Corporate notifications

CA1751 - Aberdeen Fund Closure

Fund closure

We have received a notification from Redwheel informing us that the name of the below funds have changed as of 6th February 2023. Redwheel Enhanced Income A Dis(N) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd A Dis(N) / Redwheel Enhanced Income A Dis(G) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd A Dis(G) / Redwheel Enhanced Income A Dis(I) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd A Dis(I) / Redwheel Enhanced Income B Dis(G) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd B Dis(G) / Redwheel Enhanced Income B Dis(I) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd B Dis(I) / Redwheel Enhanced Income B Dis(N) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd B Dis(N) / Redwheel Enhanced Income A(G) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd A(G) / Redwheel Enhanced Income A(N) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd A(N) / Redwheel Enhanced Income A(I) changing to: Redwheel UKClmtEnggmnt Fnd A(I)

Change in calculation of the AMC. Currently the calculation is based on the prior day's net asset value. They propose to change the calculation, to be based on the current day's net asset value. Reduction in the annual management charge for Steward Investors Global Emergin Markets Fund Class A (reduced from 1.65% to 1.50%) and Class B (reduced from 0.90% to 0.85%)

We have received a notification from Fundrock informing us of a Merger involving the funds listed below. The effective date of the Merger is 04.11.2022 Model portfolios will be affected until the merger has completed. Please note, the fund will be closed to buys and sells on 28.10.2022 All model portfolios and holdings will be repointed to the receiving fund when the scheme of arrangement is processed. |FP Frontier MAP Bal C Acc changing to FP Apollo Multi Asset Balanced F Acc Fund|

Novia

We have received notification from M&G that the AMC for the below funds will be changing. Please follow the link to see the affected funds.

https://www.novia-financial.co.uk/investmentsupdate

We have received notification from Merian that the name for the below funds will be changing. Please follow the link to see the affected funds.

https://www.novia-financial.co.uk/investmentsupdate

Further to the below, we have received the following update in relation to the specified funds: We have now received the Fourth capital distribution payment and this has been processed and applied effective 11.12.2020. We will continue to provide regular updates, when they are received by Link Asset Services, until the completion of the winding up of the Fund.

https://equityincome.linkfundsolutions.co.uk/investor-communications/thursday-20th-august-2020-investor-notification-regarding-the-third-capital-distribution-rates/

Changes to your Legal & General Unit Trust funds: Currently, we use four different methods for calculating fund prices. Instead, we will adopt a ‘single swing pricing’ method across most of our Unit Trust range of funds. The change to the pricing method will be implemented on [1 December] 2020.

Changes to your Legal & General Unit Trust funds:  Currently, we use four different methods for calculating fund prices. Instead, we will adopt a ‘single swing pricing’ method across most of our Unit Trust range of funds. The change to the pricing method will be implemented on [1 December] 2020.

GS Fund Range:

GS Global Small Cap CORESM Equity Portfolio R Snap GBP Inc
GS India Equity Portfolio R GBP Inc

Vanguard Fund Range:

Vanguard Global Small Cap Index Acc
Vanguard Global Short Term Bond Index Acc GBP Hedged
Vanguard Global Bond Index Acc
Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe ex U.K Equity Index Acc
Vanguard UK Inflation Linked Gilt Index Acc
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Acc

Kames Fund Range:

Kames Short Dated High Yield Global Bond Fund GBP B Inc Hedged
Kames Diversified Monthly Income B Inc

Aberdeen Standard Fund range:

ASI Multi-Manager Diversity Fund

"AMC Change - Aberdeen Standard

We have received notification from Aberdeen Standard that the Annual Management Charge for the below fund will be changing on 01.07.2020. |ASI Multi-Manager Diversity Fund A Acc - AMC changing from 1.20% to 0.95%|

Fund Name Change - Aberdeen Standard Investments

We have received a notification from Aberdeen Standard Investments informing us that the name of the ASI Global Unconstrained Equity funds will be changing from 07.07.2020. |ASI GlUnconEq Ret Acc changing to ASI Gbl Focused Eq Ret Acc| |ASI GlUnconEq R Pf 1 A changing to ASI Gbl Focused Eq R Pf 1 A|

Fund Name Changes - Aberdeen Standard

We have received a notification from Aberdeen Standard informing us that the name of the below funds are changing as of 07.07.2020. |Aberdeen Gbl Chinese Eq X Acc changing to Aberdeen All China Equity X Acc| |Aberdeen Gbl American Eq X Acc changing to Aberdeen American Focused Equity X Acc| |Aberdeen Gbl American Eq A Acc changing to Aberdeen American Focused Equity A Acc|"

"We have received notification from First State that the AMC for the below Stewart Investors funds will be changing:

Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Fund Class A (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 1.55% to 1.50% | Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Fund Class B (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 0.90% to 0.85% | Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund Class A (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 1.50% to 1.45% | Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund Class B (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 0.85% to 0.80% | Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Sustainability Fund Class A (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.55% to 1.50% | Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Sustainability Fund Class B (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 0.90% to 0.85% | Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Fund Class A (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.75% to 1.65% | Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Fund Class B (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.00% to 0.90% | Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Fund Class A (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.50% to 1.45% | Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders Fund Class B (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 0.85% to 0.80% | Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Sustainability Fund Class A (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.55% to 1.50% | Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Sustainability Fund Class B (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 0.90% to 0.85% | Stewart Investors Indian Subcontinent Sustainability Fund Class A (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.75% to 1.70% | Stewart Investors Indian Subcontinent Sustainability Fund Class B (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.00% to 0.95% | Stewart Investors Latin America Fund Class A (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.75% to 1.65% | Stewart Investors Latin America Fund Class B (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.00% to 0.90% | Stewart Investors Worldwide Equity Fund Class A (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 1.50% to 1.25% | Stewart Investors Worldwide Equity Fund Class B (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 0.85% to 0.60% | Stewart Investors Worldwide Select Fund Class A (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 1.50% to 1.20% | Stewart Investors Worldwide Select Fund Class B (Acc) GBP AMC changing from 0.75% to 0.45% | Stewart Investors Worldwide Sustainability Fund Class B (Acc/Inc) GBP AMC changing from 0.85% to 0.60% |"

Scheme of Arrangement - Thesis Unit Trust Management Ltd

We have received notification from Thesis Unit Trust Management Ltd informing us of a Scheme of Arrangement involving the TM CRUX European fund. The effective date of the Scheme of Arrangement is 10.07.2020. Model portfolios will be affected until the merger has completed. Please note, we will close the fund to buys and sales on 03.07.2020. All model portfolios and holdings will be repointed to the receiving fund when the scheme of arrangement is processed. |TM CRUX European A Acc changing to TM CRUX European I Acc|

M&G Fund Range:

M&G Global Themes I Inc

Vanguard Fund series:

Vanguard Global Bond Index Acc
Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe ex U.K Equity Index Acc
Vanguard UK Inflation Linked Gilt Index Acc
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Acc

GS Fund Range:

GS Global Small Cap CORESM Equity Portfolio R Snap GBP Inc
GS India Equity Portfolio R GBP Inc

JP Morgan Fund Range:

JPM US Equity Income C Net Inc
JPM US Select C Acc
JPM US Equity Income C Net Inc

"We have made a number of changes to the funds’ Key Investor Information Documents (KIIDs), as part of the 2020 annual update, and these documents now reflect the following:

• Specific fund performance targets (see overleaf for a list of funds where this applies).
• The extent to which a fund is managed with reference to a benchmark and the freedom the manager has in choosing investments for a fund.
• A brief summary of the manager’s investment strategy.
• Updates to the past performance section to show the index, peer group or performance target against that of the fund (not all of these will be relevant for all funds).

Janus Henderson UK Property PAIF Feeder Fund I Inc, the funds would remain suspended whilst there continues to be material valuation uncertainty across the fund’s direct property investments. The dealing suspension therefore remains in place until further notice. The situation will continue to be monitored by the ACD with a further update provided within the next 28 days or sooner should the situation improve."

GS Fund Range:

GS Global Small Cap CORESM Equity Portfolio R Snap GBP Inc
GS India Equity Portfolio R GBP Inc

We regularly review our charges to ensure that our Funds remain competitive. Following a recent review, we have decided to reduce the registration fee to 0% for the Income C and Accumulation C Share Classes in the following funds:

• HSBC FTSE 250 Index Fund
• HSBC FTSE All-World Index Fund
• HSBC Japan Index Fund
• HSBC Pacific Index Fund
• HSBC FTSE 100 Fund
• HSBC UK Gilt Index Fund

In addition we have reduced the Annual Management Charge (AMC) for the Income C and Accumulation C Share Classes of the FTSE 100 Index Fund.
 The AMC has reduced from 0.10% to 0.07%
These changes took effect from the 1st April 2020."

"Artemis High Income Fund. The existing objective refers to “obtaining a higher than average initial yield”.
This is open to different interpretation and is difficult to measure. The newly worded objective will be “to
provide a combination of a high level of income and capital growth, before fees, over a rolling five-year
period.” The manager defines a high level of income as equal to, or in excess of, the average yield of those
funds making up the Investment Association Strategic Bond sector, in which the Fund sits.
Artemis Global Emerging Markets Fund. The existing objective refers to the fund seeking a combination of
income and capital growth. Although this fund does generate some income, we believe that it is more
appropriate to emphasise the potential for capital growth. The newly-worded objective will be “to grow
capital over a five-year period.
Artemis Capital Fund. The existing investment policy refers specifically to the fund having an emphasis on
investing in companies which are listed in the FTSE 100. While the fund has historically held a substantial
portion of its assets in the shares of companies which are listed in the FTSE 100, the fund manager believes
that the relative importance of this has declined over time. As a result, although the fund will still maintain
an emphasis on investing in the United Kingdom, we will be changing the investment policy so that in the
future there will be no specific proportion of the fund’s assets which has to be invested in companies which
are listed in the FTSE 100. The fund’s new policy will be to invest at least 80% of its assets in the United
Kingdom."

"Fund Closure - Artemis Pan-European Absolute Return
We have received a notification from Artemis informing us that on 20.05.2020 they will be liquidating the Pan-European Absolute Return Fund. All holdings on the effective date will be compulsorily redeemed. The Fund has been closed to buys and sells with immediate effect to prepare for the fund closure. Any model portfolios that contain the Fund will become invalid and need to be updated."

Vanguard Fund range:

Vanguard Global Small Cap Index Acc
Vanguard Global Short Term Bond Index Acc GBP Hedged
Vanguard UK Inflation Linked Gilt Index Acc

"The changes to Vanguard funds can be summarised below:
(a) Change of Share Class Names
(b) Consolidation of Share Classes and Subsequent Revision of Share Class Names;
(c) Share Classes Closing to New Investment; and
(d) Change of Minimum Investment Amounts
'Name Change - Vanguard SRI Global Stock Fund changing to Vanguard ESG Dev World All Cap Equity Index

We have received a notification from Vanguard informing us that as of 13/05/2020 the name of the Vanguard SRI Global Stock Fund Inc/Acc will be changing to Vanguard ESG Dev World All Cap Equity Index Inc/Acc."

Artemis Fund range:

Artemis Income I Inc

Artemis US Extended Alpha Fund I Acc

Summary of the changes to be made to the Funds’ names, investment objectives and policies:
In light of the Policy Statement and the FCA’s requirements and expectations more generally, we, in consultation with the Investment Adviser of the Funds (GLG Partners LP), have determined to make a number of clarifications to the Funds’ investment objectives, policies and certain other related information.
By way of summary, we are making the following changes to the Funds’ names (for the UK Income Fund), investment objectives, policies and related information:
1. Fund name change
UK Income Fund
We will change the name of this Fund to the “Man GLG Income Fund” in order to provide a more precise representation to investors of the types of assets in which the Fund may invest. This change will take effect from on or around 31 March 2020.

Please note that this amendment is not required in order to reflect changes to the way in which the Fund
is being managed in practice.
Undervalued Assets Fund
For the avoidance of doubt, the name of this Fund will not be changed.
2. Clarifications to the Funds’ investment objectives
UK Income Fund
The investment objective of this Fund will be amended to clarify that, whilst the Fund seeks to provide
income, it has a more specific target of providing income (gross of fees) above the FTSE All-Share Total
Return (NDTR) Index over 1 year rolling periods and outperforming (gross of fees) the FTSE All-Share
Total Return (NDTR) Index over the long-term (over 5 year rolling periods).
Please note that these clarifications are not required in order to reflect changes to the way in which the Fund is being managed in practice, but are intended to provide investors with more detail on the financial outcomes the Investment Adviser seeks to achieve.
Undervalued Assets Fund
The investment objective of the Fund will be amended to clarify that the Fund more specifically targets
outperformance (net of fees) of the FTSE All-Share Total Return (NDTR Index) over the long-term (over 5 year rolling periods).
Please note that this clarification is not required in order to reflect changes to the way in which the Fund is being managed in practice, but is intended to provide investors with more detail on the financial outcomes the Investment Adviser seeks to achieve.
3. Clarifications to the Funds’ investment policies:
UK Income Fund
We are also making a number of clarifications to this Fund’s investment policy. Among other things, we
will be taking the opportunity to clarify that the Fund may invest in collective investment schemes (e.g.
other investment funds) and to provide more detail on the policy and approach taken by the Fund’s
Investment Adviser. We will also be providing more detail in relation to the equities in which the Fund
invests.
In addition, we will be incorporating additional information to describe how a benchmark may be used by
the Investment Adviser when making investment decisions for the Fund.

**Suspended** Aberdeen UK Property Fund I Inc

**Suspended** Standard Life Inv UK Real Estate Fund Platform 1 Acc

Royal London Short Duration Global Index Linked M Inc Hedged

Royal London UK Equity Income Fund M Inc

"BNY Mellon Global Dynamic Bond - AMC Change

We have received notification from BNY Mellon that the AMC for the BNY Mellon Global Dynamic Bond Inc/Acc will be changing effective 01.04.2020. This will be changing from the Current AMC 0.625% to the New AMC 0.50%."

"AMC Change - Invesco Multiple Funds

We have received notification from Invesco that the AMC for the several Invesco funds will be changing."

M&G Fund Range:

M&G Strategic Corporate Bond I Inc GBP
M&G Optimal Income Fund I Inc GBP

'"Investment objective:
The new investment objectives will clearly state what each Fund aims to deliver for its
investors. Each will include a comparable market index or sector and a time horizon as a point
of reference against which investors may assess the Fund’s performance after charges have
been taken. The indices or sectors included in each new investment objective will be those
currently referred to as performance comparators in the Prospectuses, Key Investor
Information Documents (KIIDs) and factsheets.

Investment policy:
The new investment policies will provide greater detail of the types of assets each Fund ispermitted to invest in, and the limits within which each Fund is managed. Phrases such as“mainly” will be replaced by the specific amounts they describe (expressed as a percentage ofthe Fund’s total portfolio of assets)."

Artemis Funds range:

Artemis UK Special Situations I Acc
Artemis Strategic Bond MI Inc
Artemis US Extended Alpha Fund I Acc
Artemis Global Income Fund Class I Acc

"We are reducing our annual management charge (AMC) for the Share Classes in the Sub-Fund (the changes are summarised below). This reduction reflects our ongoing commitment to ensuring these charges are consistent for similar products within our fund range, From 1 April 2020:

Institutional Shares W
£10,000,000
From 0.625% to 0.50%

U Shares
£100,000,000
From 0.50% to 0.40%"

"Name Change - Merian Global Strategic Bond P Fund changed to Merian Global Strategic Bond R Fund

We have received a notification from Merian Investment Management Limited informing us that they intend to update the share class name of the Merian Global Strategic Bond Fund. The specified share classes will change name on 01.03.2020. Merian Global Strat Bond P Inc/Acc changing to Merian Global Strat Bond R Inc/Acc."

"Name Change - Quilter Investors Managed Fund - (Scheme of Arrangement)

We have received notification from Quilter Investors Limited informing us of a Scheme of Arrangement involving the Quilter Investors Managed Fund Acc/Inc. The effective date of the Scheme of Arrangement is 13.03.2020. Model portfolios will be affected until the merger has completed. Please note, we will close the fund to buys and sales on 06.03.2020. All model portfolios and holdings will be repointed to the receiving fund when the scheme of arrangement is processed."

Name Change - Man GLG UK Income Fund

We have received a notification from Man GLG informing us that they intent to update the name of the Man GLG UK Income Fund. The specified share classes will change name on 31.03.2020. Man GLG UK Income Ret Acc changing to Man GLG Income Acc

"Soft Fund Closure - Lazard Global Equity Franchise Early Adopter Fund

Lazard Investment Management have informed us that on the 31.03.2020 they will be soft closing the Lazard Global Equity Franchise Early Adopter Fund. The Fund Manager has confirmed that they wish to restrict the Fund via our MPM tool on the effective date of the soft closure. This means existing holders would be able to access this Fund through model portfolios. Therefore, only those DFMs or IFA firms that hold the named Fund in their models will be granted access to continue making ad hoc investments into the share class. For any investor whereby the Fund is not held in a model portfolio, the Fund will be closed to buys from the 24th March 2020 to prepare for the soft closure."

'Below is a summary of the changes to be made to the Funds’ names, investment objectives and policies.

Man GLG will change the name of this Fund to the “Man GLG Income Fund” in order to provide a more precise representation to investors of the types of assets in which the Fund may invest. This change will take effect from on or around 31 March 2020.

The investment objective of this Fund will be amended to clarify that, whilst the Fund seeks to provide income, it has a more specific target of providing income (gross of fees) above the FTSE All-Share Total Return (NDTR) Index over 1 year rolling periods and outperforming (gross of fees) the FTSE All-Share Total Return (NDTR) Index over the long-term (over 5 year rolling periods).

The investment objective of the Fund will be amended to clarify that the Fund more specifically targets outperformance (net of fees) of the FTSE All-Share Total Return (NDTR Index) over the long-term (over 5 year rolling periods).

We are also making a number of clarifications to this Fund’s investment policy. Among other things, we will be taking the opportunity to clarify that the Fund may invest in collective investment schemes (e.g. other investment funds) and to provide more detail on the policy and approach taken by the Fund’s Investment Adviser. We will also be providing more detail in relation to the equities in which the Fund invests.

In addition, we will be incorporating additional information to describe how a benchmark may be used by the Investment Adviser when making investment decisions for the Fund.

Similarly, we are also making a number of clarifications to this Fund’s investment policy. Among other things, we will be taking the opportunity to provide more detail in relation to the equities in which the Fund invests. We will also be including more detail on the policy and approach taken by the Fund’s Investment Adviser, including by incorporating additional information to describe how a benchmark may be used by the Investment Adviser when making investment decisions for the Fund.'

BNY Mellon / Newton Fund range:

BNY Mellon Multi Asset Balanced Fund Institutional W Inc
BNY Mellon Global Income Fund Institutional W Inc
BNY Mellon Asian Income Fund Institutional W Inc

Change to Charge - Kames Capital ICVC

Kames Capital have informed us that they are making some changes to the Annual Management Fee of their fixed income fund range, which will take effect from 01/01/2020. Kames Short Dated High Yield Bond Fund CLS B GBP HGD Inc Amc Changing from 0.50% to 0.40% 

Your shares are being converted from Income Shares into Accumulation Shares
Your shares in the Orbis OEIC are currently Income Shares that pay dividends. Dividend payments represent your share of the income earned on investments held by the Orbis OEIC during the year. When a dividend is paid out to investors, that payment decreases the value of the Fund. In the future, all Income Shares in the Orbis OEIC will be converted into Accumulation Shares and will no longer pay out dividends and instead any income earned by a Fund will be accumulated. This means that this income will be added to the capital property of the Fund and will remain invested. Orbis are updating the Orbis OEIC Prospectus to set out a mechanism for this type of change of share class to take place when the Fund Manager believes that this is in your best interests.

Orbis are planning to make this change in December 2019. Furthermore, they will send us an email within the next two months confirming the exact date of the conversion (the “Effective Date”). From that date no further dividends will be paid in respect of shares. Please note that this change will not affect the way in which the Funds are managed.

Fund Closure - ASI Emerging Market Government Bond Fund

We have received a notification from Aberdeen Standard that they have decided to close the ASI Emerging Market Government Bond Fund with the effective date of 27/01/2020. 
All holdings on the effective date will be compulsorily redeemed. The fund will be closed to buys and sell on 20/01/2020. 

Charging Change - Various Polar Capital Funds

We have received notification from Polar Capital confirming a fee reduction for three of their Polar Capital Funds, with effect from 01/01/2020. 

Change to Charge - Kames Capital ICVC

Kames Capital have informed us that they are making some changes to the Annual Management Fee of their fixed income fund range, which will take effect from 01/01/2020. The move will see the charges on some of the ‘B’ and ‘S’ share classes of the UK and Dublin-domiciled bond fund ranges cut.

Vanguard has reduced the ongoing charges figure for a number of funds those that apply to TPO clients are:
U.K. Inflation-Linked Gilt Index Fund Gross Accumulation Fixed Income UK Mutual Fund Passive GBP 0.15% 0.12% 
U.K. Inflation-Linked Gilt Index Fund Gross Income Fixed Income UK Mutual Fund Passive GBP 0.15% 0.12% 

Furthermore, as part of Vanguard’s ongoing commitment to deliver value for money Vanguard has reduced the ongoing charges figure for a number of funds. The growing size and scale of our funds have helped fuel operational efficiencies that lower costs to serve clients. As a result, Vanguard have reduced their prices for Institutional shareclasses. They are happy to confirm that they are able to waive the investment minimum for the institutional shareclasses for the platforms that we use.

When an investor buys or sells shares, the Fund has to buy or sell investments. Due to costs (such as charges,
foreign currency exchange costs, taxes, and spreads) which the Fund has to pay, the price of buying investments
may be greater than the value of the investments (or the proceeds of selling investments may be less than the
value of the investments). This difference in value is known as ‘dilution’ and is a cost to the Fund.
Previously, a pre-set dilution levy was charged separately to the Fund price to protect long-term investors. The
dilution levy has always been paid into the Fund and not to the Investment Manager or platforms. The pre-set dilution
levy for the fund we hold been set at the following levels:

MI Somerset Emerging Markets Dividend Growth Fund – 0.40%

Our investors in that the same price will be used for both the purchase and sale of shares, with no additional levy
added to the share price.

L&G Fund Range:

L&G UK Property Feeder I Inc
L&G Dynamic Bond Fund I Inc
L&G US Index Trust I Acc

Fidelity Fund range:

Fidelity MoneyBuilder Balanced Y Inc
Fidelity Strategic Bond Y Dist Inc

Dealing Suspension - M&G Property Portfolio & M&G Feeder of Property Portfolio

A notification has been received from M&G stating that the M&G Property Portfolio & the M&G Feeder of Property Portfolio funds have been temporarily suspended from trading. The suspension is effective immediately and as a result the funds have been closed to buys and sells from 05/12/2019. Any model portfolios which contain the funds will be impacted. At this time we have not been given any indication of when the suspension may be lifted, however updates will be provided as they are received.

To help investors assess the performance of this Fund, Three Month GBP LIBORSONIA is used for comparison purposes.

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), is a benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another in the international interbank market for short-term loans. 

The Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) is a widely used interest rate benchmark administered by the Bank of England. SONIA is based on actual transactions and reflects the average of the interest rates that banks pay to borrow sterling overnight from other financial institutions. 

As the Fund aims to deliver an absolute return over a rolling 36 month basis with low volatility, through a portfolio that includes investments with predictable return profiles, the Investment Adviser believes it is a meaningful benchmark to help investors assess the performance of the Fund.

Performance data on other funds using this benchmark may be prepared and published by data providers, which can be used when evaluating the performance of theis Fund.

M&G Fund range:

M&G Global Select Fund Class I Inc
M&G Dividend Class I Inc

"On 4th June..., LF Woodford Equity Income Fund Inc/Acc was suspended for dealing, with funds closed to buys and sells and any model portfolios containing the Fund impacted. Further to this, we have now received the following update in relation to the specified funds. LF Woodford have informed us that they have taken the decision to place the LF Woodford Equity Income Fund into an orderly wind up. This is with a view to returning cash to investors at the earliest opportunity. 

LF Woodford will now take the necessary steps to request formal permission and it is expected that the winding up of the Fund will formally commence on 17/01/2020. They have explained that this orderly realisation will allow the return of money through interim payments to investors more quickly than if the Fund had remained suspended for a longer period of time. It is anticipated that the first capital distribution will be paid to all underlying clients by the end of January 2020. We will continue to provide regular updates, when they are received by Link Asset Services, in respect of the sale of the Fund’s assets and the payment of further capital distributions until the completion of the winding up of the Fund."

"We have received notification from Invesco informing us of a name change involving Invesco Hong Kong & China Acc. The effective date of the name change will be 31/10/2019. Invesco Hong Kong & China Z changing to Invesco China Equity Fund (UK)"

What changes have been made?
The following is a summary of the changes we have made to the ICVC funds’ prospectuses:
Investment Objectives and Policies
– We have amended the fund’s investment objectives and policies to make them clearer and more specific. We believe it is now easier for investors to understand the fund’s aims and the type of investments the fund may invest in.
– We have also changed the way information is laid out to make it clearer and easier for investors to read.

Investment Strategies:
– We have included a new section to describe the investment strategy and the criteria used by the fund manager when making investment decisions.
Benchmark
– We have included a new section to disclose if a fund uses a benchmark and if it does whether such benchmark is:
– A target benchmark: when a fund seeks to achieve a specific target in relation to a benchmark, for example, to outperform a particular benchmark;
– A constraining benchmark: when a fund manager’s investment decisions are constrained by a benchmark; and/or
– A comparator benchmark: when a benchmark can be used by investors to compare to the performance of a fund."

"The changes and the reasons for making them can be summarised as follows:

(a) the investment objective of the Sub-fund remains the same, however we have simplified the way it is described to make it easier to understand;

(b) whilst the asset classes that the Sub-fund may invest in directly and indirectly (i.e. via other
investment vehicles, such as other funds) remain the same, in the revised version of the investment
policy we have provided further detail regarding those asset classes and changed the way we
describe some of them. We have also clarified which assets may only be held indirectly and have
provided more detail on the method used to gain exposure to the asset class; and

(c) we have now included in the section of the prospectus for the Company (the “Prospectus”) headed “Investment Strategy” information on how Troy Asset Management Limited, the investment manager of the Company, selects the investments of the Sub-fund and makes adjustments to the portfolio. The changes described above are intended to provide more clarity to investors, enabling them to more easily understand the Sub-fund’s investment objective and how the Sub-fund aims to achieve that objective."

"As Aberdeen Investment Funds ICVC  is to be renamed Aberdeen Standard OEIC I, the Aberdeen UK Mid-Cap Equity Fund will be renamed ASI UK Mid-Cap Equity Fund as well changes to its investment objective and Policy. 

The fund will adopt a slight change to its investment objective and policy. "We have decided that it is in the best interests of our investors to amend the investment policy of the Fund to slightly widen the definition of a mid-capitalisation stock." The appendix of the document issued to clients offers a more specific overview of the funds investment objective and investment policy."

In light of changes made by the FCA we are making changes to the investment objective to include the Fund's benchmark.

"Our changes clarify the investment objective by including the target benchmark for the Fund, which is to outperform the UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) +4% each year (gross of fees) over 5 year rolling periods. 

The CPI has been chosen as a benchmark because we believe it sets a realistic expectation, given the current market environment, of the fund's long-term real returns based on the principal asset types available for investment."

Under the provisions of the MiFID II Delegated Directive, investment managers for retail collective investment schemes such as the Funds, are required to allocate and separately identify the Fund's money used for investment research and disclose this to investors. Historically, payment for investment research has been administered by a "Commission sharing agreement" between Argonaut and providers of investment research whereby research costs were collected as part of the costs for the execution of the transactions paid to brokers. This will change under the Directive which comes into effect from the beginning of 2018. In order to comply with the requirements of the Directive to allocate and separately identify a specific research charge, the Fund's Investment Manager will be setting an annual budget for its purchase of research, establishing and operating a "Research Payment Account" from which providers of research will be paid; and funding the RPA from research charges that will be paid from the assets of the Fund.

We have identified those invested in the American Index Fund and Pacific Index Fund are affected by this change. The underlying securities are a relatively small proportion of the overall holdings of these funds and HSBC will be actively removing these holdings once the change comes in to affect.

The proceeds will be reallocated across the other holdings within the Funds.

Fund AIM change

April 2016

No Action required.

Fund name change

The name of the current 'income' ('Inc') share class will change to 'income 2' ('Inc-2). There will be no changs to the way charges and expenses are charges against the capital of the share class.

The 'accumulation' ('Acc') share class will have its charges and expenses charged to the income earned rather than the capital value of the share class.

There are no changes to the investment strategy within the income share classes, this is only a name change. No action required.

Switching management fees within the accumulation funds to income over capital will reduce the amount of double taxation and therefore be beneficial. No action required.

ACD change: Aberdeen Fund Managers Limited will replace Aberdeen Asset Fund Management Limited as the ACD of the Company.

In connection with the change of ACD to Aberdeen Asset Fund Managers Limited (AFML), the registrar and administration functions in respect of the Company will be delegated by AFML to International Financial Data Services (UK) Limited ('IFDS'), who will replace The Bank of
New York Mellon (International) Limited. IFDS already performs registrar and administration functions for other investment products managed by Aberdeen.

Investment policy change: from 4 May 2015 the valuation point for all sub-funds will be 12pm. For most sub-funds this represents no change, with the exception of Aberdeen Global High Yield Bond fund, which will see its valuation point change from 2pm to 12pm on 4 May 2015.

The ACD may limit the total number of shares in any of the sub-funds of the company, which may be redeemed on
any 'dealing day', to a number representing 10% of the net assets of that sub-fund. The ACD will ensure the consistent treatment of all holders who have sought to sell shares on any Dealing Day at which redemptions are deferred. The ACD will pro-rata all such redemption requests to the stated level (i.e. 10% of a sub-fund's value) and will defer the remainder until the next dealing day. The ACD will also ensure that all deals relating to an earlier Dealing Day are completed before those relating to a later Dealing Day are considered. The overall object of such a policy is to ensure
fairness for all investors on days when high levels of redemptions are received by the ACD.

Investor statements are currently produced as at 31 January and 31 July. From May 2015 these dates will change to 5
April and 5 October, with statements issued in early May and early November respectively.

Currently, investors who enter into a contract to purchase shares through an independent intermediary can exercise an option to cancel the investment within 30 days. From 4 May 2015, in accordance with conduct of business regulations, investors entering into contracts through an independent intermediary will have 14 days to exercise the cancellation option.