IMA MAKES CHANGES TO PROTECTED/GUARANTEED SECTOR

Following a review by the IMA Performance Category Review Committee (PCRC), the Investment Management Association's (IMA) announces the "Protected/Guaranteed" sector has been renamed the "Protected" sector and the definition has been revised.

Funds in the new Protected sector will be flagged under two headings - "Capital Protection at Maturity" and "Protection/Floor Funds" from 1^st December 2009. The new definition is:

Protected Funds

Funds, other than money market funds, which principally aim to provide a return of a set amount of capital back to the investor (either explicitly protected or via an investment strategy highly likely to achieve this objective) plus the potential for some investment return.

Note:
Funds in this sector typically offer a strategy which protects all or part of the investors' capital. Depending on the type of protection provided investors may be exposed to the risk of counterparty default and with some types of fund may not get back their original investment if encashing early.  Investors may need to seek investment advice to ascertain the quality of the protection on offer.

-ENDS-

1. The newly named Protected sector is home to 50 funds   
   
   
2. The newly named Protected sector replaces the Protected/Guaranteed sector. The Protected/Guaranteed sector was launched in April 1999. The old definition is:

Protected/Guaranteed Funds
Funds, other than money market funds, which principally aim to provide a return of a set amount of capital back to the investor (either explicitly guaranteed or via an investment strategy highly likely to achieve this objective) plus some market upside.

3. The purpose of the IMA sectors is to provide consumers and financial advisers with a framework for comparing funds. The market for fund products remains dynamic. As a consequence the universe of funds available to investors in the UK changes over time. IMA sectors definitions are, therefore, reviewed on a rolling basis to ensure they remain relevant
   
   
4. The PCRC is the IMA Performance Category Review Committee, a committee with the remit to oversee the integrity of the IMA sectors.  Committee members are drawn from IMA member firms, data vendors and the sector monitoring company, Lipper, as well as IMA staff.
   
   
5. About Investment Management Association
   IMA is the trade body for the UK's £3 trillion asset management industry. The money its members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs. Its role is to represent the industry and promote high standards.

For further information, please contact:
Noreen Shah, Press Officer, IMA, 020 7831 0898
Ginny Broad, Head of Communications, IMA, 020 7831 0898 or 07834 089332

The IMA's press releases and statistical information can all be found at www.investmentuk.org.