A separate investment category for outcome-focused funds is to be launched in the UK, since products that target volatility levels have risen to become the largest product group in the Investment Association (IA) unclassified sector.
The IA is to house outcome funds in a newly created fund sector known as ‘Volatility Managed’, which will group funds with the “common characteristic of targeting an investor’s attitude to risk set out in terms of volatility”.
Launching a new sector for these types of funds was seen as preferable to a complete re-organisation of IA fund sectors, which the IA says was an idea mooted when the trade body first formally consulted on the issue last year.
The Volatility Managed sector will be launched in November and will have a high hurdle of transparency for potential constituents, the IA said.
“Funds will be required to publicly disclose that the fund is managed with the intention to deliver a volatility or risk outcome as well as provide advisers and consumers with information on how volatility is measured – including the timeframe over which data is calculated,” the IA said.
The IA is now calling upon its members to elect the funds that they believe fit the new definition. The IA’s sector committee will then review this selection of self-elected products to ensure they meet the requirements.
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