Demystifying our charges

1. How to hold your funds
   M&G OEIC funds can be bought through a tax-efficient ISA (Individual Savings Account) wrapper or directly via an unwrapped product, such as an OEIC or GIA (General Investment Account).
2. How to invest and manage your money
   This can be done online, offline via telephone and/or post, or a combination of all options (where available). Think about what your preferences are, how you might manage other financial products that you own. And remember, you can always make changes to how you invest should your circumstances or preferences change in the future.
3. Where to invest your money
   You can invest directly with M&G and benefit from the dedicated M&G services offered to our Direct customers, or you can choose to invest via a 3^rd party platform and hold investments from other fund management companies, together with your M&G funds, in one place.

Broadly, there are three options available for Direct customers looking to invest in M&G retail funds:

Option 1 – myM&G – our lower cost online investment service 

You need to be comfortable managing your own investments online to benefit from: 

• 24/7 online access to all your M&G investments via your personalised dashboard
• No extra costs to top up, switch or sell your investments at any time
• Start a new investment or set up regular (monthly) contributions with just £1
  
• Go paperless – all your documents posted to your online account or emailed to you directly
  
• Online chat, secure message and email facilities to speak with our Investor Services team
  
• The choice to receive our monthly e-newsletters covering a wide range of investment topics including sustainability and impact ideas, new M&G funds, educational articles and service information to support you on your investment journey. You can unsubscribe at any time.
  

Charges – You’ll only pay an ongoing charge plus a share of portfolio transaction costs (the costs incurred when funds buy and sell investments). Check out the table below for information on how our charges vary between the options selected.
Funds – You are only able to access funds from M&G Investments.

As a myM&G customer, you’ll invest in the Recovery Fund R share class and incur an ongoing charge of £93, which is 0.15% cheaper than the traditional offline M&G investor service (A share class). This is because myM&G is primarily an online service, allowing us to pass on cost savings. The R share class is 0.25% more expensive than that received via a 3^rd party platform (I share class), but please note that investing via a 3^rd party platform will incur a platform fee on top of the figures quoted & that combined fee could be more than both the A or R share class price but it could also be lower than A or R share class price. It likely goes without saying that it’s really important to think about what matters most to you, what service options best suit you and that the overall fee you are paying is competitive.

Option 2 – M&G – traditional offline investor service

You need to be comfortable managing your investments yourself, but you can choose to do this over the phone or by post. With this option you can also view your investments online via the read-only My Account service:

• Investment instructions taken during working hours
  
• Register for our My Account service for 24/7 access to your investment valuation and full transaction history*
• Documents sent by post
  
• New investments from £500 and regular contributions from £10
• No extra costs to top up, switch or sell your investments at any time
• Telephone, post or email facilities to speak with our Customer Relations team
  
• The choice to receive our monthly e-newsletters covering a wide range of investment topics including sustainability and impact ideas, new M&G funds, educational articles and service information to support you on your investment journey. You can unsubscribe at any time.
  

Charges – You’ll only pay an ongoing charge plus a share of portfolio transaction costs (the costs incurred when funds buy and sell investments). Check out the table below for information on how the charges vary between the Option selected.
Funds – You are only able to access funds from M&G Investments.

*Please note that it is not possible to transact online using this option.

As an M&G customer, you’ll invest in the Recovery Fund A share class and incur an ongoing charge of £108, which is 0.15% more expensive than the low cost online myM&G investor service (R share class). The A share class is 0.40% more expensive than that received via a 3rd party platform, (I share class), but please note that investing via a 3rd party platform will incur a platform fee on top of the figures quoted & that combined fee could be higher than both the A or R share class price but it could also be lower than A or R share class price. It likely goes without saying that it’s really important to think about what matters most to you, what service options best suit you and that the overall fee you are paying is competitive.

Option 3 – buying through a 3rd party platform

You need to be comfortable managing your own investments. Each platform will have their own service proposition (online, telephone, paper, or sometimes a combination of options is available).

Charges* – You’ll pay an ongoing charge plus a share of portfolio transaction costs (the costs incurred when funds buy and sell investments) and you’ll also pay a ‘platform fee’ on top. These vary with each 3rd party platform provider, sometimes these are fixed monetary amounts, sometimes they are percentage based and other times there’s more than one additional charge depending on what you would like to do. Check out the table below for information on how the charges vary between the Option selected.                                   

Funds – Depending on the platform selected, you can normally access investment funds from a wide range of fund management companies.

Taking the example of a typical investor choosing to invest £10,000, the total costs incurred are detailed below:

*Source: www.which.co.uk as at September 2021.

As 3^rd party platform customer, you’ll invest in the Recovery Fund I share class and incur an ongoing charge of £68, which is 0.25% cheaper than the low cost online myM&G investor service (R share class). The I share class is 0.40% cheaper than the traditional offline M&G service, but please note that investing via a 3^rd party platform (I share class), but please note that investing via a 3^rd party platform will incur a platform fee on top of the figures quoted & that combined fee could be more than both the A or R share class price but it could also be lower than A or R share class price. It likely goes without saying that it’s really important to think about what matters most to you, what service options best suit you and that the overall fee you are paying is competitive.

2021 Value Assessment

The M&G Securities Limited  (MGSL) Board in their 2021 Value Assessment looked at the additional services & fees charged for those services provided to both customers invested in the A share class and the R share class, and were satisfied that the value being offered for the additional fees over and above the ‘clean’ I share class (accessible via 3^rd party platforms charging their own servicing fees on top, which don’t form part of the Value Assessment undertaken by MGSL Board).

Once you have weighed up the options, all which may have advantages and disadvantages based on your personal circumstances, you can invest your money, and manage your investments in a way that works for you.

There’s a lot to consider, and if you’re unsure about what option is right for you, you should speak to a Financial Adviser who will be able to help you decide on the right option for your circumstances. Get financial advice.