The fund selected
The fund selected to match this Investment Pathway is Prudential PruFund Risk Managed 3
Why we’ve selected this fund
We’ve selected a fund that aims to maximise your medium to long term (5 to 10 years or more) returns with a medium level of risk.
PruFund Risk Managed 3 aims to provide you with steady growth over the medium to long term, while offering some protection from the ups and downs of investing. It won’t protect you from the full impact of any short-term or sustained market changes, but it does aim to limit the impact of these. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, so you might not get back the amount you put in.
Helpful information on investing and PruFund
Here’s some helpful information on investing in general and some more specific information on PruFund, including key points you should be aware of before you invest. We’ll also cover some facts about PruFund Risk Managed 3, including the fund objective, the risks and the charges.
Understanding investing
The different types of investment
If you invest your money it gives it a chance to grow over the longer term, which can help protect against the impact of inflation. Inflation is the rising cost of goods you buy. If inflation is increasing it means you can buy less with your money. So, if your money is earning less than inflation, you’ll effectively be losing money in real terms.
There are different types of investment (known as ‘asset classes’). The four main investment types are:
Shares – Shares (also known as ‘equities’) give investors a portion of ownership of a company.
Property – Property includes ownership of retail, office, and industrial property.
Bonds – Bonds (Corporate and Government, also known as ‘fixed-interest’ investments) are loans companies take when they need to raise money.
Cash – Cash refers to currency, deposit accounts (bank savings accounts), and other cash equivalents.
Multi-asset funds
Some funds spread your money across a range of the different investment types (also known as asset classes). These are called multi-asset funds.
Spreading your investment helps to reduce the risk as you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.
PruFund Risk Managed 3 is a multi-asset fund as are all our PruFunds, other funds may be different.
People have different needs when it comes to their investments. For example, this investment has been selected if you told us you don’t have plans to touch the money for the next 5 years. Some people may want to use the money sooner and if that’s the case another investment may be suitable.
As well as ‘when’ people want to use their money, people also have different needs in terms of the risk they’re willing and able to take and the returns or rewards they’re aiming for.
To help understand the level of risk and reward of a fund we give each fund a risk rating. Prudential’s risk ratings are between 1 and 6 (with 1 being a lower risk and 6 being a higher risk).
- The lower risk and reward funds are likely to be less volatile, so will be invested in areas which are less likely to fluctuate in value.
- The higher risk and reward funds are likely to be more volatile, so will be invested in areas that are more likely to fluctuate in value.
Other companies may use different descriptions and ratings.
PruFund
If you watched the video, “The basics of investing”, you’ll have seen that markets move up and down. The video also explained that multi-asset funds help reduce the risk associated with this, by spreading the money across different asset classes. This offers some protection compared to the volatility of only investing in a single asset class, for example shares.
PruFund also uses a smoothing mechanism which aims to grow your money while smoothing the short term ups and downs of investment markets. Our smoothed fund range is called PruFund. PruFund is part of our With-Profits fund, one of the largest in the UK. There may be times when we need to suspend smoothing in order to protect the With-Profits fund and all those invested in it.
When you invest in PruFund, your money is pooled together with other investors. This pool of money is then used to buy a large range of different types of asset classes, which as we’ve seen, helps reduce risk. Pooling money also brings about other benefits like having access to a wide range of global funds that individual investors may not. And because there are many, many investors, the costs are spread out too.
A key benefit of PruFund is that it’s actively managed by teams of investment experts. Our experts continually assess data and performance information to make ongoing decisions about where to invest (and where not to), as well as looking out for new opportunities. To achieve the right mix of assets at any given time, they also have a regular process of monitoring and adjusting the mix to respond to changing market conditions.
Important information about PruFund
This video shows some of the key important aspects of PruFund you should understand before investing. For example, the aim of smoothing is to protect you from the short-term highs and lows of the market. And remember, there may be times when we need to suspend smoothing in order to protect our With-Profits fund.
We set Expected Growth Rates (known as EGRs) for PruFund. These are the yearly rates we expect your investment to grow at. The EGRs are reviewed every three months, when they could rise or fall.
If returns are not as expected, we may need to adjust the value of your fund, up or down. This is called a Unit Price Adjustment (UPA).
Changing your investment
When invested in PruFund you can only make one switch every three months.
There will be a delay of 28 days if you are moving out of PruFund to another fund, including full or partial switches from a PruFund.
When moving into PruFund your money will initially be put into the PruFund holding account until the 25th of the month when it is moved into the main fund.
For more information please read your Terms and Conditions.
Watch PruFund explained. This 4 minute video will help you to understand the important aspects of PruFund and smoothing, including UPAs and EGRs.
PruFund Risk Managed 3
If you choose this Pathway your money will be invested in PruFund Risk Managed 3.
The objective of this fund
All funds have an objective set out by the fund manager. The objective of this fund is -
The fund aims to produce growth over the medium to long-term (5 to 10 years or more) while smoothing some of the ups and downs of short-term investment performance. The fund spreads investment risk by investing in a range of different asset types. The asset split is shown in the graph below.
The fund is actively managed and aims to limit the fluctuations ('volatility') the fund experiences, to 12% per annum (before smoothing). There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve its objective of managing the volatility below this limit.
Where is PruFund Risk Managed 3 invested?
The PruFund Risk Managed 3 fund invests in a wide range of different assets. The splits of these assets determines the risk level of the fund and therefore the potential for reward. In the basics of investing video, it explained that shares tend to be the most risky asset class, with cash being the least risky.
On a scale of 1-6 this fund has a risk rating of 3, meaning it has a medium risk.
This shows the asset mix for PruFund Risk Managed 3 as at Sept 2024.
The asset mix is regularly reviewed and may vary from time to time, but will always be consistent with the fund objective.
Fund costs and charges
In this table you can see the percentage invested along with the costs and charges. The yearly total is made up of the yearly charge and further costs. The yearly total is on top of the Product Charge and any Adviser Charges you already pay. Costs and charges are subject to change.
The full details of all these costs and charges are in your illustration.
Fund name |
% of Investment in selected fund |
Yearly Charge |
Further costs |
Yearly total |
Prudential PruFund Risk Managed 3 |
100% |
0.76% |
0.26% |
1.02% |
What to do next
If you have decided an Investment Pathway is right for you, there are two ways to go ahead. You can call our Customer Service Executives on 0345 268 0488, Monday to Friday 8.30 – 6pm. They can’t tell you which option to go for, or give you advice but they can give you information to help you make a decision.
Or, you can use our Online Service. To register or login, simply go to our website pru.co.uk/pension.
If you go ahead without advice, you’ll be taking responsibility for your choices and your own decision. This means the Financial Ombudsman Service(FOS) doesn’t give you the same protection for the decision you make, but you can still refer any matter to them if you feel you haven’t been treated fairly. The FOS is an independent official body, established by Parliament, for settling disputes between UK-based financial companies and their customers. You can find out more at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/.
We recommend you get advice or guidance
We know there’s a lot to consider when you’re investing money, and it can be tricky to know where to start. To help you understand all your options, we recommend speaking to your adviser or getting guidance.
Getting advice
We always recommend speaking to your adviser when making decisions about the money in your Retirement Account. Your adviser is best placed to look at your individual circumstances and recommend what is right for you. If you don’t have an adviser, you can find one at unbiased.co.uk.
Getting guidance
Pension Wise is a free and impartial government service from MoneyHelper. They won’t make recommendations or tell you how to invest your money, but will provide information on a range of available pension options. You can arrange an appointment to speak to a pension specialist by calling 0800 280 8880 or visiting moneyhelper.org.uk
Be sure to shop around
The drawdown and Investment Pathway options you get from your pension provider might not be the best for you. It’s always worth comparing what you can get from other providers too, because you might be able to get a better deal.
MoneyHelper offers free and impartial guidance services, set up by the government, to help you understand and improve your finances. They can provide helpful information on how to shop around for Pathway options offered by other companies. You can also use their drawdown comparison tool to see what different providers offer. You can find out more on their website "moneyhelper.org.uk
Find out about the funds selected to match each pathway objective
Pathway 2
To set up a guaranteed income for life (also known as 'an annuity') within the next 5 years.
Pathway 3
As a long-term income within the next 5 years (also choose this option if you plan to take out some money, as and when you need it, within the next 5 years).
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