Scottish Widows has expanded its fund range with the launch of two new life and pensions funds, the diversified assets fund and the dynamic property fund. The UK group now offers its consumers a choice of 124 different life and pensions funds.
The funds aim to attract investors who are looking to keep their investments diversified across different asset types, taking account of current market conditions.
The diversified assets fund invests in the traditional asset classes, such as bonds, equities and property, but also offers investors access to alternative investments, including commodities, absolute return funds and private equity.
Alasdair Fraser, head of investment services at Scottish Widows, said: Given the recent uncertainty in the markets, we are delighted to be able to give our customers access to the diversified assets fund. The fund is an exciting new evolution of the traditional managed fund concept and could become the core part of a client’s portfolio upon which IFAs can build a tailored solution.
Meanwhile, the dynamic property fund is designed to offer attractive total returns from both income and capital appreciation. The fund seeks to bridge the divide between direct property investment and the global real estate investment trust, or REIT, market, combining the advantages of the two types of property vehicles. The fund manager has significant flexibility to change the asset mix of the fund according to the prevailing market conditions.