Scottish Life, the pensions specialist arm of the Royal London Group, has received independent validation of its Governed Retirement Income Portfolios (GRIPs) proposition from AKG, the specialist financial services consultancy firm.
AKG assessed the value that the portfolios can provide for advisers, in terms of meeting their regulatory compliance requirements in the drawdown market.
The portfolios, together with the Scottish Life Income Planning tool, are designed specifically to support intermediaries in the drawdown advice process and are subject to the same overarching investment governance process that underpins the award winning Governed Portfolios range.
Lead author of the AKG report, Nigel Balchin, said:
"Scottish Life's Governed Retirement Income Portfolios and the Income Planning tool are examples of genuine innovation in the drawdown market.
"The tool provides a robust approach -- one that intermediaries can rely on as part of their toolkit in advising drawdown clients. It is purpose built; it captures information from the factfind; and it presents the results in a clear and transparent way. AKG believes that the tool is the first of its kind in the market, with questions about both ‘capacity for loss' and ‘risk attitude' specifically designed for the at retirement market.
"As regards the GRIPs, it's absolutely critical to manage risk during the decumulation stage. While this is a relatively straightforward process with the right systems, it can be very time consuming and costly if intermediaries carry it out themselves. We believe that GRIPs currently offer the only investment proposition which has been specifically designed for decumulation using this approach."
Lorna Blyth, Investment Marketing Manager at Scottish Life, said:
"Since launching the Governed Retirement Income Portfolios we've been keen to demonstrate through independent evaluation how they can add value for advisers.
"The AKG report shows how the GRIPs can provide real value to an intermediary, and will no doubt be an integral part of the ‘due diligence' that advisers will want to have in place in relation to their investment recommendations to clients."
The Governed Retirement Income Portfolios comprise five risk-rated portfolios designed for investors wishing to take regular income, whilst following an investment strategy consistent with their circumstances, namely their risk appetite and their capacity for loss.
The AKG review of Scottish Life's Governed Retirement Income Portfolios (GRIPs) and Income Planning Tool is available at www.scottishlife.co.uk/AKG
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