We regularly review the additional expenses for our funds as part of our commitment to provide a clear indication of costs to our customers. As a result of this review, we’re updating the additional expenses we show on factsheets, fund lists and illustrations for a number of our funds.
More about additional expenses
These are costs of running the underlying fund over the last year. They include things like:
- Legal fees
- Auditor fees
- Administration fees
- Other operational expenses1
They’re on top of the annual management charge (AMC). Together, they form part of the ‘Fund Charge’2 for ARC & AOR funds. We have no control over most of these expenses.
1 As at 1 December 2023 we’ve made a change to what is included in other operational expenses, and these can now include costs paid by us (Aegon) to third parties.
2 This is on top of any product or adviser charge you pay and includes a fixed management fee plus expenses that vary with the day-to-day costs of running the fund.
Although we know the AMC in advance, we don’t know what the day-to-day expenses will be as these change daily.
They are taken from the funds daily and the daily unit price reflects this along with any gains or losses made. This is what determines the value of a customer’s policy. This means that, regardless of the charges we disclose on fund factsheets and fund lists, customers are charged the correct amount.
The value of an investment can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. You could get back less than you invest.
How do we work out additional expenses
Every year we contact all external fund managers and ask them to provide details of the additional expenses for each fund over the last year. We then compare these with the expenses we disclosed the previous year and then round to the nearest 0.01%.
Where we display our fund charges
These are shown on our fund prices and performance pages, our fund factsheets and illustrations. These are the charges we show, which may differ slightly from the charges customers are actually paying day-to-day as expenses go up and down.
You can see our updated additional expenses in the PDF below. Please note, the Fund Charge we show excludes any product or adviser charge.
What current investors need to do
Existing investors don’t need to do anything. If you’d like more information, please speak to your financial adviser. If you don’t have a financial adviser, you can visit moneyhelper.org.uk/choosing-a-financial-adviser to find the right one for you.