Your Investments
The default fund
The current default fund for all new joiners is the Aviva Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares Drawdown fund. This approach is designed specifically to provide members with growth (subject to fund performance) during the majority of their working lives and then greater security as they approach retirement.
To find out which fund(s) you are currently invested in, please refer to your latest annual benefit statement produced by Aviva or access your Aviva plan details on MyAviva, as you may not be invested in the current default fund.
How does the default work?
The scheme default fund uses a ‘lifestyle’ mechanism that works by initially investing in the main growth fund - the Aviva Mixed Investment (40-85% Shares) fund, which aims to provide growth. Then ten years from your selected retirement age (this is set to 65 as default, but you can change this at any time) your pension pot gradually moves into the Aviva Diversified Asset Fund 3 fund and Aviva diversified Assets Fund 1 fund, which continues to provide the potential for growth, but aims to avoid large falls in the value of your pension pot as you near your chosen retirement age.
Lifestyling is a tried and tested investment technique that should provide the majority of employees with a suitable investment platform to support their retirement income goals. However this approach is designed to prepare your pension pot for flexible access at your chosen retirement age and may not be suitable for everybody, we would therefore encourage you to consider if this strategy is appropriate for you.
You can find out more about the default fund, the underlying funds it invests in, as well as alternatives that might better suit your retirement planning here.
Performance
Investment performance is one of the key factors in building a worthwhile retirement fund. If you log into your Aviva account here you can find out the performance of the fund(s) you are invested in, the fund factsheets and a whole lot more!
Responsible investing
From recycling our rubbish, to using the car less often, many of us are making small changes to our daily lives to reduce harm to the planet. Many investors also prefer to see their money invested in funds which do no harm to the environment or which actively encourage diversity in the workplace.
There are three strands to investing responsibly
- Environment - which covers issues relating to protecting the planet.
- Social - which are issues that affect the fair treatment of people.
- Governance - which is about the way companies are run.
Together, these are known as ‘ESG’ issues. ESG is a financially-driven investment philosophy, focussed on driving returns through investment in sustainable companies. It is based on the belief that these factors are critical to a company’s future financial performance and the theory is that companies that don’t impact the environment, have a social conscience and are well-governed will out-perform other companies. You can find out more about Aviva’s ESG policies here. There are a number of self-select funds available to you that focus on specific ESG or responsible investment goals. You may also come across ‘ethical’ investments which specifically exclude certain companies, sectors, countries or business activities. For instance, an ethical fund may apply negative screening which avoids investing in industries involved in tobacco, fossil fuels or controversial weapons.