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3.1.3 Charges and Commissions

  • All products will have a charging structure depending on some or all of the following factors:-


    1. Amount and frequency of contribution or involvement.
    2. Term of the contract.
    3. Ease of access or notice period required.
    4. Type of contract i.e. investment, savings, protection.
  • Unit linked products generally have explicit charges built into the contract and calculated as a percentage of the value of units.

  • The exception to this rule is the unitised with profit fund which generally allows the actuary to control the unit price in certain circumstances to inhibit the withdrawal of funds buy use of a 'market value adjuster'.

  • With profits products have implicit charges, taken into account in the calculation of bonuses.

  • Deposit accounts and National Savings products also work on an implicit charge basis.

  • Shares and gilts generally have dealing charges calculated by a combination of flat rate and percentage charges relative to the scale of the purchase or sale.

  • Commission payments are one of the reasons charges are incurred on products, as they increase the cost of selling the product. Where commission is paid on up-front indemnity terms in particular, the cost is heavy, and will usually be funded by reduced allocation of contribution over the first few years. Details can be found on key features documents


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