Alba Life With Profits
RWP Research Findings, Overview and Comments
In considering any company and its with-profits RWP will look to assess a range of factors which will include: the company’s management record; its transparency of information, its financial strength; its prospects for providing future returns and the nature of its with-profits approach.
Alba With Profits is run by Phoenix.
We believe that Phoenix run some of the poorest with-profits funds in the UK today. This includes this Alba fund.
This is based on appalling past returns on their various With Profits funds and With Profits investments for policyholders.
In many respects although their funds are called “with-profits”, they are run in a similar way to a traditional managed fund. They have lost contact with the basic ethos which originally stood behind the with-profits concept and made it a popular and successful investment. Policyholders are now in funds which more often than not will have poor performance and very limited future prospects.
Overall our view of Phoenix is that their performance is poor as is their future return prospects.
We are concerned that the Alba fund’s record and position is dire and that policyholders should act to see how they can improve their position. Annual bonus rates from this fund in the past few years have generally been NIL. The overall distributed profits to policyholders just a couple of million pounds on a multi-billion pound fund.
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For our specific report on Phoenix Life which will give you all the information you need to judge their funds please click here
Company ownership position
Alba Life's with-profits is now housed as a closed fund under Phoenix Life. It no longer exists as a stand-alone company.
Phoenix Life and Phoenix Life Assurance Limited are part of Phoenix Group Holdings, a FTSE 250 Company. They operate 13 with-profits funds (10 under the Phoenix Life banner, 3 under the Phoenix Assurance Limited banner) which are all closed to new business. They also operate two non-profit funds. Phoenix is the UK’s largest specialist consolidator of closed life funds. Their funds were all closed to new business by their previous owners, in many cases after experiencing difficulties.
Alba Life With-Profits Fund
Phoenix Life Limited Alba With-Profits Fund has an estimated total value of around £3.2 billion.
The Alba Life With-Profits Fund includes business previously written by FS Assurance (FS), the Life Association of Scotland Limited (LAS) and Crusader Insurance plc (subsequently renamed Britannia Life Assurance (BLA)) as well as Britannia Life Limited (BLL).
Alba was previously called Britannia Life Limited, the name changed on 6 December 1999 following its acquisition by Britannic Assurance from the Britannia Building Society.
RWP Research Findings, Overview and Comments
In considering any company and its with-profits RYWP will look to assess a range of factors which will include: the company’s management record; its transparency of information, its financial strength; its prospects for providing future returns and the nature of its with-profits approach.
In this regard we believe that Phoenix run some of the poorest with-profits funds in the UK today. This includes this Alba fund.
In many respects although their funds are called with-profits, they are run in a similar way to a traditional managed fund. They have lost contact with the basic ethos which originally stood behind the with-profits concept and made it a popular and successful investment. Policyholders are now in funds which more often than not will have poor performance and very limited future prospects.
Overall our view of Phoenix is that their performance is poor as is their future return prospects.
For a more detailed look at your Alba Life With Profits policy please click here
Please remember that any of our summary findings or conclusions are general; an appraisal of the general position for that company. There will be situations where an individual policyholder with a company that is ‘good’’ may want to look at surrendering or transferring their policy (for example to secure a guarantee or because it does not suit their risk position), likewise there will be situations where policyholders with a ‘poor’ company want to stick with what they have (for example because the penalty of exiting will be too great). Nothing can replace getting a report based on your unique circumstances; it is only this unique, personalised report which will provide the information that will instruct you on your circumstances regardless of the company and our general comments.
Please note the information on these pages should not be used in any way or form as the basis for any decision about your with-profits investment or plan. RWP makes every attempt to ensure that all information is up to date and accurate but RWP cannot be held responsible for any of the detail provided. The information above is published to act as a broad guide to the Company’s position, history and future prospects. However any decision about your own with-profit plan should only be taken after you have sought and received qualified advice from an appropriate regulated advisory source and should be based entirely on that advice.