Life offices take cautious approach to with-profits

strategy

chelsea survey suggests average fund has 38% exposure to equities and 43% to bonds

Life offices are maintaining a cautious approach to investing in with-profits funds, with many shying away from equities and commercial property and some keeping as much as a quarter of their assets in cash. As of 21 June, the average life office had 38% of its assets in equities, a figure that drops to 30% for with-profits funds that are closed to new business, according to statistics compiled by Chelsea Financial Services. But these figures disguise high disparities. Liverpool Victoria has a 63% stake in shares, while Scottish Equitable has only 18% in the asset class. This is lower tha...