Phoenix With Profits
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.
Phoenix With Profits
In this regard we believe that Phoenix run some of the poorest with-profits funds in the UK today.
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.
There are 13 Phoenix With Profits funds so for individual fund assessments please refer to the specific company pages which relate to your individual holding. Overall our view of Phoenix is that their performance is poor as is their future return prospects.
We believe we can give Phoenix a red light for with-profits – overall its record and position mean that it is likely that anyone holding a with-profits plan within one of their 13 funds is in a poor or very poor investment where – more often than not – they will be better off in a different area or investment type. HOWEVER there can be occasions when a policy should be maintained, for a variety of reasons. The only way a policyholder can make an informed judgement is to get an individual review of their own policy and the terms applying.
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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
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. Phoenix With Profit funds were all closed to new business by their previous owners, in many cases after experiencing difficulties.
Company history
The history of the Company is convoluted in the extreme; throughout the past two decades there have been numerous mergers and acquisitions which have involved over 30 insurance companies. Perhaps the most significant point in time was in 2005 when Royal and Sun Alliance Linked Insurances Limited was renamed Phoenix Life Limited.
In essence Phoenix Life is a conglomerate representing the vested interests of millions of policyholders that originally took out policies with companies including Pearl, NPI, Royal & Sun Alliance, Alba Life, Scottish Mutual and Scottish Provident.
Phoenix With Profits Funds
Phoenix Life and its sister company, Phoenix Life Assurance Ltd, operate 13 with-profits funds, which are all closed. They vary from traditional style with-profits funds to unit-linked style. They also vary considerably in size. For more details of their funds please see our specific research report on Phoenix; click here to obtain a copy.
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.
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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.