Update relating to your Utmost (ex – Aviva UK) International Bond
Client Question and Answers
Date: 04 November 2021
What is happening?
From 29 November, the policy administration and servicing related to your Utmost International Bond will move to our Utmost customer support team in our Navan office. This will result in some changes to the servicing of your Bond, which we will cover in this document.
Whom can I contact about my policy?
From 29 November 2021, policyholders and their advisers can contact the customer support team using the following details:
Telephone: +353 (0)46 909 9700
E-mail: client.services@utmost.ie
Postal address: Utmost, Navan Business Park, Athlumney, Navan, Co. Meath, C15 CCW8, Ireland.
Office opening hours are 8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. Our offices will be closed on Irish bank holidays and there will be no pricing or processing completed on those days.
Is there a change to how I place trade instructions on my International Premier Portfolio policy?
Yes. After 26 November 2021, we will no longer accept instructions by fax as the current fax number will no longer be in operation. Instructions must now be emailed to etrading@utmost.ie or posted to Utmost, Navan Business Park, Athlumney, Navan, Co. Meath, C15 CCW8, Ireland. The updated “Dealing Instruction” form is available on our website, at the link here: https://utmostinternational.com/wealth-solutions/customer-support/aviva-life-international/forms-guides/
Additionally, from 29 November 2021, we will only be able to support trading of USD, EUR and GBP assets.
Will there be a change to my policy number reference?
Yes. Your policy number will change and you will see this new reference number on your future valuation statements. We are retaining your current policy number reference, and will support requests and queries using either number.
What Online Service Portal should I access to view my policy?
You will be able to view your policy and have access to your current valuation on the Utmost Online Service Portal. You will need to register for this service. If you are interested in getting access to our Online Service Portal, please complete the attached form, and send it to our Business Implementation Team at bit@utmost.ie. We will send an email to the address provided after 26 November with clear instructions on how to complete the user registration process.
Where do I access the servicing forms for instructing a change to my policy?
This process remains unchanged, you will continue to access all policy related forms in Utmost’s online document library, via the link below
Will I continue to receive a valuation statement by post?
Yes, you will continue to receive your valuation statements by post, unless you opt to receive them electronically.
However, we are changing the frequency of these statements, and from Quarter 1 2022, we will send one valuation statement covering the previous calendar year. The Utmost Online Service Portal gives you the ability to access your latest valuation, in a downloadable or printable format on demand. Please complete the attached form and sent it to our Business Implementation Team at bit@utmost.ie if you wish to register for the Utmost Online Portal. You can also opt to receive communications such as valuations electronically with this form.
Will there be any change to the information displayed on my valuation statement?
The “look and feel” of your valuation statement will be different but the main content will remain the same with the following exceptions. The table below outlines these changes which depend on the product you are invested in.
| Change | Product Affected |
|---|---|
| Accrued interest on a variable deposit or notice deposit account will no longer be visible on your valuation statement. | International Premier Portfolio Bond |
| There may be a marginal difference in historical valuations compared to what you may have received previously. This is due to a change in the provider that we use to source our pricing data. | International Premier Portfolio Bond |
| For the trade date of a transaction displayed will be the actual price date of the trade. Currently, the date displayed is the date the trade is input into the system which is not always reflective of the date the trade is actually placed. |
International Portfolio Bond International With Profits Bond International Core Fund Bond International Investment Bond |
| If you have had a pre-RDR Investment Advisor Charge on your policy these may appear on your statement as an “Ad-hoc advisor charge”. This change has no impact to you as the policyholder or the adviser to which the payment was made. |
International Portfolio Bond International Premier Portfolio Bond International With Profits Bond International Core Fund Bond International Investment Bond |
Any further changes, if applicable, will be communicated to you with your first annual valuation statement in Quarter 1 2022.
Is there a change to the way I will receive payments?
Your current method for receipt of regular withdrawals, and other withdrawal/surrender requests will remain the same.
Will there be any change to payments to my adviser?
For International Portfolio Bond, International With Profits Bond, International Core Fund Bond and International Investment Bond, investment adviser fees are currently paid either quarterly, yearly or half-yearly, as chosen by you and your adviser on the original instruction. From 29 November 2021, this fee will be payable on a monthly basis.
Renewal commission to your adviser, where applicable, will move from an annual to monthly payment. You do not need to do anything in relation to the above changes to adviser payments.
Are there any changes to any other services currently offered?
Yes, there are some changes in the services offered as follows:
- Regular withdrawal payment frequencies of monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly will continue however, bi-monthly and termly withdrawal frequency options will not be available.
- Our offices are closed on Irish bank holidays and there will be no pricing or processing completed on these days.
- We will no longer accept additional top-up investments on any products currently held.
Will there be a change to the custodian service?
Currently Danske Bank provide the custodian service for Utmost cash and assets. From November 2021, Citibank will provide the custodian service.
Will there be a change to the stockbrokerage?
Utmost will use the stockbrokerage services provided by Jefferies International PLC to execute any ETF or Investment Trust orders.
Buy and Sell trades will be subject to a 0.20% charge or a minimum of €40 (or currency equivalent) local market levies and Stamp duties will be applied as applicable. Stop loss and limit orders are not supported. Subject to receipt in good order, the cut off for same day execution is 15:30 Irish Standard Time.
Where possible, we request that you use our online dealing facility available through our secure Online Service Centre. This will ensure that dealing instructions aredealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible. We will also accept scanned instructions to etrading@utmost.ie
Our normal service standards for dealing instructions received in good order:
- Non-Equity/Non-ETF trades cut-off time is 10:30 Irish Time.
- Exchange traded/ETF trades cut-off time is 15:30 Irish Time.
Where possible, all sale orders should be instructed on a unit basis. Order size minimums will need to reflect those minimum levels applied by external fund houses.
Will I continue to receive dividend payments where due on my International Premier Portfolio Bond?
We will collect dividends in the form of cash payments, rather than receiving reinvested dividend units. These are added to your dealing account in the currency distributed to us, and may help with cash management. In order to provide a more efficient dividend processing service, we are unable to accept requests to receive dividends in the form of reinvested units.
Will there be any changes to the charges on the Utmost internal funds?
As mentioned previously, Citibank will become custodian for our internal fund range. Citibank levy a £9.50 transaction charge (per transaction) and 0.015% annual custody fee. These charges are applied at a fund level and will be factored into the daily price.
Is there any change to my product charges?
There are some minor changes on the International Premier Portfolio, International With Profit Bond and International Core Funds Bond, detailed below. There are two changes to the contract charges for the International Premier Portfolio:
- Currently charges are payable on the last Friday of March, June and September and on 31 December. From 29 November, all contract charges will be deducted on quarter end dates (31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December).
- There will be no pro-rata calculation of the maintenance charge when a full surrender request is received mid quarter, resulting in no pro-rata commission payment.
- Currently, both the dealing and custodian charges are each set at GBP21, EUR32 and USD32. Going forward, when charged in EUR and USD, they will be based on the currency equivalent of GBP21, using FX rates loaded into our system on a daily basis. These charges will be reviewed annually and may increase in line with indexed linked inflation.
- The Fund Management Charge on the International With Profit Bond & International Core Funds Bond is currently payable on the last pricing day before the monthly policy anniversary. From 29 November, this charge will be deducted on the monthly policy anniversary date.