LV= commences launch of new investment 'Platform Services'

With the launch of its new ‘Platform Services’ option for Advisers LV= has completed the next stage of its plan to broaden access to its range of Smoothed Managed Fund (SMF) investments. This will provide access to a wider range of advisers and investors. 

The LV= branded service has been developed using Embark’s award winning platform technology and as part of a white label partnership, The new Platform Service option from LV= will enable advisers to choose to trade its Smoothed Managed Fund (SMF) range on Embark’s full investment functionality including blending capabilities alongside the full range of over 5,000 funds available from Embark and through SIPP, ISA and GIA* wrappers. 

The new Platform Services is conveniently accessed directly from LV’s recently launched new Adviser Portal, as an additional service option that can be selected alongside its existing ‘Packaged Service’ option (which includes Bonds, SIPP and ISA wrappers as well as fixed term annuities). The integration of the new platform service into the LV= adviser journey means advisers will be provided with a single view of their clients’ portfolio irrespective of which service options they select. Customers will also be able to view their investments through LV’s digital ‘My LV=’ portal.

LV= Smoothed Managed Funds can complement a retirement portfolio and will appeal to people approaching retirement or drawing an income from their pension, especially where advisers want to make recommendations that reduce the volatility of the retirement funds to help improve investor composure for their customers.

Clive Bolton, Managing Director of Protection, Savings & Retirement at LV=, said: 

“LV’s range of Smoothed Managed Funds are popular with advisers seeking access to investment solutions that materially reduce volatility for more cautious investors who are less comfortable living with investment risk. The funds’ smoothing mechanism is unique in the market, and based on the previous 26-week daily rolling averaging of the underlying fund price. It is therefore easy to understand, simple for advisers to explain to their clients and in smoothing out the day-to-day volatility of the markets enables them to be more confident about how they can design and provide a more composed investment experience for their customers. 

“Up until now advisers typically have to make a choice to shape a client’s investment solutions using either a provider’s ’off-platform’ insured products alongside other selected fund options versus an ‘on-platform’ wider range of fund options with a typically more digitised and efficient user journey.  We think that this on and off-platform separation is unhelpful and that advisers should increasingly be able to efficiently access the benefits of both our insured options such as LV= Smoothed Managed Funds and also our Fixed Term Annuities, alongside wider on-platform funds options, including modelled portfolios and discretionary fund solutions. 

“Through our partnership with Embark and by deploying their award winning technology and services inside our adviser support and user journey, we’re removing that separation; offering more flexibility for advisers to build solutions that best serve their customers’ needs and preferences and we believe will be of increasing appeal for advisers looking for ways to reduce volatility by accessing an element of smoothing into a client’s investment portfolio. 

Access via platform technology is part of a series of improvements made over the last couple of years to update the SMF range and make it easier for advisers to write business with LV=.” 

Ranila Ravi Burslem, Intermediary Distribution Director, Embark Group said: 

“We have invested significantly in making our technology available for white label partners to use their way. It is a resounding endorsement of our position as a trusted white label provider that LV= have been able to bring their Smoothed Managed Funds to advisers via a platform in such an integrated way.

“LV’s partnership with us illustrates the value of Lloyds Banking Group’s continued investment in our platform and white labelling capabilities to capture the momentum and growth we are seeing in the adviser market.”

About LV’s Smoothed Managed Funds

LV’s Smoothed Managed Funds are a range of multi-asset, risk-rated funds designed to grow investors’ money while providing them with a composed, low volatility investor experience.

The funds provide an investment journey with a smoother return profile than is generally available from many multi-asset investment funds by smoothing out the daily stock market movements. This is attractive to cautious investors who are uncomfortable with the ups and downs of stock market investment and more concerned about possible losses than probable gains.

The funds invest in a diversified portfolio of fixed interest securities, equities, property, and cash. They use a smoothing mechanism that takes the average of a fund’s daily underlying price over the previous 26 weeks to produce a ‘smoothed’ fund price. This process aims to reduce the stress and worry of stock market investing, and avoid sudden shocks and cliff-edge falls in investment performance.

LV=’s Smoothed Managed Fund range is designed to provide steady long-term growth over a period of at least five years. LV=’s smoothing process does not mean investments will not drop in value. Smoothing will not prevent losses in longer-term falling markets and investments may go down as well as up. The smoothing process has continued to perform as intended through the extreme volatility seen as a result of Covid-19. However, in exceptional market conditions (when the underlying price is 80% of the averaged or ‘smoothed’ price) the fund will be valued on the underlying price. We also reserve the right to do this at other times.

Since the launch of the fund series in 2006, the smoothing process has withstood market volatility and has not ‘snapped’ down to the underlying price.  The maximum daily negative market movement on a fully smoothed investment in the SMF fund range is 0.20%.