QTrust Pension Plan
Disclosure
Information on charges, transaction costs and Value for Members relating to the year ended 31 October 2023
The information set out in this website relates only to QTrust (“the Plan”). On this page, you can find some information on the Plan’s charges, transaction costs and Value for Members for the year ended 31 October 2023.
The Plan’s Trustee is required to produce an annual statement, signed by the Chair, setting out certain information required by the Pensions Regulator. This document is called a Chair’s Statement and a copy of the full version can be provided to members of the Plan upon request.
You will find relevant extracts from the Chair’s Statement below, most of which cover the charges and transaction costs incurred by members as a result of investing their pension account in the Plan.
The information below is for noting but you may have questions. Should you wish to speak to someone about the information set out in this website or you require further information, you should contact the Plan’s administrator:
Tel: 01494 927 894
E-mail: qtrust@qallp.co.uk
Post: QTrust
Quantum Advisory
St Mary’s Court
The Broadway
Amersham
Bucks
HP7 0UT.
Some of the key items of information you are able to request are as follows:
- Chair’s Statement
- Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) - the full SIP is also available on this website
- Member booklet
- Trust Deed & Rules of the Plan.
Charges and transaction costs paid by members
Trustees are required to explain the charges and transaction costs (i.e. the costs of buying and selling investments in a pension scheme) which are paid by members rather than the principal and participating employers.
Members pay the investment management charges and transaction costs associated with the Plan, which are effectively deducted from member accounts. The employer pays all administration expenses associated with running the Plan, except for retired members using the income drawdown facility. Members can also be required to pay charges in a pension sharing order, in relation to divorce. In some circumstances, members may be liable to a charge payable to HMRC, if they exceed certain limits, such as the Annual Allowance or the Lifetime Allowance.
Members who reach retirement and choose to take their benefits through the income drawdown facility offered under the Plan will be subject to an annual management charge, currently 0.3% of the value of their member account. This is used to meet the expense of administering the Plan’s drawdown facility.
The charges which applied during the year are set out in the following table:
|
Fund/strategy |
Annual Management Charge |
Total Expense Ratio |
|
QTrust Adventurous Growth strategy |
0.225% |
0.225% |
|
QTrust Moderate Growth strategy |
0.190% |
0.190% |
|
QTrust Conservative Growth strategy |
0.160% |
0.160% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management World Equity Index Fund |
0.140% |
0.140% |
|
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Global Brands Fund |
0.750% |
0.900% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management World Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund |
0.350% |
0.350% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management UK Equity Index Fund |
0.090% |
0.090% |
|
BNY Mellon Real Return Fund |
0.750% |
0.880% |
|
HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund |
0.350% |
0.350% |
|
Partners Group Generations Fund |
1.350% |
2.350% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Future World Annuity Aware Fund |
0.125% |
0.125% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management AAA-AA-A Corporate Bond All Stocks Index Fund |
0.125% |
0.125% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Future World Global Equity Fund |
0.190% |
0.190% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Cash Fund |
0.100% |
0.100% |
Note: the charges shown above for the three strategies relate to growth period for those strategies.
The Total Expense Ratio sets out the total annual costs involved in running an investment fund. This includes the Annual Management Charge, plus other charges incurred in administering each fund (including, but not limited to, share registration fees, legal fees, auditor fees and custodian fees). The Total Expense Ratio can be expected to vary a little from time to time, but the Annual Management Charge is generally fixed.
The Total Expense Ratios in the following table are for the year to 30 September 2023, as figures to 31 October 2023 are not published.
The QTrust Moderate Growth strategy is used for the Plan’s default investment strategy, which assumes members will use income drawdown in retirement. The charges that apply to this strategy over various periods to retirement are as follows:
|
Period to target retirement age |
Annual Management Charge |
Total Expense Ratio |
|
More than 7 years |
0.1900% |
0.1900% |
|
6¾ to 7 years |
0.1889% |
0.1889% |
|
6½ to 6¾ years |
0.1878% |
0.1878% |
|
6¼ to 6½ years |
0.1866% |
0.1866% |
|
6 to 6¼ years |
0.1855% |
0.1855% |
|
5¾ to 6 years |
0.1844% |
0.1844% |
|
5½ to 5¾ years |
0.1833% |
0.1833% |
|
5¼ to 5½ years |
0.1821% |
0.1821% |
|
5 to 5¼ years |
0.1810% |
0.1810% |
|
4¾ to 5 years |
0.1799% |
0.1799% |
|
4½ to 4¾ years |
0.1788% |
0.1788% |
|
4¼ to 4½ years |
0.1776% |
0.1776% |
|
4 to 4¼ years |
0.1765% |
0.1765% |
|
3¾ to 4 years |
0.1754% |
0.1754% |
|
3½ to 3¾ years |
0.1743% |
0.1743% |
|
3¼ to 3½ years |
0.1731% |
0.1731% |
|
3 to 3¼ years |
0.1720% |
0.1720% |
|
2¾ to 3 years |
0.1709% |
0.1709% |
|
2½ to 2¾ years |
0.1698% |
0.1698% |
|
2¼ to 2½ years |
0.1686% |
0.1686% |
|
2 to 2¼ years |
0.1675% |
0.1675% |
|
1¾ to 2 years |
0.1664% |
0.1664% |
|
1½ to 1¾ years |
0.1653% |
0.1653% |
|
1¼ to 1½ years |
0.1641% |
0.1641% |
|
1 to 1¼ years |
0.1630% |
0.1630% |
|
¾ to 1 year |
0.1619% |
0.1619% |
|
½ to ¾ year |
0.1608% |
0.1608% |
|
¼ to ½ year |
0.1596% |
0.1596% |
|
0 to ¼ year |
0.1585% |
0.1585% |
Transaction costs are incurred as a result of buying, selling, lending or borrowing investments. The costs mainly arise as a result of delivering a fund’s target investment return where a passive or active investment approach is used. As an example, a fund may need to buy or sell assets when members pay money into or take money out of a fund, and the buying or selling of these assets will incur costs.
Transaction costs arise as a result of participating in a financial market and are separate from any annual management charges. The transaction cost for buying or selling an investment includes all costs incurred by the buyer or seller from the point an order to transact is received, to the point at which the transaction is complete. These costs include all charges, commissions, taxes and other associated payments incurred directly or indirectly. These costs are ultimately borne by assets of the arrangement, or of any investment in which the arrangement is directly or indirectly invested. Of these costs, some are easily identifiable as specific costs incurred, but some are less identifiable and may rely on the investment manager’s judgement.
No transaction costs were available for the QTrust Conservative Growth strategy because no member invested in this strategy during the year.
Some transaction costs are negative due to the prescribed method for calculating them.
The investment manager has reported the following transaction costs for the year to 31 October 2023:
|
Fund/strategy |
Transaction cost during the year |
|
QTrust Adventurous Growth strategy |
0.049% |
|
QTrust Moderate Growth strategy |
0.056% |
|
QTrust Conservative Growth strategy |
0.063% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management World Equity Index Fund |
0.041% |
|
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Global Brands Fund |
0.130% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management World Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund |
0.198% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management UK Equity Index Fund |
0.016% |
|
BNY Mellon Real Return Fund |
0.310% |
|
Partners Group Generations Fund |
0.066% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Future World Annuity Aware Fund |
0.094% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management AAA-AA-A Corporate Bond All Stocks Index Fund |
0.066% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Cash Fund |
0.084% |
|
HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund |
0.003% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Future World Global Equity Fund |
0.079% |
Illustration of costs and charges
Active member
The figures in the table below show the effect of the fund managers’ charges on an active member’s pension account value over incremental periods for the next 40 years. The table shows the effect based on the assumptions set out in the notes below.
|
Projected pension account value in today’s money |
||||||||
|
Fund/strategy |
||||||||
|
|
Default investment strategy: QTrust Moderate Growth (leading to income drawdown) |
Legal & General Investment Management World Equity Index Fund |
Partners Group Generations Fund |
Legal & General Investment Management Cash Fund |
||||
|
Years |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
|
1 |
£19,600 |
£19,500 |
£20,000 |
£19,900 |
£20,000 |
£19,600 |
£19,200 |
£19,200 |
|
3 |
£27,800 |
£27,700 |
£29,200 |
£29,100 |
£29,500 |
£28,000 |
£26,300 |
£26,300 |
|
5 |
£36,600 |
£36,400 |
£39,200 |
£39,000 |
£39,900 |
£36,700 |
£33,400 |
£33,300 |
|
10 |
£61,100 |
£60,400 |
£67,800 |
£67,100 |
£70,000 |
£60,100 |
£50,700 |
£50,400 |
|
15 |
£89,200 |
£87,700 |
£102,000 |
£101,000 |
£107,000 |
£86,100 |
£67,700 |
£67,100 |
|
20 |
£121,000 |
£119,000 |
£144,000 |
£142,000 |
£154,000 |
£115,000 |
£84,200 |
£83,200 |
|
25 |
£158,000 |
£154,000 |
£195,000 |
£191,000 |
£211,000 |
£147,000 |
£100,000 |
£99,000 |
|
30 |
£200,000 |
£193,000 |
£256,000 |
£250,000 |
£282,000 |
£182,000 |
£116,000 |
£114,000 |
|
35 |
£248,000 |
£238,000 |
£331,000 |
£321,000 |
£370,000 |
£222,000 |
£131,000 |
£129,000 |
|
40 |
£303,000 |
£290,000 |
£421,000 |
£406,000 |
£479,000 |
£265,000 |
£146,000 |
£143,000 |
Notes
- Projected pension fund values are shown in today’s terms and do not need to be reduced further for the effect of future inflation.
- The starting Pension Account value is assumed to be £15,600.
- Inflation is assumed to be 2.50% each year.
- Contributions are assumed to continue to retirement age and increase in line with assumed earnings inflation of 2.50% each year. Contributions are based on a current salary of £41,000 pa.
- Values shown are estimates and are not guaranteed.
- The projected growth rates before charges for the fund choices are as follows:
- Default investment strategy: 4.25% to 5.20% pa depending on how close a member is to retirement
- Legal & General World Equity Index Fund: 6.50% pa.
- Partners Group Generations Fund: 7.00% pa.
- Legal & General Cash Fund: 2.00% pa.
Deferred member
The figures in the table below show the effect of the fund managers’ charges on a deferred member’s fund value over incremental periods for the next 40 years. The table shows the effect based on the assumptions set out in the notes below the table.
|
Projected pension account value in today’s money |
||||||||
|
Fund/strategy |
||||||||
|
|
Default investment strategy: QTrust Moderate Growth (leading to income drawdown) |
Legal & General Investment Management World Equity Index Fund |
Partners Group Generations Fund |
Legal & General Investment Management Cash Fund |
||||
|
Years |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
Before charges |
After all charges & costs deducted |
|
1 |
£6,610 |
£6,600 |
£6,750 |
£6,740 |
£6,790 |
£6,640 |
£6,470 |
£6,460 |
|
3 |
£6,870 |
£6,830 |
£7,290 |
£7,260 |
£7,390 |
£6,920 |
£6,410 |
£6,390 |
|
5 |
£7,190 |
£7,120 |
£7,870 |
£7,820 |
£8,060 |
£7,210 |
£6,340 |
£6,310 |
|
10 |
£8,200 |
£8,050 |
£9,530 |
£9,410 |
£9,900 |
£8,000 |
£6,190 |
£6,130 |
|
15 |
£9,380 |
£9,130 |
£11,500 |
£11,300 |
£12,400 |
£8,870 |
£6,040 |
£5,950 |
|
20 |
£10,700 |
£10,400 |
£14,000 |
£13,600 |
£15,400 |
£9,850 |
£5,890 |
£5,780 |
|
25 |
£12,300 |
£11,700 |
£16,900 |
£16,400 |
£19,000 |
£10,900 |
£5,750 |
£5,610 |
|
30 |
£14,100 |
£13,300 |
£20,500 |
£19,700 |
£23,600 |
£12,100 |
£5,610 |
£5,450 |
|
35 |
£16,100 |
£15,100 |
£24,800 |
£23,700 |
£29,200 |
£13,400 |
£5,480 |
£5,290 |
|
40 |
£18,400 |
£17,100 |
£30,100 |
£28,500 |
£36,300 |
£14,900 |
£5,350 |
£5,140 |
Notes
- Projected pension fund values are shown in today’s terms and do not need to be reduced further for the effect of future inflation.
- The starting Pension Account value is assumed to be £6,500.
- Inflation is assumed to be 2.50% each year.
- No further contributions are assumed.
- Values shown are estimates and are not guaranteed.
- The projected growth rates for the fund choices are as follows:
- Default investment strategy: 4.25% to 5.20% pa depending on how close a member is to retirement
- Legal & General World Equity Index Fund: 6.50% pa.
- Partners Group Generations Fund: 7.00% pa.
- Legal & General Cash Fund: 2.00% pa.
Value for members
The Trustee is required by law to assess, on an annual basis, the extent to which member-borne charges and transaction costs represent good value for members. It is difficult to give a precise legal definition of “good value”, but the Trustee considers that it broadly means “that the combination of costs and the quality of what is provided in return for those costs is appropriate for the Plan membership as a whole, when compared to other options available in the market”. The assessment was undertaken taking account of the Pensions Regulator’s Code of Practice No.13 (Governance and administration of occupational trust-based Plans providing money purchase benefits). The last review was produced in March 2024, covering the year to 31 October 2023. This review (which takes into account the additional requirements of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration, Investment, Charges and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2021) concluded that the Plan continues to provide good value for members when compared with three other schemes. This is because the Plan has very low charges and good investment performance when compared to those schemes, as well as strong governance.
The Trustee notes that value for money does not necessarily mean the lowest fee, and the overall quality of the service received has also been considered in this assessment. The Trustee’s investment advisers have confirmed that the fund charges are competitive for the types of fund available to members.
The Trustee’s assessment also included a review of the performance of the funds (after all charges) in the context of their investment objectives. The Trustee is of the opinion that the returns on the funds during the period covered by this statement were largely consistent with their stated investment objectives.
In carrying out the assessment, the Trustee also considered the other benefits members receive from the Plan, which include:
• the oversight and governance of the Trustee, including ensuring the Plan is compliant with relevant legislation and holding regular meetings to monitor the Plan and address any material issues that may impact members
• the design of the default arrangement and how this reflects the membership
• the range of investment options and strategies
• the quality of communications delivered to members
• the efficiency of administration processes and the extent to which the administrator met or exceeded its service level standards for the Plan year.
The Trustee is comfortable with the quality and efficiency of the Plan’s administration processes. In addition, the Trustees believe that the transaction costs provide value for members as the ability to transact forms an integral part of the investment approaches, and is expected to lead to greater investment returns net of fees over time.
Net investment returns
Annualised net investment returns to 31 October 2023 for the default investment strategy were as follows:
|
Age of member in 2023 (years) |
5 years (2018 to 2023) |
7 years (2016 to 2023) |
|
25 |
4.6% |
5.0% |
|
35 |
4.6% |
5.0% |
|
45 |
4.6% |
5.0% |
|
55 |
4.6% |
5.0% |
|
65 |
4.3% |
4.8% |
Annualised net investment returns to 31 October 2023 for the self-select funds were as follows:
|
Fund/strategy |
5 years (2018 to 2023) |
7 years (2016 to 2023) |
|
QTrust Adventurous Growth strategy |
8.7% |
8.7% |
|
QTrust Moderate Growth strategy |
4.6% |
5.0% |
|
QTrust Conservative Growth strategy |
1.0% |
1.7% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management World Equity Index Fund |
9.4% |
9.3% |
|
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Global Brands Fund |
9.7% |
10.0% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management World Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund |
3.4% |
2.8% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management UK Equity Index Fund |
3.9% |
4.4% |
|
BNY Mellon Real Return Fund |
2.8% |
1.6% |
|
Partners Group Generations Fund |
6.3% |
6.4% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Future World Annuity Aware Fund |
-4.3% |
-2.6% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management AAA-AA-A Corporate Bond All Stocks Index Fund |
-1.6% |
-0.7% |
|
Legal & General Investment Management Cash Fund |
1.1% |
0.9% |