Select Account

Here’s everything you need to know about our Select account ­– key features, how it works and helpful links.

To get the Select Account, you must be at least 18 and live in the UK.

Our Select Account is an investment bond that can be opened in your sole name or as a joint account. The bond is divided into up to 999 separate, identical policies – giving you flexibility on how you withdraw your money.

Control your investments. Ideal for those who wish to drip feed their premium into investment funds in phases over a designated period.

We offer over 150 funds which cover all the main asset classes and regions, which provides you with the flexibility to build an investment portfolio to suit your needs and goals. You are only allowed to select up to 10 funds within our Life Series 5 range. You can change where you're invested without charge, at any time.

Funds include our popular risk-targeted Portfolios, as well as multi-asset, equity, bonds property and other more focused funds. Latest performance information of the funds available in the Select Account can be found in our monthly performance bulletin. 

All our funds have undergone a rigorous selection process to make sure they meet our investment, operational, governance and compliance standards.

What are the risks?

As with any investment, the value can go down as well as up so you might get back less than you invest. Different investments have different levels of risk and past performance is no guide to future performance.

All withdrawals are free of charge.  

Regular withdrawals

You can make withdrawals every month, quarter, half-year or year, as well as on a on a termly basis to help with school fees planning. The minimum amount you can withdraw each year is £250. There’s no maximum amount, as long as you keep £250 invested.

One-off withdrawals              

You can cash in (surrender) part of your investment at any time. There’s no limit to the amount you can take, as long as you leave £250 invested.

5% tax-deferred withdrawal allowance

If you pay tax in the UK, you can withdraw up to 5% of your original investment each year without having to pay any tax on it. Payments made to your adviser may be included in this allowance.

If you don’t withdraw the full 5%, the remaining allowance can be carried over into the next year. You can do this until you’ve withdrawn 100% of your original investment.

Cashing in

You can cash in your investment in full, at any time. Although you should always speak to an adviser to discuss any tax implications.

Ongoing administration charge (monthly management fee)

We charge a monthly management fee for looking after the investment. The Select Account is a unit-linked bond and to pay the monthly management fee, we simply cancel the number of units needed to cover the cost of the fee. See the table below for charges.

The monthly charge is tiered. This means each tier of your investment has a different charge as shown in the table below.

If you invested £150,000 the monthly charge would be:

• £25,000 at 0.05%
• £15,000 at 0.0333%
• £60,000 at 0.0291%
• £50,000 at 0.027%

Adding these together gives you a total monthly charge of 0.0323% (about 0.39% a year).

Fund charges

Each fund has an investment management charge, which is incorporated into the amount you pay for the fund. This charge varies from fund to fund. For a full list of fund charges, visit our fund centre.

Paying your adviser

If you want us to pay your adviser, we offer two options:

• We can deduct the adviser charge from your investment before, or after the money is invested
• We can pay your adviser on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly basis

You can either pay a set amount, or a percentage of the bond’s value.

To say thank you for investing with us we’ll give you a loyalty bonus of 0.50% of the value of your investment, every five years.

Income tax

If you’re a basic rate taxpayer when you cash in your bond, you probably won’t need to pay any more tax. If you’re a higher rate or additional rate taxpayer (or become one when any investment growth is added to your other income), you may need to pay more tax.

Inheritance tax

If your bond isn’t in a trust, there may be inheritance tax to pay when you die. By placing your investment in a trust, there may be less inheritance tax to pay, or none at all.

Tax rules depend on individual circumstances and may change. Speak to an adviser, if you need more information on tax.

Explore our trusts and see how they could help you pass on your wealth in a tax-efficient way. 

Corporation tax

We pay tax on any income received from your investment and on any capital gains made by the funds.

It’s important to remember that the value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. The way funds have performed in the past is no guide to future performance.

You can use a trust with your Select Account investment bond. This could reduce the amount of inheritance tax that needs to be paid when you die.

This account can be used with the following trusts:

• Discounted gift trust
• Gift and loan trust
• Gift trust
• Probate trust

Trusts explained. Find out more about the types of trust we offer and how they could help you pass on your wealth in a tax-efficient way. 

Tax rules depend on individual circumstances and may change. Speak to an adviser, if you need more information on tax.