Hibernian Launch Secure Capital Fund

First new product available to both broker and bank customers following Joint Venture with AIB

18th January 2007

Hibernian Life & Pensions this week launches its Secure Capital Fund into the investment market. This is the first new product available to both broker and bank customer following the signing of the Joint Venture deal with AIB in January 2006.

Following on from the company’s highly successful Guaranteed Fund, the Secure Capital Fund has been designed to provide returns linked to stockmarket performance, while at the same time reducing the risk to customers of a traditional stockmarket investment.

The Secure Capital Fund offers the following benefits:

Stockmarket investment linked to Hibernian’s High Yield Fund and Aviva’s European Property Fund (the “equity basket”)
A capital guarantee at the sixth anniversary
A ‘lock-in’ at the sixth anniversary of 80% of the highest ever month end unit price to provide your clients with additional protections against the vagaries of the stockmarket

At the outset all sums invested will have a 60% exposure to the equity basket and 40% to fixed interest securities – a similar split to Hibernian’s extremely popular Guaranteed Fund Series 2. Over time the exposure to each asset will vary depending on the performance of the funds, though the total exposure to the equity basket is guaranteed not to go below 25% of the total investment.

A major selling point of the Secure Capital Fund is the in-built protection available to investors on the sixth anniversary of the investment being made. The value on this date is the greater of:

- 100% of the full investment value of the units attaching, or
- 80% of the value of the units attaching, based on the highest ever month end unit price achieved at any time during the six year period, or
- 100% of the amount invested at the outset, assuming no withdrawals have been made (the minimum benefit will be reduced proportionately for withdrawals and switches)

A further plus point of the Secure Capital Fund is that while it is best suited for people investing six years or longer, there is an understanding that investor’s circumstances can change and that they may need emergency access to cash before the end of the six year period. As a result a facility for early encashment is available, though there is no guarantee of what the investment will be worth at this time.

Gareth McQuillan, marketing and product development director of Hibernian Life & Pensions said: “The Secure Capital Fund is a low to medium risk investment which should appeal to a broad range of investor. With returns linked to Hibernian’s High Yield Fund and Aviva’s European Property Fund, this investment offers exposure to two very attractive funds with extremely impressive track records. What will be of particular interest to the more cautious investor is that at the sixth anniversary they can be sure that their investment will be worth at least the full amount of money invested at the outset.”

The Secure Capital Fund has several distinct advantages over other similar products in the market at the moment:

- At 1.65% p.a. the annual management fee is very competitive
- The 80% lock-in feature adds additionally security in the event of volatile investment conditions,
The guarantee of 25% minimum exposure to an equity basket means that even if stockmarket performance is poor during the term, the fund still retains the ability to benefit from a market recovery

Gareth McQuillan added: “We have every expectation that the Secure Capital Fund will add to Hibernian’s excellent reputation for providing innovative and successful products for investors looking for capital-secure options.”

The Secure Capital Fund is available from brokers under Hibernian’s Spectrum Bond and from AIB under the AIB Investment Portfolio.

About Hibernian

Hibernian Group is Ireland’s largest composite insurer, ranked first for general insurance and top three for life and pensions.
Hibernian Group is a subsidiary of Aviva plc, the world’s fifth-largest insurance group and the UK’s largest insurance services provider (based on gross worldwide premiums at 31 December 2005), and is one of the leading providers of life and pension products to Europe, with substantial positions in other markets around the world. Aviva employs 58,000 staff worldwide.
Aviva’s principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £41.5 billion and assets under management of £364 billion at 31 December 2006.
Morley is the UK-based asset management business of Aviva plc. Firms within the Morley group of companies manage £169bn (€247bn) from offices around the world as at 30 April 2007.
With a strong track record in the property arena, Morley has seven European property funds focusing on a range of sectors and markets and over the last 24 months has acquired over 50 properties in 11 countries. These funds account for over €1.1bn of European assets under management.
In 2006 Morley Fund Management won two awards at the Central and Eastern European Real Estate Quality awards taking ‘Outstanding Company of the Year’ and ‘Investor of the Year’ for its Central European Property activities.
The product information above is for press release purposes only; full details are contained in the product literature available from Hibernian.
The value of property investments is generally a matter of valuer’s opinion rather than fact. In addition, property investments may not always be readily saleable and very occasionally there may be constraints on cashing in units.
The value of investments abroad may rise and fall due to exchange rate movements.