8 December 2006
Winterthur Life UK announces the launch of the Winterthur Fidelity Global Property fund and the Winterthur Schroder Global Property Securities fund to complement the life and pension fund selection within its Tailored Selection range. Global Property funds have demonstrated their strength as an asset class relative to other asset classes*. The two new funds will be available through Winterthur Life’s Tailored Selection on both individual and group pension policies and life products.
Winterthur Fidelity Global Property Fund:
- Invests in liquid property securities rather than illiquid physical property assets
- Offers exposure to a diversified portfolio of global property sectors including industrial, retail, office, residential and hotel
- Contains a relatively concentrated portfolio of 50-70 holdings, whilst still allowing the underlying companies to invest in a wide range of properties
- Investor returns are made through a combination of dividend yield and capital growth
- The Fund has an annual management charge of 1.30% and fund expenses of 0.25%.
Winterthur Schroder Global Property Securities Fund:
- Offers the opportunity to allocate property on a global basis, capitalising on the expansion of the global property securities market
- Invests in a diverse range of property opportunities including houses, hotels, offices, leisure and retail complexes
- Is part of a ‘best ideas portfolio’ investing in the shares of Real Estate Investment Trusts and listed property companies
- Managed with a total return focus, the Fund’s composition is not dictated by a benchmark, therefore the fund manager is able to invest in the most attractive stocks
- The Fund has an annual management charge of 1.20% and fund expenses of 0.30%.
Bernard Henshall, investment distribution manager, Winterthur Life comments, “Global property securities funds are a relatively new option for life and pension investors, but one which has seen an increasing demand from advisers. The Winterthur Fidelity Global Property fund and the Winterthur Schroder Global Property Securities fund have been added to meet this demand. These funds provide advisers with an opportunity to invest in a well constructed, diversified and actively managed portfolio of global property securities. They enable advisers to construct balanced life and pension portfolios for their clients using our Tailored Selection range of funds.”
Steven Buller, Fidelity Global Property Fund Manager, said, “We are pleased that Winterthur has decided to add our Global Property fund to its Tailored Selection range of investment funds and we look forward to working closely together in the future.”
Andrew Cox, Product Manager for the Schroder Global Property Securities Fund, commented, “We are delighted to work with Winterthur and believe their strength in the pensions and investments arena fits closely with our own overriding objective – to deliver the best possible investment returns to investors.”
* For example, growth in Global Property Securities over three years was 137% compared to 74% for Global Equities in the MSCI World Index. Source: Schroders, EPRA, Thomson Datastream. Stated in Sterling. Cumulative to end March 2006.
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For further information:
Paul Riddell Winterthur Life, Press Office +44 (0)1256 798099
Sandra Fulton Winterthur Life, Press Office +44 (0)1256 798310
Christine Wood Financial Dynamics +44 (0)20 7269 7253
Notes to Editors
About Winterthur Life UK Limited
Winterthur Life UK Limited is part of Winterthur Group, a leading Swiss insurance company with its international headquarters in Winterthur, Switzerland.
Winterthur Life UK offers pensions and investments for high net worth clients distributed via top tier IFAs and is renowned for its innovative approach to financial products. Its philosophy of transparent product propositions offers advisers a range of retirement and investment solutions with an open charging structure.
Winterthur Life UK is an experienced provider of single premium personal pensions, trustee investment plans and corporate pensions via IFAs and a leading provider of self-investment retirement plans like Self Invested Personal Pensions (“Sipps”).
Any opinions expressed in this media communication are made as at the date of publication but are subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a guide to the future. The value of shares/units and the income from them can go down as well as up. Exchange rate fluctuations may cause the value of underlying investments to fall as well as rise. Yields are not guaranteed and may fall or rise.
Winterthur Life UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
www.winterthur-ifa.co.uk
Winterthur Group
Winterthur is the leading insurer in Switzerland, and ranks among the top ten all-line carriers in Europe. With a history spanning more than 130 years, Winterthur's life insurance, pension and non-life businesses are based mainly in Western Europe, but the group also has activities in Central and Eastern Europe, the US and Asia. Using a variety of channels, the group manages a balanced product portfolio for private clients as well as small and medium-sized companies. Winterthur operates in 17 countries, and has around 19,000 employees and 13 million clients worldwide. In the first half year of 2006, the group achieved a business volume of 18.8 billion Swiss francs, and reported assets under management of 157.4 billion Swiss francs as of June 30, 2006. Winterthur is a 100% subsidiary of Credit Suisse Group, a leading global financial services company headquartered in Zurich. Further information about Winterthur can be found at www.winterthur.com.
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