Mercer Aspire PRB Retirement (Annuity)

Aspire PRB Retirement (Annuity) invests mainly in a diversified mix of bonds and cash. Mercer Global Investment Europe Limited oversees the portfolio and selects specialist active and passive managers to run the underlying investments. Mercer regularly reviews the manager and asset allocations and may change them over time.

Aspire PRB Retirement (Annuity) is designed for people who are 10 years or less from retirement. It is intended for investors who plan to use part of their PRB to buy an annuity, which is an income for life, and the remainder to take a Retirement Lump Sum. The fund aims to support that retirement mix rather than long-term growth seeking.

Aspire PRB Retirement (Annuity) aims to provide protection against changes in the cost of buying an annuity at retirement, as well as capital preservation. In simple terms, capital preservation means trying to keep the value of the investment from falling significantly. The portfolio is built around bonds and cash to support those aims.

Aspire PRB Retirement (Annuity) highlights inflation risk, currency risk and manager risk. Inflation risk means the investment may not keep up with rising prices over time; currency risk means overseas investments can be affected when exchange rates move; and manager risk means performance can be affected if a chosen manager makes poor decisions. The portfolio’s risk and reward profile can also change over time.

Aspire PRB Retirement (Annuity) does not take into account the EU criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities in the investments underlying the product. That means the portfolio is not managed using that specific EU sustainable-investment framework. Investors looking for a fund with explicit EU sustainability screening may want to consider this carefully.