Notification of changes to the underlying fund of R149 Fidelity Sustainable Europe Equity
28 Feb 2025
R149 Fidelity Sustainable Europe Equity (the “ILP sub-fund”)
We have been notified by Fidelity Funds (“Fidelity”) of the following changes to the underlying fund of the ILP sub-fund named above. These changes will take effect from 28 March 2025 (the “Effective Date”).
Change of name
Fidelity has advised that from the Effective Date, the underlying fund of the ILP sub-fund will be renamed from Fidelity Funds – Sustainable Europe Equity Fund to Fidelity Funds – Europe Equity ESG Fund. Accordingly, the ILP sub-fund name will change from the Effective Date:
| Current ILP sub-fund name | ILP sub-fund name from the Effective Date |
|---|---|
| R149 Fidelity Sustainable Europe Equity | R149 Fidelity Europe Equity ESG (EUR) |
Fidelity state that the name change of the underlying fund is for consistency within its fund range and does not impact the fund investment objective or policy.
Additional exclusions
From the Effective Date, the underlying fund of the ILP sub-fund will apply Paris-aligned Benchmark exclusions, in addition to its current Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) exclusions.
Introduced by the EU in December 2019 as a key legislative initiative of its ‘Action Plan: Sustainable Growth’, Paris-aligned benchmarks set a harmonised EU-wide standard for the implementation of decarbonisation objectives by requiring investment portfolios to ‘self-decarbonise’ by 7% of their emissions annually.
Paris-aligned Benchmark exclusions typically exclude fossil fuel companies, high carbon emitters and companies which violate environmental standards. The exclusions are designed to support the transition to a low-carbon economy and climate change mitigation. Fidelity note that it does not consider the Paris-aligned Benchmark exclusions to be disruptive to the investment process of the underlying fund of the ILP sub-fund.
These changes will take effect automatically and policyholders do not need to take any action. We recommend that policyholders seek the advice of their usual financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
We have contacted impacted policyholders and their financial advisers to notify them of the changes; primarily by e-shot, with letters sent by post where we do not hold a valid email, and to those who prefer to receive letters by post. A sample of the client communication can be found opposite.
Should you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the Investment Marketing Team.
