Fund factsheets : At a glance

At a glance

Initial charge: Most unit trusts and OEICs levy an initial charge. This is a fee payable to the fund manager when you first invest. We have negotiated special terms with fund management companies which allow us to discount most, if not all, of the initial charge for over 1,700 funds.
Initial saving: This shows how much we can save you on the standard initial charge. For instance, if the initial charge was normally 5.25% and we offer a 5% saving you would actually pay an initial charge of only 0.25%. Please remember for dual priced funds there may also be a small difference between the buying and selling prices, known as the bid-offer spread and with single priced a dilution levy may be applied on the way in or out of the fund. For more details about the way in which savings are calculated see our Guide to Fund Prices, Savings & Yields.
Annual charge: The annual charge is levied by the fund management company to cover the cost of managing funds. They are normally deducted on a daily basis and reflected in the price of the units. This means that you will not see them shown on your statement and you do not need to pay for them separately.
Annual saving: When you buy funds, part of the annual management charge is usually shared with your broker through what is known as renewal commission. This makes absolutely no difference to the charges you pay; if you invest directly with the fund manager they simply keep the renewal commission themselves. We use part of the renewal commission to administer your account and return the rest to you by way of loyalty bonuses. Please note the loyalty bonus is not available for funds held through the Vantage SIPP.
Total Expense Ratio: The Total Expense Ratio (TER) represents the total annual costs involved in running a fund. The TER consists principally of the manager's annual charge, but also includes additional costs for other services paid for by the fund, such as the fees paid to auditors, registrars and the financial press.
Launch Date: The date the fund was launched.
Launch Price: The price of the fund on the first day of trading.
Sector: The funds sector is the category a fund falls into. These are usually determined by the Investment Management Association (IMA).
Fund Size: This is the total value of all the individual investments which have been made into the fund.
No. of holdings: The number of individual holdings a fund holds.
Fund Type: Here we separate funds into two broad categories, Unit Trusts and OEICs. Unit Trusts have two prices; the offer (or buying) and the bid (or selling) price. The difference between the two is known as the bid-offer spread and includes the initial charge plus all the costs to buy and sell a unit. OEICs on the other hand have one price for buying and selling. The initial charge is simply added to the price when shares are purchased. See our free Guide to Fund Prices, Savings & Yields for a more detailed explanation of fund types.
Type of Units: Funds offer either accumulation units or income units or a choice between the two. With accumulation units income is reinvested within the fund, increasing the price of each unit. If you buy income units any income is paid into your account where it can be withdrawn or reinvested depending on the type of account you hold and the instructions you have given us.

HL Research – Our view on this Fund

Our fund Research Team review over 400 of the most popular funds each year, where available this is provided here.

About the Fund Manager

Brief background information on the fund manager including his/her previous experience within the industry.

Income details

Running yield

When you see the yield quoted for most funds it will be the running or distribution yield. For funds which invest in shares the yield is quoted on a historic basis and is net and for funds that invest in corporate bonds it is a snap shot in time and the figures are quoted gross.

Over time the manager will change the portfolio and some of the underlying holdings may pay higher or lower dividends than the year before, so the actual level of income you receive will vary over time. Yields are therefore a guide to the level of income you might receive but they will change and they are in no way guaranteed. It is also important to see if the fund takes charges from capital or income. If they are taken from capital this will have the effect of increasing the yield at the expense of capital growth potential, in some corporate bond funds the capital values can even be eroded for the sake of short term yield. Other high yielding funds can boost their yield by buying bonds that are trading above ‘par’, this means that the underlying bonds are paying a high level of interest but the capital is likely to be eroded as it nears maturity, or the market believes that the risk of default (capital loss) is significant. It is therefore important to look beyond the headline yield figure.

Historic Yield

Reflects distributions declared over the past twelve months as a percentage of the mid-market unit price, as at the date shown.

Distribution Yield

Reflects the amounts that may be expected to be distributed over the next twelve months as a percentage of the mid-market unit price of the fund as at the date shown. It is based on a snapshot of the portfolio on that day.

Underlying Yield

Reflects the expected annualised income net of expenses of the fund over the next twelve month period (calculated in accordance with relevant accounting standards) as a percentage of the mid-market unit price of the fund as at the date shown. It is based on a snapshot of the portfolio on that day.

Please note none of the yield figures take into consideration any preliminary charge and investors may be subject to tax on their distributions. Where some or all of the fund’s expenses are charged to capital, and or the fund distributes coupon income, this has the effect of increasing the distribution(s) for the year by constraining the fund’s capital performance to an equivalent extent.

Income paid: This highlights the frequency of the dividend payment. Dividends are typically paid either monthly, quarterly, bi- annually or annually.
Type of payment: Funds with 60% or more of their portfolio invested in fixed interest investments such as corporate bonds or gilts pay ‘interest’. Within ISAs and SIPPs a 20% tax credit can be reclaimed on these interest payments. All other funds pay ‘dividends’ on which the tax cannot be reclaimed however for funds held in ISAs and SIPPs there is no further tax to pay, even for higher rate taxpayers.

Distribution dates

Important dates relevant to the fund:

Ex-dividend date: The ex-dividend date is the date on which you must hold a fund in order to ensure that you receive the next distribution payment.
Payment Date: This is the date that the distribution is paid into your account. If you elect to receive the income from a Vantage ISA or Fund & Share Account, we will collect any dividends for you and then pay them directly into your bank account within the first 10 working days of the following month.

Top 10 holdings

This indicates the top 10 stocks that the fund manager holds within the fund.

Top 10 sectors

This indicates the top 10 sectors that a fund is invested in.

Top 10 countries

This indicates the top 10 countries that a fund is invested in.