In detail

What is a Flexible Options Bond?

It’s a flexible product (as its name suggests), which is designed to allow you the potential for growth over the medium to long term (at least 5 to 10 years), while enabling you to change how it is invested at any time, if you want to.

The Bond is made up of 20 identical whole of life policies, although we may issue up to 99 on request. As well as being designed as an investment, it also gives you life cover of 101% of the Bond’s value, on the day after we receive notification of death.

Who can have one?

In order to invest in our Flexible Options Bond you must have at least £5,000 to invest, you must be aged 84 or less if there is only one life assured, or, in joint life cases, the younger life must be aged 89 or less. We can only accept business from UK residents or residents in other specified territories, please contact us for details.

How flexible is the Bond?

The Flexible Options Bond offers you a number of investment choices from one single Bond. You can change where it is invested, tailoring the Bond, and changing the balance of funds it’s invested in, to suit your changing needs. We offer an extensive choice of internally and externally managed funds, all specifically selected to meet a wide range of investment needs.

We may change the selection of funds we make available, and restrictions may apply to the amounts which can be invested in certain funds.

If you invest in a unit-linked fund, the value of your Bond can fall as well as rise depending on investment performance (and currency exchange rates where a fund invests overseas). This type of investment does not offer any guarantees.

If you invest in a with-profits fund, the value of your Bond can fall as well as rise. For example, we can apply Market Value Reductions. You can find more details in the relevant With-Profits guide(s).

The Flexible Options Bond is designed to be a medium to long term investment and if you decide to cash-in all or part of your Bond within five years of making the first payment or any additional payment into it, we’ll make a charge. Other charges will apply. You may get back less than you invested.

You can switch between the funds you chose initially, make additional top-up payments and/or supplement your income by taking withdrawals from your Bond.

Any withdrawals taken may be greater than any growth achieved so you may get back less than you invested.

How much can I invest?

You can invest £5,000 or more.

Product Features

• full details of its clear charging structure
• ways to make changes to your Bond (e.g. taking withdrawals, topping up)
• information on tax, trusts and Inheritance Tax planning

Have we answered all your questions?

If you have more questions about our Flexible Options Bond, please contact us.

Choosing your funds