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Fidelity International Limited is adding two funds to the highly regarded Target Euro Funds range. The target dates for the new funds are 2025 and 2030 – joining the existing range of funds which target 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Target Euro Funds are an innovation in fund management. They can help investors save for long-term goals with more confidence. This is because they are designed to change over the years. When there is a significant amount of time until the target dates, the funds focus on the growth potential of world stockmarkets. As the target dates become closer, the funds aim to “lock in” any returns they have achieved by gradually moving into lower-risk investments. By the target date, the portfolio of a Target Euro Fund is likely to consist primarily of bonds and cash.
The Target Euro Funds are “funds-of-funds”, which means they can invest across Fidelity’s range. With their flexible approach they can suit a variety of longer-term investment goals – from a mortgage deposit or the costs of post-graduate education to the holiday of a lifetime or a luxury car.
Andrew Jenkins, Executive Director at Fidelity, explains: “Target Euro Funds can be a great way for people to invest for their goals, so we’ve added two funds to the range to give our investors even more choice. With 20 and 25-year timeframes, these new funds could be a great way for people to plan ahead to increase their income in retirement.”
Jenkins is clear about the benefits for advisors as well. He says: “If an advisor’s clients are investing for a long-term goal, there’s a good chance that one of our Target Euro Funds will meet their needs. From an advisor’s perspective, this not only simplifies the fund-picking process, it allows them to delegate some immensely time-consuming work to a specialist Fidelity unit. We’ll analyse different asset classes, monitor the performance of all eligible funds and make ongoing asset-allocation decisions. This frees up advisors’ time, so they can concentrate on understanding their clients’ financial goals and building strong relationships.”
The Fidelity Target Euro Funds are managed by one of Fidelity’s top managers, Richard Skelt, who is supported by a dedicated team which specializes in different aspects of portfolio management. He can invest in any of the 180 funds in Fidelity’s range. At any one time, a Target Euro Fund can hold up to 20 different funds, which together could hold as many as 1,000 separate investments.
Skelt explains that Fidelity has been pioneering these funds around the world. He says: “Our US affiliate FMR Corp. launched investments that are similar to Target Funds nearly ten years ago and the concept has proved very popular. Around $15 billion has been invested in these Freedom Funds, which offer a selection of target dates up to 2040. We have drawn on this US experience to develop the Target Funds range, but we have not simply applied the Freedom Fund blueprint in Europe. Instead, my team and I have developed our own investment process, which specifically suits the European market.”
For more information about the Target Funds range please phone Freephone 8007 2217. Issued by Growth Investments Limited, Middle Sea House, Floriana, Malta. Growth Investments Limited is the exclusive representative of Fidelity Funds SICAV in Malta. |
