Investment funds
Learn about the funds your money is invested in and how they’re performing.
Investment funds basics
How do funds work?
A fund is a group of investments with a particular strategy or goal.
Our funds invest globally in company shares as well as loans to governments and companies called bonds. While some funds just provide shares or bonds, others offer a combination of the two.
Our funds
If you don’t choose where to invest your money when you join the scheme, we will invest your savings in the ‘balanced’ investment profile. Our ‘balanced’ profile has been designed by our independent Trustee, their investment adviser, and our in-house teams to meet the needs of a wide range of people. The ‘balanced’ profile is an investment strategy that automatically switches the funds your money is invested in with the aim of protecting the value of your pot as you approach the age you want to retire.
Our ‘balanced’ profile is usually suitable for the majority of our members; however, if you’re confident making investment decisions, you can choose where your money is invested by selecting from our range of 3 investment profiles or 8 investment funds.
We offer 8 funds to choose from, each of which provides its own unique strategy for preserving or growing the value of your money.
Our funds work differently to our investment profiles, so we will not automatically switch the funds your money is invested in with the intention of protecting the value of your pot as you approach the age you want to retire.. It is important that if you choose to invest in any of our fund options you understand the purpose and risks associated with the fund you choose.
You can specify what percentage you want to put in each fund (except the Shariah Fund, which, if selected, must be 100% of your savings).
To review the past performance of our funds, click on the fund factsheet links below.
Review the past performance of our pension funds. Get insights into the world’s financial markets and economies from The People’s Pension Investment Team by reading our latest quarterly investment report.
All our funds carry some degree of risk, and their value can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
Global Investments (up to 85% shares) Fund
Aim
Long-term growth with some security.
Invests
Mainly in company shares around the world, offering the potential for long-term growth. This is balanced against some investments in typically less risky bonds.
Pre-Retirement Fund
Aim
To reduce rapid swings in the value of your pension savings as you approach retirement while targeting moderate investment growth.
Invests
A combination of bonds, cash and shares, with a smaller proportion in shares. This lowers the fund’s growth potential but also aims to lower the fund’s risk.
Global Investments (up to 100% shares) Fund
Aim
Long-term growth.
Invests
Predominately the shares of companies around the world, may hold additional diversifying asset classes.
Global Investments (up to 60% shares) Fund
Aim
Moderate growth over the long term, balanced with an investment in lower-risk assets that aim to provide some security.
Invests
A combination of shares and bonds, with a lower proportion in shares, which means the potential for growth is reduced, but so is the level of risk.
Annuity Fund
Aim
To protect your money against the effects of falls in the level of annuity rates. The fund is specifically designed for those looking to use their pension savings to buy an annuity (ie, a regular income, usually for life).
Invests
100% in UK government and corporate bonds.
Ethical Fund
Aim
Long-term growth while prohibiting investment in producers of fossil fuels and a range of other controversial business types.
Invests
In global company shares, excluding businesses that produce fossil fuels or gain a substantial portion of their income from tobacco, alcohol, gambling, pornography, weapons, recreational cannabis, for-profit prisons, and non-sustainable palm oil.
More about our Ethical Fund
The People’s Pension Ethical Fund is designed to align with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement (a legally binding international treaty on climate change), while also applying exclusions based on a number of controversial business practices.
The fund does this in 2 ways:
1. It excludes companies that gain income linked to thermal coal, oil, and gas, with additional exclusions in place for tobacco, weapons, alcohol, gambling, adult entertainment, and for-profit prisons.
2. It sets constraints on the climate characteristics (such as reducing emissions or supporting renewable projects) of the portfolio to reduce risks and access opportunities related to climate change.
Following the implementation of exclusions, the amount invested in the remaining companies will be adjusted upward or downward based on information such as their current carbon footprint and plans to reduce it, their profit from renewable sources, and their capacity to transition to net zero.
You can find out more about this fund here.
Shariah Fund
Aim
Long-term growth.
Invests
100% in the shares of global companies – it invests all of its assets in the HSBC Amanah Global Equity Index.
This is a higher-risk fund that invests in company shares from around the world and is compliant with Islamic Shariah principles.
If you select the Shariah Fund, you’ll need to invest all your pension savings with us in this fund.
More about our Shariah Fund
The Shariah Fund is intended for members who are comfortable investing in a higher risk fund, compared to our default investment option and want their pension pot invested in accordance with Islamic law. The fund excludes investments in companies providing goods and services such as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling that are deemed inconsistent with Shariah law.
The Shariah Fund is a higher-risk fund that invests in a smaller number of companies compared to our other funds. This concentration makes the fund and the value of your pension pot more likely to swing up and down more often, especially over the short term.
You can find out more about this fund here.
Cash Fund
Aim
To maintain the value of your pension savings.
Invests
As a result of the lower-risk nature of the fund, the potential for investment growth is reduced. In short-term money market investments and fixed investments that are liquid – ie, things that can be converted to cash on short notice.
When you invest in our funds, you purchase what’s called a ‘unit’ in the fund. A unit’s price is calculated daily and can go up and down depending on market conditions. You can review the daily and past unit prices of all our funds on our employer investment page.
What you need to consider
It’s important to know that the value of investment funds will move up and down depending on how well they’re performing.
Investments of different kinds fluctuate (move up and down) in different ways. Some move sharply and can be unpredictable; others move less abruptly and remain relatively stable. This movement is called volatility, and some investments are more volatile than others.
Past performance of investments doesn’t guarantee or act as a guide to future performance.
Learn more
Investment options
Review and select where your money is invested.
Responsible investment
Learn how we invest your money responsibly.