AXA launches blended funds

AXA introduces blended funds to CIMP and TIP pensions, providing bespoke fund investment structure and greater flexibility.

AXA is offering a facility that allows pension scheme trustees to choose a number of individual funds and blend them together to form a single fund.

Through blended funds, trustees can make changes to funds, asset allocation, and benchmark, without needing to obtain member's consent before making the change.

Through the single fund structure, AXA can make changes to the underlying funds immediately, avoiding ‘out of market' exposure and without extra cost.

A blended fund can be set to automatically rebalance back to the original percentage split of each of the funds; ensuring funds are kept in balance when market trends affect their performance.

The blended fund will have a single daily unit price and one set of performance data and trustees will have the opportunity to name their fund.

Mark Rowlands, Head of Corporate Partnerships at AXA, said: ‘Scheme trustees can benefit from choosing their own fund name by selecting a name that is clear and more easily understood, therefore maximising member engagement. By offering blended funds, AXA is providing pension scheme trustees and their investment advisers with more control, flexibility, reduced risk and bespoke member communication.'

In addition, AXA has also launched a new Section 32 product which completes its new corporate product range.

The Section 32 scheme members will automatically be invested in the default fund however the new product will have access to AXA's corporate fund range, providing additional flexibility.