Investment funds

Two clear investment options

• Option 1: Selected range - simply choose the Standard Life Investments MyFolio Managed Fund which most closely matches your attitude to risk. Standard Life Investments will then actively manage it on your behalf.
• Option 2: Choose from our full range of funds - if you're comfortable choosing from a wide range of investment options, you can select from our full range of over 2,000* funds from leading fund management groups. These cover a wide range of asset classes, regions and investment styles.
  *As at November 2012.

Investment returns aren't guaranteed. As with any investment the value of your fund can go up or down and may be worth less than what was paid in.

Low charges

• No initial charges - there are no initial charges for any of our funds,as at November 2012.
• No switching charge - you can change your funds as often as you like
• Stepped product charge - the rate of this charge reduces the more you invest
• Rebates - we have been able to negotiate discounts on fund manager charges that are passed back to you as a rebate

We regularly review our charges and may alter them to reflect changes in our overall costs or assumptions. Any increases will be fair and reasonable.

See more information on our charges

Investment returns

As with any investment the value of your fund can go up or down and may be worth less than what was paid in.

Quick, easy application and great ongoing support

• It only takes around 10 minutes - apply online or call us on 0845 272 8810. Call charges will vary
• Customer support - our specialists at Standard Life Direct are only a phone call away

Find out more

Apply online for Investment Funds or call Standard Life Direct on 0845 272 8810 for more information. (Call charges will vary).

Standard Life Direct is provided by Standard Life Client Management Limited and only advises on and sells products from subsidiaries of Standard Life plc and some external providers. Where external advice is provided, there may be an additional cost.

Minimum and maximum amounts

• Minimum lump sum investment – an initial lump sum of £500 or further lump sum of £250.
• Minimum regular investment – £50 a month.

Eligibility

• You are 18 years of age or over.
• You are resident in the UK for tax purposes, a Crown employee serving overseas or the spouse or civil partner of a Crown employee serving overseas who, in either case, has a UK address. Please see the Key Features Document for more information.

Adding and withdrawing money

• Make lump sums – you can make these any time
• Make regular payments – you can start, stop or change these any time you like 
• Take lump sums – subject to limits you can withdraw your money at any time. Minimum of £250 and you will need to keep £500 invested to allow one-off withdrawls
• Take regular withdrawals – from once a month to every 12 months

Switching funds

If you like to manage your investment portfolio actively and switch funds on a regular basis you could save money with Standard Life as we do not charge for switching. Please read the ISA and Investment Fund Key Features.

Keeping track of your investments

You will be able to follow the performance of your investments through our online platform - FundZone.

Tax

• Income tax – we deduct the equivalent of basic rate tax before any income is paid out or reinvested. Higher and Additional rate tax payers will have additional tax to pay.
• Capital gains tax – you may have to pay capital gains tax depending on your personal circumstances when you cash-in all or part of your investment

Laws and tax rules may change in the future. The information here is based on our understanding in December 2012. Your personal circumstances also have an impact on tax treatment.

What is the Supermarket Cash Account?

The Supermarket Cash Account is used to pay product charges and receive any fund manager rebates.

It is important that you have enough money in this account to cover our charges, for example enough to cover 12 months of charges.

If there is not enough money within this account to pay any charge or expense, we will sell some units from your Investment Funds. If your fund manager rebates exceed your product charges, cash will build up in this account and you may want to invest this cash back into your Investment Funds.  

Please call us on 0845 272 8810 if you want to discuss or to allocate money to the Supermarket Cash Account (call charges will vary).

Investment returns

As with any investment the value of your fund can go up or down and may be worth less than what was paid in.

Find out more

Apply online for Investment Funds or to find out more call Standard Life Direct on 0845 272 8810. (Call charges will vary)

Standard Life Direct is provided by Standard Life Client Management Limited and only advises on and sells products from subsidiaries of Standard Life plc and some external providers. Where advice is provided, there may be an additional cost.

Option 1: Looking for a simple investment option?

Our customers tell us that choosing where to invest can feel daunting, so our selected range aims to make things simpler for you. Standard Life Investments' MyFolio Managed Funds offer a choice of five risk levels, so you can choose the option which most closely matches your attitude to risk.
Each of the funds holds a wide range of investments, which can help spread risk and provide smoother investment returns for you over the longer term.
The funds are also actively managed by Standard Life Investments on your behalf to make sure they maintain an appropriate level of risk and mix of investments, whatever's happening in the markets. This means you don't have to worry about managing your investments on an ongoing basis.

Not sure about your attitude to risk? Use Oxford Risk's risk questionnaire - it only takes a few minutes

As well as considering your attitude to investment risk, you should consider how much risk you're able to take with your investments, bearing in mind your other financial commitments and personal circumstances.

More on MyFolio Managed Funds

Option 2: Comfortable choosing your own investment options?

We make that easy too. You can choose from over 2,000* funds from leading fund management groups, covering a wide range of asset classes, regions and investment styles.
Due to our size and purchasing power, we have been able to negotiate discounts on fund manager charges, which we pass back to you in the form of rebates.

No initial charges apply to any of the funds in our full range, as at November 2012.

See more information on our charges

As with any investment the value of your fund can go up or down and may be worth less than what was paid in.

Your charges will vary according to the funds you invest in and the amount you invest with us.

Annual management charge

A charge applies to money invested in funds to cover the costs of running them. This is known as the annual management charge (AMC) and is shown as an annual rate. However, the AMC is deducted from each fund on a daily basis, which has the effect of reducing its unit price.

Additional expenses

Additional expenses may be deducted from some funds. They include items such as trustees', registrars', auditors' and regulatory expenses. Where a fund invests in other underlying funds, they may also include the underlying management charges. As the additional expenses relate to expenses incurred during the fund management process, they will regularly increase and decrease as a percentage of the fund, sometimes significantly. The additional expenses figure shown is the annual rate of the charge. But where additional expenses apply, they are taken into account when the fund's unit price is calculated each day.

Fund manager rebate

We show the annual rate of rebates, but they are calculated on a daily basis and passed on to you as a monthly cash rebate into the Supermarket Cash Account.

Product charge

We also apply a product charge, which varies depending on the amount you have invested. This is taken from the Supermarket Cash Account.
 

Other charges may still apply. We regularly review our charges and may alter them to reflect changes in our overall costs or assumptions. Any increase will be fair and reasonable.

No initial charge

There are no initial charges to pay if you take out Investment funds with us, as at November 2012.