Isle of Man Risk Profiles

The Isle of Man mirror funds are graded according to their risk exposure. Our online factsheets and monthly Mirror Fund Prices leaflet - click here to download the PDF (this will open in a new window) - show the profile of each fund.

Key to the Risk Profiles

Risk Profile 1: Funds offering conservative return similar to money market rates.

Risk Profile 2: Low risk funds offering security and steady growth.

Risk Profile 3: These funds take a balanced approach to investment by holding a diverse portfolio of assets.

Risk Profile 4: A more focused asset exposure provides good growth potential with the risk of short-term volatility.

Risk Profile 5: These aggressive funds balance the risk of high volatility with the potential for high capital growth.

Note for Advisers

In the Adviser area you'll find a useful online flowchart to help in the decision making process when assessing a client's exposure to risk. A valid username and password is required to access the Adviser area - email us if you do not have one.

Some funds carry these additional descriptions of their structure:

Experienced Investor Funds

These funds are designed for the experienced investor, defined as 'a person who, in relation to any experienced investor fund, is sufficiently experienced to understand the risks associated with an investment in that fund'. An EIF must be administered in the Isle of Man by an approved person, specifically licensed to carry out this activity. Regulation of an EIF is focused on the operator (approved person) rather than on the scheme product itself. The EIF is not subject to specific documentation regulations. It is not subject to any regulatory restrictions on its investment and borrowing powers.

Professional Investor Funds

Funds marked as such indicate that the underlying fund the Isle of Man mirror fund invests into is classified as a Professional Investor Fund. Such funds are aimed at market professionals and consequently are subject to less regulation due to the experience of the intended recipient. The generally accepted definition of a professional investor is any person:

whose ordinary business involves, whether for his own account or the account of others, the acquisition or disposal of property of the same kind as the property of the Fund; or
who, whether individually or jointly with his spouse, has net worth in excess of one million US dollars or its equivalent in any other currency and that he consents to being treated as a Professional Investor.

Friends Provident International Limited is classified as the Professional Investor and we operate the mirror fund to enable our policyholders to collectively access the underlying fund. Policyholders should understand the nature of the fund. Professional Fund status does not necessarily imply a high risk fund.

Hedge Funds

The underlying fund that the mirror fund invests into is a fund of Hedge Funds. Hedge Funds aim to produce returns superior to those of bonds and equities irrespective of market direction, therefore profiting throughout the changing world economic cycles of recession, recovery, boom and slowdown.

Liquidity Warning

Some funds carry a liquidity warning due to the nature of the underlying assets. It may be difficult for the fund to realise an investment at short notice without suffering a discount to market value. The investor may not be able to realise his investment when he chooses because the underlying assets may not be readily saleable.

It is important to remember that, as with most investments, the value of your investment is not guaranteed and can go down as well as up. Therefore we suggest that you only invest money that can be committed in the medium to long term. You should also bear in mind that securities held within a fund may not be denominated in the currency of that fund, so unit prices may fall purely on account of exchange rate fluctuations.