Why do we conduct Fund Governance?
When selecting a fund you should do so with an investment objective in mind. It is therefore important to be kept up-to-date about selected funds in order for you to retain confidence in your initial decision. To help ensure you are kept informed about important changes to funds, we carry out a process called Fund Governance.
Fund Governance involves a thorough and ongoing review of our fund range, to monitor changes that may affect your expectation of a fund. When changes are considered to be significant, they will be communicated, and, in certain circumstances, may involve a change to the range of funds we offer
How do we carry out Fund Governance?
Every quarter, we send out a questionnaire to every Fund Group whose funds we sell. The questionnaire is designed to capture any fundamental change made to a fund.
Who helps monitor Fund Governance?
Standard Life's Fund Governance is monitored by the Fund Steering Group (FSG), which is comprised of senior staff from Marketing, Finance, Sales, Standard Life Investments and Standard Life International.
The FSG discuss the questionnaire issued each quarter, which allows them to identify any key changes to a fund.
Q1 2008 - Fund Governance Report
Q2 2008 - Fund Governance Report
What changes may affect a fund and what actions would the FSG consider?
Some changes that may affect a fund are:
If a change is considered so significant that it might change your expectation of that fund, the FSG will usually inform you.
From time to time, the FSG may take the decision to remove funds from our platform, although this would usually only happen once a year.
As every fund we offer involves a cost, we consider it prudent to review the fund range. Generally speaking, if, after three years on our platform, a fund has not attracted a commercial inflow of money, the FSG would consider removing it.
When this happens, the decision, along with a full explanation for the reasons behind it, would be communicated to both current investors and their advisers (offering them an alternative investment) as well as potential investors who had the option of investing in the fund.
What does Fund Governance want to achieve?
Our Fund Governance process is designed to be transparent, and focuses on ensuring that we:
Summary
Although change cannot be controlled, our reactions to it, and our responsibility to you, can. Fund Governance forms a key part of Standard Life's commitment to provide you with the most up-to-date information, and most suitable fund choices, to help objectives meet expectations.
