Mercer Aspire Passive Europe ex UK Equity

Passive Europe (ex-UK) Equity is designed to give exposure to a diversified mix of Europe ex-UK equities. Mercer selects a specialist passive manager to track a chosen Europe ex-UK equity index, rather than trying to pick individual winners. The fund may also hold temporary cash positions as part of portfolio management.

Passive Europe (ex-UK) Equity aims to match the performance of its benchmark, gross of charges, over the long term. It does this by using a passive approach, with BlackRock acting as the underlying investment manager to track the selected Europe ex-UK equity index. Mercer regularly monitors both the manager and the index and can replace them if needed.

Passive Europe (ex-UK) Equity is aimed at people with more than seven years to retirement and/or investors who are willing to accept rises and falls in value in pursuit of long-term growth. The fund is intended for long-term investors rather than those seeking short-term stability. Because it invests in equities, its value can move up and down over time.

Passive Europe (ex-UK) Equity highlights inflation risk and currency risk. Inflation risk means the fund's returns may not keep up with rising prices, which can reduce what your money buys over time. Currency risk means changes in exchange rates can affect returns when investments are held across different currencies.

Passive Europe (ex-UK) Equity's holdings are spread across large European companies such as ASML, Roche Holding, Novartis, Nestle, SAP and Siemens. Its geographic allocation includes countries such as France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Italy and Denmark. This broad spread reflects the fund's aim to capture the Europe ex-UK equity market rather than focus on one sector or country.