RLCIS investment FAQ

An Investment Bond is a lump-sum investment designed for investment growth. The Investment Bond is provided by Aviva, one of the biggest names in life insurance and pensions in the UK.

It is no longer available to new customers.

Investment Bond is no longer available to new customers. The minimum investment was £5,000 and there was no maximum.

The Investment Bond has no fixed term so you can invest for as long as you like. You should see it as a medium to long term investment (5 years or more).

We won't charge you for regular withdrawals of up to 7.5% per year in the first five years. But regular withdrawals above this amount, and any one-off withdrawals, are subject to an early exit charge.

We arrange The Investment Bond in association with Aviva, who will invest your money.

Aviva will invest your money on your behalf into the funds you choose to make up your Investment Bond. These can include our own Co-operative Investments funds.

You may want to check how the funds you chose are performing. Take a look the latest fund factsheets from Aviva for more information.

The Investment Bond is a medium to long-term investment, not a savings account. You should try to leave your money in for as long as possible to give it the best chance to grow.

But you can make withdrawals, either occasional 'one-off' withdrawals, or more often as a regular 'income'. Remember that any withdrawals you make will reduce the amount you get back when you cash your investment in.

You can take a look at the latest fund factsheets online.

Aviva also send you a statement every year on the anniversary of your investment. This shows the cash-in value for your Bond at the time. You can also get an up-to-date valuation of your Investment Bond whenever you need it, by calling Aviva on 0845 300 4728.

Yes. The Scheme was set up to protect investors if a financial services company becomes insolvent and isn't able to meet its obligations to you.

You would be able to make a claim against Aviva if they become insolvent for 100% of the value of your Investment Bond at the time.

Find out more about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

With-profits investments cushion investors from the sudden ups and downs of the stock market. They use a technique called ‘smoothing’ to even out investment returns over time.

Platinum Bond Plus is a lump-sum, with-profits investment. You invest a lump sum of your money in Platinum Bond Plus. It's then pooled together with the money of lots of other investors into our ‘with-profits fund’.

Platinum Bond Plus is no longer available to new customers. The minimum investment was £1000 and the maximum investment was £250,000.

We send you a statement once a year on the anniversary of your investment. This includes:

• A cash-in value for your investment at the time
• Details of any Bonuses and charges we've applied in the previous year
• A leaflet about how the with-profits fund is performing.

You can also get an up-to-date valuation of your Platinum Bond Plus whenever you need it, by calling us on 08457 46 46 46. We may need to send you your valuation in the post, so this might take a few days.

In certain circumstances when you cash in your Bond, we may reduce the cash-in value if it is greater than your fair-share of the with-profits fund. We would do this by applying an MVR.

If we didn’t do this, we would pay out more than your Bond is worth. This would reduce the amount available for other customers when they leave the with-profits fund in the future, which would be unfair.

When do MVRs not apply?

Importantly, MVRs can only apply if you cash in your investment. MVRs do not apply:

• from the 10th anniversary of investments made before 1st April 2000
• if you don’t cash in
• to payments on death
• to regular income payments.

Details of the MVR were provided in the Key Features document you received when you made your investment and can also be found in your Terms and Conditions document.

How does an MVR apply?

Due to the current economic climate and market conditions there are no MVRs currently being applied on Platinum Bond Plus policies.

How do we decide on the level of bonuses and MVRs?

We take decisions about applying an  MVR very seriously. All decisions about bonus and MVR rates go through a rigorous governance process which
includes obtaining the approval of our Board of Directors. To ensure that we are fair to our policyholders, we follow the Principles and Practices of Financial Management (PPFM).

Platinum Bond Plus has no fixed investment term, so you can invest for as long as you like. You should see it as a medium to long-term investment of at least 5 years.

When you invest in Platinum Bond Plus, we pool your money together with lots of other investors’ money in a ‘with-profits fund'. A team of experienced investment professionals manage the fund.

Our investment strategy is to achieve growth by investing in different types of assets. These include:

• UK and overseas shares
• government and other bonds
• property
• cash
• alternative investments and more.

Platinum Bond Plus is a medium to long-term investment, not a savings account. You should try to leave your money in for as long as possible to give it the best chance to grow.

But you can make withdrawals, either occasional ‘one-off’ withdrawals, or more often as a regular ‘income’. Remember that any withdrawals you make will lower the amount you get back when you cash your investment in.

Yes, we're covered by the Scheme. It's designed to protect investors if a financial services company becomes insolvent and can't meet its obligations to you.

The highest level of compensation available from the Scheme is 100% of the value of your claim.

Our Principles and Practices of Financial Management (PPFM) documents explain how we manage our funds. They cover the standards we apply to the management of our with-profits business.

You'll find our PPFM and our shorter 'with-profits' guides on our Principles and Practices of Financial Management page.