Fund changes

The result of the Extraordinary General Meeting which took place on 15th May 2025 at Lloyds Banking Group, Sighthill North, 2 Bankhead Avenue, Sighthill, Edinburgh, EH11 4BT are as below:

• ALL the proposed changes were approved by the investors’ vote.
   

The changes to the Managed Growth Funds took place on 16th June 2025 at 12:01pm: 

The ongoing charge is reducing for each fund 

• The Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF) will go down to 0.10% for all funds. 

Managed Growth Fund 2 and Fund 4 will increase their exposure to Bonds and Gilts

• The range of equity exposure will stay the same.  
• This change focuses on boosting diversification and stability. Bonds and Gilts are generally less volatile than other stocks. 
• The score on the Risk and Reward indicator table in the KIID will stay at its current rating of 4.

Managed Growth Fund 6 will increase its exposure to equities, resulting in a higher risk level 

• It will decrease its range of exposure to Bonds and Gilts.  
• This change will improve growth potential over the medium to long term. 
• It will also update the fund's description from Progressive to Adventurous.  
• Adventurous means the fund will mainly invest in UK and international shares, with only minor exposure to Bonds and Gilts.
• The score on the Risk and Reward indicator table in the KIID will stay at its current rating of 5. 

The result of the Extraordinary General Meeting which took place on 15th May 2025 at Lloyds Banking Group, Sighthill North, 2 Bankhead Avenue, Sighthill, Edinburgh, EH11 4BT are as below:  

• ALL the proposed changes were approved by the investors’ vote.

The changes to the International Bond Fund’s investment objective and policy, benchmark, name and investment adviser took place on 16th June 2025.

Proposed OEIC Fund changes – International Bond Fund

The current active strategy of the Fund has provided inconsistent performance, and we believe a new passive strategy offers better potential value for investors.  

These proposed changes require approval from OEIC investors in the Fund. We’re mailing investors with details of the change and asking them to vote. To make the proposed changes, we need approval from 75% of the investors who vote. 

The proposal includes the following: 

• A change to the Fund’s investment objective and policy to reflect a change in strategy from active* to passive**, and the benchmark that the Fund will track. 
• A change of the Fund’s name from the International Bond Fund to the Developed Government Bond Tracker Fund. 
• A strategy which aims to reduce the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates. 
• A change to the Fund’s benchmark from the current JPM Global Government Bond Index to the FTSE World Government Bond Index – Developed Markets, currency-hedged in GBP terms, which the Fund will track. 

If the proposal is approved, the above Fund changes will come into effect by Monday 16th June 2025. If we don’t get the required votes to make the proposed changes, we’ll close the fund. 

On 9th June 2025, BlackRock will be appointed as the investment adviser of this Fund in place of Schroders. 

* Active Strategy - involves fund managers actively selecting and trading investments to try to outperform a benchmark index. This approach often comes with higher fees due to frequent trading and research.

** Passive Strategy - involves tracking the performance of a specific benchmark or market index, instead of trying to outperform it. Passive strategies typically have lower fees, making them a cost-effective option for many investors.

Key Dates: 

10th April 2025 - we’ll send letters to customers invested in the International Bond Fund, asking them to vote. 

12.00 pm 13th May 2025 - deadline for return of Proxy Voting forms (the details are on the form supplied to each investor). 

12.00 pm 15th May 2025 - Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) will take place at Lloyds Banking Group Sighthill North, 2 Bankhead Avenue, Sighthill, Edinburgh EH11 4BT. 

16th May 2025 - the result of the investor vote will be available. 

2nd June 2025 – deadline for switching fund. 

16th June 2025 - subject to investor approval, the changes detailed in the Voting Document will become effective. 
 

Detailed Fund Information

To access the latest investment documentation for Scottish Widows OEIC funds, for example Key Investor Information Documents (KIIDs), Supplementary Investor Information Documents (SIIDs) and prospectuses please visit: Scottish Widows funds

Life and Pension investors

Some of our customers invest in Life and Pension funds which currently invest in the International Bond Fund and are therefore affected by this change. The International Bond Fund is expected to change on 16th June 2025, if the proposals are approved. This means we need to make some changes to the following Life and Pension funds.

The affected Life and Pension funds will have new fund aims from 16th June 2025. Customers may continue to see the old fund names on any communications we send until the names are updated. We’re writing out to let our impacted Life and Pension customers know about these changes. 

Customer notification in our UK Life and Pension Funds

We’re writing to our customers invested in these life and pension funds to let them know about these changes. Life and Pension customers don’t need to do anything if they believe the change meets their investment needs and objectives after the changes. It’s important to review the changes to the way the Fund will be invested and the associated risks by visiting our Funds page.

On 20th March 2025, The Scottish Widows Fidelity MoneyBuilder Income Fund’s name changed to the Scottish Widows Fidelity MoneyBuilder Corporate Bond Fund.

The change has happened because of an upcoming change to the way funds are referred to by Fidelity, the underlying fund provider.

The fund’s aims, objectives, and charges have not changed and will remain the same as they were.

You don’t need to do anything; the change will happen automatically.

You may still see the fund referred to as its old name in some of the literature we send you.

In 2024 we proposed merging the North American Fund in the HBOS International Investment Fund ICVC operated by HBOS Investment Managers Limited into the International Growth Fund. See June 2024: Proposed OEIC and ISA Fund changes.  

However, investors in the Fund didn’t approve the merger proposal so we’re now going to close the North American Fund at the end of March 2025. We’re writing to those affected by the North American Fund closure to explain their options and we’re asking them to please let us know what they’d like to do with their investment in the closing North American Fund on or before 24th March 2025.  

The transaction costs incurred in selling the North American Fund’s assets will be paid for by that Fund and are estimated to be 0.02% of the current net asset value of the Fund. The other costs and expenses of closing the Fund will be paid for by us.