Skandia Spectrum funds launch on Fidelity FundsNetwork

Fidelity FundsNetwork is the latest platform to offer the Skandia Spectrum fund range in response to increasing demand from financial advisers and investors.  This launch means the Spectrum range of risk rated funds are now available on all the major financial adviser platforms: Ascentric, Cofunds, Fidelity FundsNetwork, Nucleus, Skandia Investment Solutions and Transact.
Research carried out by Skandia earlier this year showed that 68% of financial advisers think risk rated funds with set volatility targets are increasing in popularity and will take the place of Active, Balanced, and Cautious (ABC) funds within the next five years.  This is because the volatility of risk-rated funds is more closely aligned to client risk appetite and they help advisers explain investment risk more easily to their clients. This demand has resulted in the Skandia Spectrum fund range growing rapidly to £764m funds under management (as at 30 November 2010) since launch in April 2008.
The launch of Spectrum on Fidelity FundsNetwork significantly extends the availability of the funds to the UK advisory market, with the potential to reach around one million of Fidelity FundsNetwork’s clients.
SIG chief sales & marketing officer Rob Williams said, “Being on the Fidelity FundsNetwork platform, one of the largest platforms in the UK, will provide an excellent opportunity for our Spectrum range of funds to be made available to a wider audience of advisers and clients. This will enable advisers using Fidelity FundsNetwork to choose a robust and compliant investment solution that really meets the needs of their clients.”
The six Skandia Spectrum funds were originally designed in conjunction with Towers Watson’s risk mapping tools and have been available since launch on the Skandia Investment Solutions Platform and its life and pensions fund range.
The Skandia Spectrum funds, which are managed by Skandia Investment Group (SIG), are regularly reviewed and automatically rebalanced to ensure they remain in line with the stated volatility targets. Unlike most funds, which are rated on performance relative to a peer group, the Skandia Spectrum funds aim to maximise investment returns within these set volatility targets.