'Funds' For Thought

Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) Fund - Standard Life

Risk Profile : Low-Medium

This fund has similar volatility rating to a cautious managed fund but it invests in a broader range of assets. It aims to provide positive investment returns in a variety of market conditions over the medium term by providing access to a range of different assets and strategies.

The Annual Management Charge is 1.35% and there are no entry or exit charges if you invest though www.bond.ie on an ‘Execution Only’ (no advice) basis.

SuperCAPP Fund - Zurich Life

Risk Profile : Moderate

A unitised with-profits fund that aims to deliver a regular return, consistent with prevailing long-term interest rates while maintaining the potential for higher growth than a bank deposit account. The fund will have exposure to bonds, equities and cash.

Returns are distributed through Annual and Special Dividends. Dividend distributions aim to provide policyholders with a smoothed accumulation of returns over time.

It has an indicative equity range of 20% – 40%. The fund’s exposure to equity volatility is normally controlled by limiting maximum losses and gains for the majority of the equity portfolio.

The Annual Management Charge is 1%. Zurich Life also retain 1/20th of earnings, distributable as policy dividends. This latter charge is taken before the dividends are declared. For Non-Standard PRSAs only, the charge for this fund is 1.25%.

Brendan Johnston, Pensions Director, and David Kavanagh, ALM Actuary, Zurich Life, talk about the SuperCAPP Fund in a Z-Cast.

Diversified Assets Fund - Zurich Life

Risk Profile : Medium

A unit-linked fund that gives exposure to four asset classes: equities, bonds, property and commodities. The following Zurich Life investment funds are currently used to gain access to these asset classes: the International Equity Fund, the Active Fixed Income Fund, the European (Ex-UK) Property Fund (via ETF) , the Australasia Property Fund (via ETF), the Global Commodities Fund (via ETF).

Indicative Equity Exposure is 70% to 80%. The Annual Management Charge is 1%

Cautiously Managed Fund - Zurich Life

Risk Profile : Moderate

A unit-linked fund offering a well-diversified portfolio of bonds, equities and cash. It has an indicative equity exposure of 20% – 50%. The Annual Management Charge is 1%


These Zurich Life Funds can be accessed for Savings/Investment via www.investandsave.ie and for some Pension Products via www.prsa.ie. There are no entry or exit charges on the products available through these websites and they are on an ‘Execution Only’ (no advice) basis.

Some Caveats

* If you do not understand why you should save/invest in these products or what investment funds are appropriate to your risk profile, then an ‘Execution Only’ service may not be suitable for you. If you need advice, pay a fee for it and then purchase the products online.
* The above funds are not to be interpreted as a generic recommendation as each person will have a different investment profile based on their attitude to risk, term of investment and current investment portfolio.
* Some or all of the assets in the different funds are invested outside the Eurozone, so currency fluctuations may impact on the funds performance.
* The 1% Annual Management Charge on the funds that invest via ETFs does not include any charges that may accrue within the ETF.


Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to the future performance. The value of your investment may go down as well as up.