provider before starting the re-registration transfer to us. View the list of available funds.

For financial advisers only - Log into the ARC portal to get a pre-sales illustration for the relevant product (GIA, Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP) and the documents above. For more information about re-registering assets to us, download our re-registration transfer and fund class conversion process guide.

  1. Please review the illustration and supporting documents. Complete the re-registration application form and re-registration authority and send them to us.
  2. We’ll review the re-registration transfer request, and the current provider will contact you if there are any delays. If we can proceed, we’ll request the re-registration transfer from them.
  3. Once the re-registration transfer is complete, if required, we’ll convert the asset(s) into the fund class with the lowest OCF that’s available. We’ll contact you to confirm this.

To request a re-registration transfer from us to another provider, please follow the steps below: 

  1. Speak to the new provider and they’ll let you know what you need to do. We suggest that you get confirmation from them that they can hold the relevant fund class(es) you currently hold with us before requesting the re-registration transfer. 
  2. If you do go ahead with the transfer, the new provider will contact us. Once we’ve received all relevant information and documents, we’ll work with them to understand whether they hold the same fund class(es) that are currently held with us. If they do, we’ll proceed with the re-registration transfer. If they don’t, we’ll convert the fund class(es) as described above What happens if I re-register assets to ARC? before transferring the assets.
  3. We’ll send confirmation once we complete the re-registration transfer to the new provider.

For financial advisers only - Please follow the steps above to request a re-registration transfer. We’ll send confirmation to your client once we complete it. For more information, download our re-registration transfer and fund class conversion process guide.

Terms explained

Costs and charges illustration – this document shows the potential impact of costs and charges, such as fund manager charges, on the value of the collective investment schemes held with us.

Fund class – a fund class represents different types of a fund which are created to meet the needs of different customers. Each fund class is likely to have a different ongoing charges figure (OCF).

Fund manager – a fund manager has overall responsibility for the performance of the assets under their management and making sure the fund is managed in line with the objectives as outlined in the key investor information document (KIID).

Key investor information document (KIID) – this document outlines the key pieces of information such as charges and objectives relating to the collective investment scheme currently held or will be held. If you're a customer, you should read this document before you make any decisions to buy a collective investment scheme.

Ongoing charges figure (OCF) – applied by the fund manager, this charge covers the cost of managing investments and checking they're performing as expected. They'll vary depending on the assets chosen. Find the OCF for each fund on our list of available funds.