A pension is a long-term investment. Its value can go down as well as up and could be worth less than was paid in. Laws and tax rules may change in the future. Your own circumstances and where you live in the UK will also have an impact on tax treatment.

Overview

Invest responsibly

Stewardship



Where your pension plan is invested is very important, as it will have a big impact on how much money you’ll have when you retire.

You may also want to know if your money is helping to create a sustainable future.

The good news is that you have a choice of responsible investment solutions to meet your financial and sustainability goals. Investment experts pick and manage funds for you, aiming to manage the financial risks and opportunities of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

There's also a choice of individual funds if you want to target specific ethical, environmental, and social goals, together with aiming for growth over the long term.

Our responsible investment options

Help me do it – sustainable investment options

Are you looking for a solution that helps you grow your pension pot over the long term so that you have enough money when you retire?

With Sustainable Multi Asset, our team of experts make the investment decisions for you now and in the future.

When the main focus is on growing your pension, more is invested in companies that could provide opportunities, like those focused on green technology. And areas are avoided that could present a risk; for example, those involved in activities such as tobacco production. The focus will change as you near retirement to get you ready for how you plan to take your pension savings.

There are four options to choose from. Sustainable Multi Asset Universal Strategic Lifestyle Profile (SLP) is generally appropriate for the majority of pension savers. Three additional lifestyle profiles make sure all the main bases are covered as you approach retirement.

Let me do it – choose your own responsible investment options

There’s lots of choice if you want to ‘do it yourself’ and choose your own funds.

You may want to avoid (screen out) investing in certain industries or practices, or support particular climate or social themes.

A choice of screening or thematic approaches:

You can choose from our range of actively managed responsible investment funds.

Active management is when a fund manager decides which companies to invest in or not, based on various factors.

You can find our actively managed options below and download the factsheets to find out more.

Some of these funds aim to achieve a specific social or environmental outcome, alongside a financial return.

Others use positive or negative screening criteria:

  • Positive criteria look for companies which are involved in activities that benefit society and the environment.
  • Negative criteria look to avoid investment in companies involved in certain industries and practices such as animal testing, climate change impacts and human rights issues.

Download our factsheets

You can also invest in passively managed funds that take a different approach

Passive management is when an investment aims to track (replicate) the performance of a market index.

When it comes to responsible investment options, the funds we offer have broad coverage of the market but exclude investments that don’t meet specific socially responsible or religious principles.

See the available options below and read the factsheets to find out more.

Download our factsheets

Remember: the value of all investments can go down as well as up, so there's always a possibility you could end up with less than was paid in.

We take care of ESG for you

We expect ESG to be considered on your behalf across all our investment options, where appropriate. That's why we work with our investment managers to understand their approach to ESG.

See how ESG factors are applied to our 'Help me do it' and 'Let me do it' investment options below:

 

ESG Incorporation

Investment managers can include ESG using three approaches below:

Stewardship  

There are two ways investment managers can better understand ESG risks and influence positive change:
  Integration

Analysing how a company manages ESG to help spot opportunities and manage risks (can be applied across all funds). This doesn't include screening. So investments which could be seen as negative may still be included. 

 Screening

Funds are invested based on ethics and values (includes ethical funds). 

 Thematic

Funds aiming to achieve a financial return alongside a specific environmental or social outcome (includes impact funds). 

 Engagement

Talking to companies they invest in about their ESG activities and practices to encourage better policies and conduct in these areas. 

 Proxy voting

Using voting rights on behalf of investors to encourage good management of matters such as governance, tax practices and climate change.
Help me do it investment options:
Sustainable Multi Asset range
(lifestyle profile) *Note 1
 -
Passive Core
(lifestyle profile) *Note 2		  -  -  -
MyFolio Managed range
(funds and lifestyle profiles which include the funds)
 -  -
MyFolio Index range
(funds) *Note 2		  -  -  -
Managed Fund
(fund and lifestyle profiles)
 -  -
Let me do it investment options:          
Future Advantage range
(Funds) *Note 6
 -
Funds managed by abrdn
*Note 3 		-
Funds managed by other external fund managers
*Note 4
*Note 5
*Note 5
*Note 4
*Note 4

Notes

Standard Life Assurance Limited's approach to responsible investment is based on the United Nations-supported Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) and the UK Stewardship Code.

Our investment managers are all expected to invest responsibly.