| What
exactly is a fund supermarket? |
|
A fund supermarket
is a company, which holds and administers your ISA or PEP plans.
A supermarket offers access to a range of funds from different
investment management groups within one plan. The supermarkets
can also administer your investments in Unit Trust etc. This
combined with re-registration can give you great flexibility
in managing your total portfolio. |
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| Why
should I use a supermarket? |
|
Investing
via a fund supermarket allows clients to combine funds from
a range of investment groups in one |
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| Which
supermarket should I use? |
|
Allenbridge
clients can invest their ISA allowance with either Fidelity
FundsNetwork of Cofunds. FundsNetwork offers over 586 funds
from 37 different investment management groups. Cofunds offers
about 486 funds from 41 groups. The majority of funds are common
to both supermarkets. The main exceptions are: Fidelity funds
are available only via FundsNetwork; and the funds of Gartmore,
Jupiter, M&G and Threadneedle are available from Cofunds
only. |
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| Does
it cost more to use a supermarket? |
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No. Fidelity
FundsNetwork and Cofunds do not charge clients any other fees
than the annual fees charged by the fund management companies. |
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| Can
my ISA portfolio include funds from more than one supermarkets? |
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No. In order
to satisfy Inland Revenue requirements, your investment for
the current tax year - up to £7,000 in stocks and shares funds
for a maxi and £3,000 for a mini - must be from just one supermarket.
This still offers a far wider choice of funds and managers than
you would get from a single investment management group. |
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| Is
there a minimum investment? |
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The minimum
investment in one fund is £1,000. |
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| Will
I obtain Allenbridge discounts? |
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Yes. The
discounts are exactly the same as if the fund management company
was your ISA plan manager. For example, our Artemis discount
is 4%, ABN AMRO is 4.75% and Fidelity is 3%. The only exception
is Allenbridge cash discounts, which are not available through
the supermarket. |
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| Can
I choose to invest my total ISA allowance in just one fund? |
|
Yes, however,
this is not something which Allenbridge would necessarily recommend
since it exposes the investor to a greater risk if the fund
does not perform well. In the simplest case if you wish to invest
in just one market sector e.g. UK Growth, rather than putting
everything with just one top manager in the sector you can spread
your investment over two or more. |
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| What
paperwork and information will I receive after I invest? |
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You should
receive a Contract Note from the fund supermarket within 5-10
working days following their receipt of your application via
Allenbridge. Twice a year the supermarket will send you valuation
statements of the investments it holds for you. Cofunds offers
the option of receiving a report from the fund manger at no
cost to you. In addition you will receive a quarterly report
and valuation from Allenbridge covering all of the funds you
have in Allenbridgecare whether in a supermarket or outside
it. |
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| Can
I move my existing plans to a supermarket? |
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Yes. You
can transfer the proceeds of any General PEP, Single Company
PEP or ISA plan to either of the supermarkets. |
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| What
is re-registration? |
|
Re-registration
will allow you to move investments from your existing fund manager
to a supermarket without having to sell and re-purchase the
units. There are no charges, just benefits. |
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| What
are the advantages of re-registration? |
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Having re-registered
the funds you will be able to manage your total portfolio and
make subsequent adjustments more easily and cheaply, i.e. to
maintain the balance you wish between market sectors, and combined
holdings between your partner and yourself. When you wish to
switch all or part of a holding the supermarket can sell on
day one and buy on day two. We recommend investors to re-register
any funds they can into a supermarket even if they have no present
need to make changes to their portfolio holdings. |
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| Which
funds can be re-registered? |
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Please look
at the list of fund managers that are available through either
Fidelity FundsNetwork and Cofunds. The fund managers that are
*starred are available for re-registration. |
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| Do
I have to make fund switches as soon as I re-register? |
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No.
You do not need to do anything immediately, only when you choose
to do so. You will then be in a position to switch easily into
one or more of the hundreds of funds, which the supermarkets
can then buy or sell for you. |
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| Can
I phase my payments? |
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FundsNetwork
offers 'phasing'. This enables you to pay up front for your
ISA. They will then invest one sixth in each of the next six
months. Cofunds offer a monthly savings plan. You can invest
£100 per month per fund. |
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| Can
I invest on-line? |
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You can invest
on-line with FundsNetwork and with Cofunds. When you invest
through our website you will automatically be identified as
an Allenbridge client and this will entitle you to any Allenbridge
discounts as well as the Allenbridgecare service. You
will need a switch or delta card. |
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| Can
I see my portfolio on-line |
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We can provide
an on-line service for all your funds in Allenbridgecare.
In addition, FundsNetwork also provide on-line valuations for
the investments you have made through them and we are also working
on getting Cofunds to provide a similar service for you in the
near future. |
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