PersonalChoice
How it works
You choose which funds you want your savings to be invested in
PersonalChoice offers you a range of 14 different funds to choose from. You can also choose how you want to split your savings between them.
Watch our video to find out more about investing with PersonalChoice.
Pension Investments - PersonalChoice
When you save into your pension, your savings are invested to help them grow.
You can invest your savings in two ways.
If you want a ready-made investment option, choose LifePlan. But if you feel confident enough to manage your own investments, you can choose PersonalChoice.
With PersonalChoice, you choose where to invest your money by picking from a list of different investment funds.
Each fund invests in different assets, like company shares, government bonds and property around the world. Some funds aim to grow your money more quickly. They do this by investing in assets that have the potential for higher growth. The value of these funds can be volatile and go up and down quickly.
Other funds aim to grow your money more steadily. These funds invest in assets that are less volatile. This means your money might grow slower, but is less likely to have a sudden, sharp drop in value. But remember, the value still goes up and down in a less volatile fund. And these funds can still be affected by world events.
When picking your funds, think about how far away you are from retirement, how much risk you want to take, and how you want to use your savings. When you’re managing your own investments you’ll also need to keep a close eye on how your investments are performing, and check if they’re still right for you during the different phases of your life.
You’ll also need to decide whether to react to world events, because a hasty investment decision might lose you money.
If you’re happy to make these decisions and you want to manage your own investments, then PersonalChoice could be right for you. But if you’d rather choose a ready-made plan that manages your investments for you, you should consider LifePlan instead.
You can change how you’re invested at any time by logging into Your Pension. If you’re in the Scottish Widows Retirement Benefits Scheme, you need to contact your administrator instead.
You should check on your pension to see how it’s performing. But remember, a pension is a long-term investment. Its value will go up and down over time. But what matters is how they grow in the long term. If you’re not sure what to do, consider taking independent financial advice.
This approach is for people who are happy to manage and monitor their own investments
If you want to take a more active interest in where your savings are invested, PersonalChoice may be the investment strategy for you.
This approach is suited to more confident and knowledgeable investors and could potentially result in higher investment returns, but you should also be aware of the investment risks involved and seek independent financial advice if you're unsure.
If you decide to invest in PersonalChoice, it's important that you monitor your investments regularly to make sure they're still meeting your needs.
Unlike LifePlan, your funds will not automatically switch investments as you approach retirement – you choose the funds you're invested in right up until the point you retire – which means you have complete control over how your savings are invested. This does mean you need to monitor and manage your investments regularly to make sure they meet your needs.
You can monitor how well your funds are performing, check the current value of your account and model what this might be worth at retirement, on Your Pension.
Investment funds
You can choose from any number and combination of the 14 funds available and what percentage of your savings is allocated to which fund is entirely up to you.
Investment funds: characteristics and objectives
Below you'll see the characteristics and objectives of each fund. Every investment fund has a level of risk. Generally speaking, higher-risk funds are expected to produce higher returns, however, their value can be unpredictable and can go down over shorter periods of time. In comparison, lower-risk funds are expected to produce lower returns, but are likely to be more stable. There's more information in the Risk and reward section.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund mainly invests in company shares, also known as equities, from around the world. Investing mostly in equities means that the Fund's value can change a lot in a short period of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you'd like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide medium-to-long term growth.
Volatility
Medium
Potential reward
Medium
Characteristics
The Fund invests in a mix of different types of investments from around the world. These include company shares, government and company bonds, property and cash. The Fund’s performance aims to fluctuate less than funds that invest only in company shares, but it could fluctuate more than funds that invest only in bonds or cash. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide returns that reflect changes in the cost of buying an annuity (a regular income when you retire).
Volatility
Low
Potential reward
Low
Characteristics
The Fund invests in a mix of government and company bonds. This Fund may be a suitable choice if you are close to retiring and want to reduce the impact that changes in the value of your investment might have on the amount of income you get from your annuity. The value of your investment in this fund may go up or down, but the amount of annuity income you can buy should not change by as much. If you're not planning to buy an annuity when you retire, this fund may not be the right option for you.
Objectives
The Fund aims to avoid large sudden falls in the value of your investment.
Volatility
Low
Potential reward
Low
Characteristics
The Fund invests in cash deposits with financial institutions and short-term loans to companies. By aiming to deliver stability, it gives up some potential for growth. The returns may be lower than inflation, so this fund might not be a suitable choice if you're looking for long-term growth. It is possible that you will get back less than you put in.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund mainly invests in company shares, also known as equities, in economies that tend to experience greater growth (but greater volatility) than more developed economies. By investing mostly in equities, which are primarily in emerging markets, the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund invests in commercial, industrial and retail property, as well as infrastructure such as transport, utility and communications networks. It invests directly and through buying shares in other funds in the UK and from around the world. The Fund's value can change a lot in a short period of time. Moving money in and out of the Fund may be delayed if assets have to be sold or values of assets are uncertain. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
Medium
Potential reward
Medium
Characteristics
The Fund invests in a mix of government and company bonds from around the world. The Fund's growth potential may be lower compared to company shares (known as equities) over the longer term, but it is expected to be less variable than equities. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you want a more growth-oriented fund.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund invests in company shares, also known as equities, primarily from the UK. This includes some company shares which can be bought and sold in the UK even though the company itself operates overseas. Investing mostly in equities means that the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund invests in company shares, also known as equities, primarily from North America (mainly the USA and Canada). This includes some company shares which can be bought and sold in North America even though the company itself operates in other parts of the world. Investing mostly in equities means that the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund invests in company shares, also known as equities, primarily from Europe but not from the UK. This includes some company shares which can be bought and sold in Europe even though the company itself operates in other parts of the world. Investing mostly in equities means that the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund invests in company shares, also known as equities, primarily from Japan. This includes some company shares which can be bought and sold in Japan even though the company itself operates in other parts of the world. Investing mostly in equities means that the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund invests in company shares, also known as equities, primarily in the Asia Pacific region but not from Japan. This includes some company shares which can be bought and sold in Asia Pacific even though the company itself operates in other parts of the world. Investing mostly in equities means that the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund invests in company shares, also known as equities, from around the world. The companies are considered to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner. By investing mostly in equities the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
Objectives
The Fund aims to provide long-term growth.
Volatility
High
Potential reward
High
Characteristics
The Fund complies with Islamic investment principles. It invests in company shares, also known as equities, from around the world. By investing mostly in equities the Fund’s value can change a lot in a short space of time. For this reason, it may not be a suitable choice if you’d like a more stable fund or if you're close to retiring.
We may have to suspend some funds for a time
Trading in investment funds can sometimes be limited or suspended for a temporary period.
Investment funds: factsheets and charges
You can find the factsheet, charges, past performance and unit price history for each fund in the fund investment information section.
You'll find the charges for each fund on its factsheet. Fund charges are measured by the Total Expense Ratio (TER). The TER is the cost of running the fund expressed as a percentage of the fund's value. The TER includes investment management fees (which are usually a fixed percentage), plus trading, legal and other costs incurred in managing the fund which can vary over time.
The Trustee reserves the right to vary charges or introduce additional charges without prior notice to you, but if it does so, it will always aim to notify you as soon as reasonably possible.
Fund unit prices
Your contributions are invested each month into funds. Each fund is divided into 'units' and each unit has a value (the unit price). Your invested contributions buy units in these funds and every time you pay a contribution into the fund you're allocated more units. The number of units bought with your contributions depends on the unit price on the day when your contributions are invested.
Each fund has one unit price each day, whether you are buying or selling units, however, most of the underlying assets have a different buying and selling price. The fund's single unit price can therefore be based on either the buying or selling price of the underlying assets in the fund, depending on whether the fund has to buy or sell more assets that day. This ensures that investors joining or leaving the fund pay or receive a fair price for their investments and are not subsidised at the expense of other investors in the fund.
The benchmark and the manager's own stated performance figures are based on the mid-price (the average of the buying and selling price) and therefore do not take into account the difference between the buying and selling price that is reflected in the fund's unit price.
The Trustee regularly reviews the performance of all funds. After consulting with its advisers, the Trustee may change the funds or investment managers at any time if it believes there is good reason to do so, for example, if it is expected to improve investment performance or help the funds to achieve their objectives. The benchmarks or fund charges may also change from time to time. Current information will always be available on the Scheme website. The Trustee will tell you about all important changes to the funds, their objectives or charges.
Monitor your investments
If you decide to invest in PersonalChoice, it's important that you monitor your investments regularly to make sure they're still meeting your needs. You can see how well your funds are performing, check the current value of your account and model what this might be worth at retirement, on Your Pension.
How to make changes
How to change your investments
You can change your investment strategy, investment funds and target retirement date at any time on Your Pension.
If you're registered on Your Pension:
If you're not yet registered on Your Pension:
Fund factsheets and information
For more information, including fund factsheets, charges, past performance and unit price history, see the fund investment information section.
If you're thinking about changing your investment choices, please remember that pensions are a long-term investment and that the value of investments goes up and down. Some volatility is to be expected and we would advise against making any hasty decisions during periods of financial uncertainty.
If you're unsure about any of the investment decisions you have to make, it's strongly recommended that you contact an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). You can find details of an IFA in your local area by visiting Unbiased or the Finding an adviser page of the Financial Conduct Authority's website.
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