- Platinum Bond Plus is a ‘with profits’ investment. What does that mean?
With-profits investments are designed to cushion investors from the extremes and sudden ups and downs of the stock market, using a technique called ‘smoothing’ to even out the investment returns over time.
Platinum Bond Plus is a lump-sum, with-profits investment. You invest a lump sum of your money in Platinum Bond Plus, which is then pooled together with the money of lots of other investors into our ‘with-profits fund’.
- How much can I invest in Platinum Bond Plus?
Platinum Bond Plus is no longer available to new customers, but if you have already invested, the minimum investment was £1000 and the maximum investment was £250,000.
- How can I find out how my investment is performing?
We’ll send you a statement once a year on the anniversary of your investment, which gives you a cash-in value for your investment at the time, details of any Bonuses and charges (deductions)which have been applied in the previous year. We’ll also include a leaflet about how the with-profits fund is performing.
You can also get an up-to-date valuation of your Platinum Bond Plus whenever you need it, by calling us on 08457 46 46 46. We may need to send you your valuation in the post, so this might take a few days.
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- I’ve heard that Market Value Reductions (MVRs) can sometimes be applied to with-profits investments. What does this mean?
Because lots of investors’ money is pooled together in the ‘with-profits fund’, we have to make sure any profits or losses made by the fund are shared-out amongst investors fairly when they come to cash their investment in.
Basically, any profits are shared-out as bonuses, and any losses are also shared-out as a Market Value Reduction (MVR).
- How long will my money be invested for?
Platinum Bond Plus has no fixed investment term, so you can invest for as long as you like. It should be seen as a medium to long-term investment (at least 5 years or more).
- Where will my money be invested?
Your money will be invested in our ‘with-profits fund’ which is managed by our investment experts. The Fund Manager frequently adjusts the investments in the fund, when they find the best opportunities.
- Can I take money out?
Platinum Bond Plus is a medium to long-term investment, not a savings account, so you should intend to leave your money in for as long as possible, to give it the best chance to grow.
But you can make withdrawals (either occasional ‘one-off’ withdrawals, or more often as a regular ‘income’). Bear in mind that any withdrawals you make will reduce the amount you get back when you cash your investment in.
- Is The Co-operative Investments covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme?
Yes. We are covered by the Scheme, which is designed to protect investors should a financial services company become insolvent and not be able to meet it’s obligations to you.
The maximum level of compensation available from the Scheme would be 90% of the value of your claim.
