Unit Linked Funds from Phoenix Life

britishguy

I have invested in these with phoenix life, but when I did this I was much younger and admittedly thought I was just doing the right thing. I'm much older now (no where near retirement though) and have absolutely no idea how or where my money is going with this?

I'm self employed and pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions and just got a letter from Pheonix Life about my Unit Linked Investment. It says that the value of the Unit Fund Investment is not guaranteed and can go up o down.

Does anyone understand what unit linked funds are? AND

Can i cash them out now or am I tied into some sort of bond with these guys?

I have NO IDEA where I am wih all this and was wandering if anyone can actually explain this in the MOST SIMPLEST TERMS IN THE UNIVERSE please?

dunstonh

I have invested in these with phoenix life, but when I did this I was much younger and admittedly thought I was just doing the right thing.

Why wouldnt it have been the right thing?

It says that the value of the Unit Fund Investment is not guaranteed and can go up o down.

Standard risk warning for all investments.

Does anyone understand what unit linked funds are?

yes. A collection of investments held within a single investment fund. There is not really much point going beyond that at this stage.

Can i cash them out now or am I tied into some sort of bond with these guys?

No, you cant cash them out and using a bond would be a really bad move.

I have NO IDEA where I am wih all this and was wandering if anyone can actually explain this in the MOST SIMPLEST TERMS IN THE UNIVERSE please?

its a pension which is invested. It builds a pot for you to use in retirement. It is tax free at this stage and very tax efficient.

sandsy

A fund may invest in assets like shares, property, commercial bonds etc. As the price of the assets changes, eg, the price of the shares moves, so does the value of the fund.

Funds diversify the risk (compared to you investing in one company's share) as they invest in many assets.

Over the long term, the value of a fund should grow and give a you a return on your investment, more than say if your money sat in a cash deposit account at the bank.

If your funds are held in a pension, you can't access the value of it until at least age 55 although you could transfer it to another pension provider. Best to understand what you've got first though.