Closure of the Royal London UK Smaller Companies – July 2026
Following a review of the investment options available to Royal London policyholders, we have taken the decision to close the UK Smaller Companies fund. As a result, the following funds will close:
- Royal London UK Smaller Companies Fund 1
- Royal London UK Smaller Companies Fund 2
We have considered all available alternative funds in the Royal London range against a set of criteria to make sure we identified the closest possible match to the existing fund, with the outcome being that investments in this fund will switch into Royal London UK Broad Equity Tilt fund week commencing 20 July 2026.
What’s changing?
- Royal London UK Smaller Companies fund will close w/c 20 July and policyholders’ investment in the fund will move into the Royal London UK Broad Equity Tilt Pension Fund.
- The Annual Management Charge (AMC) will remain at 1.00%. There will be no change in costs to customers.
- The Royal London UK Broad Equity Tilt fund is managed by Royal London Asset Management however it invests across the broad UK equity market including large, mid and smaller companies and is managed using a different investment strategy which also considers non-financial factors including climate impact and carbon emissions.
- Investing in a broader range of companies including mid cap and large cap companies as well as smaller companies can be less risky than investing only in smaller companies. However, smaller companies have the potential to generate higher returns. This means the Royal London UK Broad Equity Tilt fund could produce lower returns than the closing fund.
| Existing | New | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | Royal London UK Smaller Companies | Royal London UK Broad Equity Tilt Pension fund |
| Benchmark | FTSE Small Cap (ex Inv Trusts) TR Index | FTSE All Share TR Index |
| Fund aim | To achieve capital growth over the medium term (3-5 years) by investing at least 80% in the shares of UK smaller companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. | To deliver a return in line with the FTSE All Share TR Index over rolling 3-year periods after charges while also aiming to achieve a carbon footprint of at least 10% lower than that of the index however this is not guaranteed. |
| Investment process | The fund's performance target is to outperform. after the deduction of charges, the FTSE Small Cap ex-IT (investment trusts) Total Return GBP Index (the "Index") over rolling 5-year periods | The fund invests directly in a Royal London Asset Management (RLAM fund. The underlying investment is in the UK Brpoad Equity Tilt Fund, which invests primarily in the securities that make up the FTSE All-Share index. The fund is actively managed and its financial objective is to generate returns in-line with the FTSE All-Share TR (Net) GBP index over rolling 3 – year periods after the deduction of charges. The fund’s climate objective is to achieve a carbon footprint of at least 10% below that of the index. The fund’s financial objective is prioritised over the climate objective. |
| Management style | Active | Active |
An example of the letter issued to customers can be found here.
For further details of the Royal London UK Broad Equity Tilt fund please refer to the factsheet.
If you would like any further information on how this affects you, please contact us on 0345 605 0050.