The new Target Dated Funds (TDFs) are designed to automatically diversify, adjust and rebalance over selected time periods. Customers will be put into a fund along with other investors with the same target year, in order to build scale and improve investment efficiency.
“Key to this is the investment glide path, which sees higher exposure to equities when customers have a long time until their target date, which reduces down over time as they approach that key savings milestone,” said Steven Leech, head of propositions at Zurich Middle East.
“With their focus on simplicity, value for money and positive customer outcomes, TDFs are an ideal investment solution for those looking to target a specific goal in the future, such as retirement or a child’s education,” he said in a statement.
Managed investment
The Zurich TDFs will select investments from the full range of Zurich’s offshore fund platform, including both active and passive strategies, and include such fund managers as Blackrock, Schroders, Franklin Templeton and Pimco.
The new funds are available through Zurich’s regular and single premium plans, in addition to its unit linked protection product, and are only available in the Middle East.
The only charge for the funds is a 1% annual management fee, although Zurich’s life insurance products carry their own specific charging structure. There is no sign-on charge for the TDF funds and no additional fund management charges.
The minimum investment is dependent on which product the fund is accessed through.
Outcome focus
“The Zurich Target Dated funds are part of the suite of investment solutions we offer to financial advisers to focus on customer outcomes. They are here to support financial advisers in the region to simplify the process of constructing an investment portfolio,” Leech said.
Zurich’s unit-linked life insurance products are authorised and regulated by the UAE Insurance Authority, and the TDFs form part of the range of investment funds available within these life insurance products.
Along with the recently launched Zurich Allocated Passive (ZAP) funds and its Automatic Investment Strategy (AIS) option, Leech said the latest product launch reflected the company’s commitment to focusing on customer outcomes and helping advisers in the region to simplify the process of constructing an investment portfolio.
