Introduction

The prices & performance tables provide unrestricted coverage of all UK Pension Funds. The tables can be filtered into various sectors, enabling you to view any fund against its peer group. In addition to sector, the drop down menus at the top right of the page allow you to separate funds still open from those that have closed or identify funds eligible for a Stakeholder pension. Simply make your choice and click the Select button.

The shares listed under 'Default Units' are those considered to be the oldest shares of a fund, so as to show more of the fund's history when the chart icon is clicked on (shown next to the share name). To view all Pension shares available select 'All Units' from the drop down menu.

Customise Function

This enables you to modify your view of the tables. By clicking on the Customise button you can access the pop-up filter that allows you to add to and/or remove the data columns displayed. The data items already ticked on the pop-up filter reflect the current view. You can return to the FE Trustnet default view at any time by choosing the 'Default' button. To remove or add an item, simply click into the box next to the data description and select 'Go'. The Go button will enable you to view your data selection and return to the modified view as you move about the site. The prices and performance view is reset to the FE Trustnet default option when you leave the site.

To remove all data items click 'Select none'. Fund Name cannot be removed from the list. The Customise list includes data that was previously shown on fund factsheets only.

Column Headings

You can further edit your alphabetical view of the prices & performance pages by clicking on various column headings. The tables can be sorted by those funds available through a Stakeholder Pension (SH), share name, group name or 1, 3 or 5 year price performance.

Rank

This column is shown to provide you with a quick reference to where you are within any given prices & performance table and how a fund ranks within the universe shown i.e. a particular fund might be 6th out of 15 funds (the total number of funds is listed at the top of the table) on a 1 year price performance sorting. This number is also particularly useful in the case of long tables where only some entries can be seen on the screen at any one time or where the table is long enough to be split across more than one page.

Chart Icon

This icon acts as a link to standard performance charts for subscribing funds. Non-subscribing funds will link into a feedback form.

Share Name

This is a shortened name for the fund and acts as a link to a detailed fund factsheet for subscribing funds. Non-subscribing funds will link into a feedback form.

Group Name

This is a shortened name for the management group of the listed fund and acts as a link to a management group page for subscribing funds. Non-subscribing groups will link into a feedback form.

Tip: The full name of the management group can be viewed if your cursor is held over the shortened name.

Price

The prices given are the previous working day's closing prices. Figures are updated daily (usually by around 9:00 a.m. in the UK). All bid (selling) and offer (buying) prices shown are in Pence Sterling unless otherwise specified in brackets.

% Performance

The performance of the fund's price over the given time period, calculated on a bid price to bid price basis in Sterling.

Performance Averages

Performance averages for 1, 3 and 5 years can be found below the prices & performance tables. Averages can also be seen for sector selections.

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Introduction

Fund factsheets can be accessed via every highlighted fund name for subscribing funds. Non-subscribing funds will link to a feedback form. The fund's investment objective, contact details, fund size and portfolio breakdown is collected direct from the fund's management group.

Fund factsheets are divided into five pages:

Overview – providing a summary of price and performance history, as well as some key details including crown rating, fund manager, sector and unit ID details. This page also includes a green ‘add’ button allowing you to add the fund to your basket. If you view a fund factsheet when logged off from the portfolio service, clicking on the plus sign will take you to the portfolio homepage. In this case, to add the fund simply log on to your account and the selected fund will appear in the basket, from which you can add the fund to your portfolio, or analyse it using one of FE Trustnet’s tools.

Performance – a more detailed examination of a fund’s performance including cumulative, discrete and annualised figures, and the growth of £1,000 invested. The performance of the fund's price over the given time period is calculated on a bid price to bid price basis in Sterling.

Ratios & Analysis – Key ratios such as alpha, volatility and Sharpe give a valuable insight into what has underpinned a fund’s performance, or lack thereof. For more information on how these ratios work and what they mean, click here. (http://www.trustnet.com/help/ratios/)

Portfolio breakdown – This page provides details of a fund’s exposure to individual stocks, asset classes, sectors and geographical regions.

Management info – This page provides contact details and fund manager information relevant to the fund in question.

Price

The prices given for each unit/share type available within the fund (e.g. Series 1 and 2) are the previous working day's closing prices. Figures are updated daily (usually by around 9:00 a.m. in the UK). All bid (selling) and offer (buying) prices shown are in Pence Sterling unless otherwise specified in brackets. The Sedol code and Citicode, industry identifiers for a fund, are also shown.

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The A-Z product factsheets page details a list of all pensions products currently on the market which are open for investment, detailing the name of the product, the group which provides it, the nature of the premium, the type of pension it is, and the Fund Range Rating for that product, a measurement of the quality and depth of funds available to purchase within the product in question.

As with most of the tables on FE Trustnet, you can sort this page by any of the columns. Once you have found the product you are looking for, click on the product name to see a factsheet detailing the key features of that product, including information on switching, premiums charges, IFA commission and contact details, as well as a Service Rating – a scoring system for the product provider, giving you an idea of how other FE Trustnet users rate the provider on various key elements of the service they provide.

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Trustnet carries product factsheets for pension products currently open for investment. Data for each factsheet is supplied by our partner OBSR, and is divided into three sections – product details, funds & switching and contact details.

Product details

This page gives you an overview of the pension product, telling you how much it will cost, how much commission your IFA is likely to take, what facilities – income withdrawal and fund switching for example – are available, and the nature of the premiums are involved.

Via the Service Rating this page also tells you what you can expect from the product in terms of customer service, and via the Fund Range Rating based on quantitative analysis, the quality of the fund range available for investment through it. For more information on Service Ratings, click here, or for more information on Fund Range Ratings click here.

Funds & switching

This page shows you how many funds are available within the product, allowing you to see how much choice you will have of funds in which to invest. You can also see how many of these funds you are allowed to hold within the product at any given time, and the switching options you have access to – including the number of free switches you are entitled to, and the minimum amount you are allowed to switch once at a time.

Beneath the key details at the top of the page you will find a table similar to the typical prices and performance table, including charges, performance over one three and five years, and FE Crown Ratings. You can click on any of the fund names in this table to view a full factsheet for that fund, and sort by any of these columns.

Contact details

This page gives you the address, telephone and website details for the pension group which manages this product.

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Group factsheet

Group factsheet pages show a summary of contact details for the group in question, along with links to their web site (if they have one) via the banner or the web address at the top of the page. Further down the page is a list of the funds managed by the group, selecting a fund name will take you to a fund factsheet in which you can view detailed information about the fund.

It is also worth noting that if a group also manages Investment Trusts, Unit Trust & OEICs or Insurance Bonds, you can link directly to them via the highlighted headings under 'Fund Types Managed'.

Performance summary

The performance summary page within the group factsheet produces a prices and performance table customised to show only funds which are offered by the group in question. Some of these funds may be directly managed whilst others are likely to be mirror funds, reflecting the management decisions of another fund managed by a third party but sold under the banner of the pensions group.

Like a standard prices and performance table, this page lists these funds in alphabetical order and details bid and offer prices as well as one three and five year performance. You can sort this table by any of these columns.

Screening Options

The drop down menus at the top right of the page enable you to screen the funds you are interested in viewing from the group. You have the option of sorting by sector, separate funds still open from those that have closed or identify funds eligible for a Stakeholder pension. To view all Pension shares available in the group select 'All Units' from the drop down menu. To confirm your choices, click the Select button.

Column Headings

You can edit your alphabetical view of the group performance page by clicking on various column headings. The table can be sorted by those funds available through a Stakeholder Pension (SH), share name, sector or 1, 3 or 5 year price performance.

Chart Icon

This links to the relevant fund performance page.

Additional Data

In addition to the data shown on general prices & performance tables, the group performance page lists the abbreviated sector of each fund.

The FE Trustnet defined sector abbreviations link to comparative prices & performance tables. To view them in an unabbreviated form, hold your cursor over the sector and MMK, for example, will be revealed as Money Market.

Prices

All prices given are the previous working day's closing prices. Figures are updated daily (usually by around 9:00 a.m. in the UK). All prices shown are in Pence Sterling unless otherwise specified in brackets after the price.

% Performance

The performance of the fund's price over the given time period, calculated on a bid price to bid price basis in Sterling.

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The pensions search tool allows you choose a fund, or group of funds, and then search for that fund or funds within the pension products detailed on FE Trustnet.

Select up to five funds from the prices and performance table below by clicking the green ‘add’ buttons on the right hand side. Bear in mind that the more funds you add to your wishlist, the less products will be able to offer access to this combination of funds, so a search for less funds will always result in a wider choice of products.

Once you have clicked the funds you want to search for, move on to the next step and tell the search tool which pension type you would like to invest through. This done, you are ready to search for the funds, move on to the next step and view the list of products available which allow you to access your specified funds.

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Fund Range Ratings are a means to assess the quality of the range of funds which a pension product allows you access to. A single product can score a maximum of five stars, or if its is judged to have a poor fund range, zero stars.

The ratings are based on three simple tests – coverage, depth and quality – for each of which a maximum score of three points can be achieved.

Coverage is a score based on the range of asset classes covered by the fund range available. If, hypothetically, there are ten asset classes and a product allows you access to only three of those asset classes through its fund range, clearly this is a limited choice. A product allowing you access to a fund range with funds in all ten asset classes, on the other hand, would score highly on this test.

The second test measures the depth of the fund range on offer, and compliments the first. Sticking to the ‘ten asset classes’ hypothesis, if a fund range has one fund with exposure to each of the ten asset classes, by default you have no choice about which fund to buy in order to gain exposure to each asset class, so the product would score poorly on this test.

A fund with five or six funds offering exposure to each asset class, on the other hand, would score very highly.

The third test, quality, is based on the average FE Crown Rating awarded to the fund range on offer within the product. For more information on FE Crown Ratings, which are a quantitative rating based largely on a fund’s alpha score, click here. http://www.trustnet.com/help/ratings/

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Service Ratings are based on the scores awarded to individual pension providers by FE Trustnet Users on five key elements of customer service; seven elements are rated by financial advisers. Each element can be awarded a points score of 1-5, and a composite result of up to five stars is then awarded to the product.

Member/policyholder communications – how well the group communicates with those who invest in its products, whether that be via newsletters, emails or telephone account management.

Administration speed – how quickly a group responds to applications, alterations and information requests from clients and potential clients, and how prompt it is in carrying out regular maintenance and responding to legislative requirements affecting policies.

Administration accuracy – how accurate a group is when it comes to the above. Speed is one thing, but responding to an enquiry quickly with the wrong answer and a badly spelt change of address is something else.

Online services – the level of support for clients looking to monitor performance and manage their policies and premiums using the internet.

Group scheme (premium collection)

Technical services (IFA only) – the level of support provided to IFAs who require extra information about the more sophisticated elements of a group’s available policy range, and the purchase and management thereof.

Broker services/brand support (IFA only) – the level of support provided to IFAs who are actively selling a group’s products, including marketing material, information packs and account management.

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Pension glossary

Access the FE Trustnet produced glossary to improve your knowledge of Pension terms. Includes useful links to relevant web sites.

SIPP education guide

Read this guide if you want to know more about Self Invested Personal Pensions. Produced in association with Jupiter Asset Management, it covers the investments available through the scheme, charges, tax benefits and options on retirement. Also has a Frequently Asked Question section.

FCA comparative tables

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent watchdog set up by the government to regulate financial services and protect your rights. The FCA's Comparative Tables compare similar products available from various providers.

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