Notification of changes to the underlying funds of various Ninety One funds
05 May 2022
L88 Ninety One Global Environment (USD)
J43 Ninety One GS Global Multi-Asset Income
We have received notification from the Board of Directors of Ninety One Global Strategy Fund (the “Company”) of the following upcoming changes to the underlying funds of the above Affected Mirror Funds. These changes will take effect from 13 June 2022 (the “Effective Date”). The Company have advised that these changes will not affect the way the underlying funds of the Affected Mirror Funds are managed, or alter their risk or return profile.
Summary of changes - L88 Ninety One Global Environment (USD)
The Company have advised that they are amending the wording in the investment policy of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund; in relation to the wording which expresses the minimum period over which the Investment Manager aims to meet the investment objective in years, i.e. ‘at least 5 years’, with the term ‘long-term’.
‘Long-term’ will be defined in the ‘Profile of the Typical Investor’ section of the prospectus of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund. The Company have confirmed the below amended wording, which has been extracted from the shareholder circular of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund:
‘The Sub-Fund is suitable for an investor who wishes to have the investment exposure as set out in the Sub-Fund’s investment objective and policy and is comfortable taking on the risks as set out in the Appendix 2. This Sub-Fund may be appropriate for an investor whose intended investment horizon is long-term i.e. generally 5 years or more, although an investor can sell at any time (subject to the conditions described in Section 5.5 and 6.8 of this Prospectus). Investing in any fund involves a risk to capital that could be large or small depending on various market conditions and investors must understand this volatility.’
In addition, the wording ‘before allowing for fees’ will be removed from the investment policy of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund.
Summary of changes - J43 Ninety One GS Global Multi-Asset Income
The Company have advised that they are updating the investment policy of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Funds, as detailed in Appendix 1 opposite. This specifies the environmental and social characteristics promoted by the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund; introducing a Sustainability Disclosures section of the prospectus of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund, as detailed in Appendix 2 opposite.
In addition, the updated investment policy combines the distinct primary and ancillary investment classifications into a single broad group of permitted asset classes. This allows the Investment Manager of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund to invest across each of the asset classes to respond to market conditions and investment opportunities for the benefit of investors; the maximum equity exposure limit remains unchanged however.
The investment policy wording amendment also makes clear that the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund seeks to limit volatility (the pace or amount of change in its value) to lower than 50% of that of global equities; as risk management is an important component of the Investment team’s approach. However, this level of volatility is not guaranteed and there may be times when it is exceeded.
Further enhanced wording amendments have been made to the investment policy of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund, to make its aims, and the type of investments it may invest in, clearer.
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We have contacted policyholders and their financial advisers to notify them of the changes; a sample of which can be found opposite.
Should you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the Investment Marketing Team.