Section Heading
Passive IRIS
Individual Retirement Investment Strategy
1
Contents
Passive IRIS at a Glance
1
A Lifestyle Investment Strategy
2
Introducing Passive IRIS
4
• A straightforward approach to retirement planning
• Passive IRIS follows three key principles
• Passive fund management
• About State Street Global Advisors
Passive IRIS in Action
6
Overview of Passive IRIS Asset Classes
8
Passive IRIS at a Glance
Aim
To grow and safeguard a pension investor’s retirement savings based on
their expected year of retirement.
Suitability
Suitable for pension investors who want to take a retirement lump sum
and purchase an income for life. If you plan on investing in an Approved
Retirement Fund at retirement, you can invest in Passive IRIS and then
review your position about 5 years from retirement.
Style
Passively managed*
Managed by
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) - a global leader in asset management.
Asset Mix
Equities, Property, Bonds and Cash. The mix varies depending on the
investor’s term to retirement. The longer the term to retirement, the higher
the proportion invested in equities and other assets which offer greater
growth potential. As the term to retirement reduces, the equity content is
reduced and the cash and bond content is increased.
Risk Rating
Lifestyle
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: If you invest in this fund you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
Warning: This fund may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
* Except for the management of Property and Cash
1
A Lifestyle Investment Strategy
A recognised approach to
retirement planning
A Lifestyle Investment Strategy is an investment strategy that is specifically designed for pension
investors.
This strategy recognises the fact that your investment needs will be different depending on your term
to retirement. It is designed to match these changing needs by automatically targeting the most
appropriate level of risk - a higher level of risk when you are far from retirement and want to grow your
fund and a lower level of risk as you near retirement and want to safeguard your fund.
Passive IRIS follows Bank of Ireland Life’s lifestyle investment strategy. The chart on page 6 shows
how Passive IRIS de-risks as you move towards retirement.
START
Early career
2
GROW
EARLY-Mid career
Pension Journey
Career Path
Start
Early career
Grow
EARLY-Mid career
Consolidate
Late career
Retire
Retirement
CONSOLIDATE
RETIRE
Late career
Retirement
3
Introducing Passive IRIS
A Straightforward Approach to Retirement Planning
Saving for retirement can be a complicated process. It can involve a lot of choices and decisions:
• How much should I invest in stock markets?
• Will my investment have time to recover if markets fall?
• Is now a good time to invest?
• Should I switch into a different fund as my retirement date approaches?
With Passive IRIS you invest in one fund which automatically manages these issues for you.
Passive IRIS Follows Three Key Principles
1.You can stay in the same fund
Many investment strategies work by moving you from fund to fund over time, possibly as often as
every month. Our Passive IRIS lifestyle investment strategy is different. You invest in just one fund
which is based on your expected year of retirement. Any switching or movement in and out of
different types of assets happens within this fund.
2.When you are far from retirement you can afford to take some investment risk
When you are investing for a very long time (15 years or more), you can focus on growth. If the
value of your investment falls due to short term market fluctuations, you should have plenty of time
for it to recover. When you are far from retirement Passive IRIS automatically invests more of your
money in assets with greater growth potential – such as equities – to try to generate long term
growth.
3.When you are close to retirement you need to preserve the purchasing power of your savings
As you approach your expected retirement date, you cannot afford to take much risk with the value
of your investment. If your fund falls in value, it may not have enough time to recover. You also need
to begin planning for your retirement and this can only be done if you have some certainty about the
pension income you will receive each month. Close to retirement, Passive IRIS automatically invests
in assets with the aim of safeguarding the income and lump sum you can take at retirement.
4
Passive Fund Management
Investment funds can be managed on either an active or passive basis. Passive management means
the fund manager invests a predetermined percentage of the fund into each asset type and tracks the
overall performance of each, rather than trying to predict which specific stock or asset will perform
best. Tracking an index is a popular method of passive management.
Passive IRIS is passively managed and aims to track a range of indices across different asset classes.
For example the equity element of Passive IRIS tracks the MSCI World Index (with 75% currency
hedging). See page 8 for more details. By tracking a global index, such as the MSCI World Index an
investment portfolio typically gets good diversification and low transaction costs. Tracking an index
also removes the perceived risk of choosing a single fund manager.
About State Street Global Advisors (SSgA)
SSgA is the asset management business of State Street Corporation, one of the world’s leading
providers of financial services to institutional investors. SSgA is a global leader in asset management
relied on by sophisticated investors worldwide for their disciplined investment process, powerful global
investment platform and access to every major asset class, capitalisation range and style.
• State Street Corporation dates back over two centuries
• SSgA is a global leader in asset management
• 29 global offices – 10 investment centres and 24 hour global trading capability
• Employs over 2,400 people around the world
As one of the world’s leading passive fund managers SSgA offers Irish investors
• Greater access to financial markets
• Exceptional accuracy of index tracking
• World class cost efficiencies
SSgA manage over €1.6 trillion in assets worldwide (as at December 2012).
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: If you invest in this fund you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
Warning: This fund may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
5
Passive IRIS In Action
The chart below illustrates how Passive IRIS de-risks as you move towards retirement. The allocation
to each asset class will change during each year as the fund is gradually de-risked.
15+ Years to Retirement
15 Years to Retirement
15 years
14 years
13 years
12 years
11 years
10 Years to Retirement
10 years
9 years
8 years
7 years
6 years
5 Years to Retirement
5 years
4 years
3 years
2 years
1 year
At Retirement
n Equities
n Property
n Corporate Bonds
6
n Government Bonds
n Long Dated Bonds
n Cash
With 15 years or more to retirement Passive IRIS aims to maximise growth, investing mainly in
equities but also in property and bonds.
From 15 years to retirement Passive IRIS starts to gradually de-risk, decreasing its weighting in
equities and increasing its holding in bonds.
Between 10 and 5 years from retirement the rate at which equities are replaced by bonds increases.
As you get close to retirement Passive IRIS continues to de-risk, increasing its allocation to cash and
long-dated bonds.
At retirement Passive IRIS is invested in long-dated bonds and cash. You can then use your fund to
take a retirement lump sum and purchase an annuity to provide you with an income in retirement.
Note: The figures shown in the chart are approximate values only and may be subject to
change in the future.
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: If you invest in this fund you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
Warning: This fund may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
Overview of Passive IRIS
Asset Classes
Equities
Equities are shares in companies listed on stock markets. Passive IRIS aims to track the
performance of the MSCI World Index (with 75% currency hedging). Currency hedging provides
substantial protection for investors against changes in currency exchange rates.
Property
Property can include office, retail, industrial and other real estate assets.
Passive IRIS invests in a portfolio of prime commercial properties primarily in Ireland, the UK and
mainland Europe.
As a long term investment, property can potentially provide a higher rate of return than lower risk
assets and offers diversification from equities.
Corporate Bonds
Corporate bonds are debts issued by companies and listed on stock exchanges. They typically
have short terms and in general they offer less risk than stocks. Passive IRIS aims to track an index
of high quality Euro-denominated corporate bonds.
Government Bonds
Passive IRIS aims to track an index of German, French and Dutch government bonds. However,
this bond portfolio may change in the future.
Long Dated Bonds
Passive IRIS aims to track an index of German, French and Dutch government bonds. These bonds
will typically have a longer term to maturity than other government bonds.
Passive IRIS invests in Eurozone bonds with the aim of safeguarding the income you can take at
retirement.
Cash
Passive IRIS aims to have 25% of the fund in Cash at retirement to pay out the retirement
lump sum. The cash element of passive IRIS invests in cash deposits and other money market
instruments.
8
It is important to note that the lifestyle investment strategy may be reviewed in the future and may
change.
Warning: This fund may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: If you invest in this fund you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
†
To improve our service to you, calls may be recorded.
Please note that Passive IRIS was previously known as Consensus IRIS.
Terms and conditions apply. While great care has been taken in its preparation, this document is of a
general nature and should not be relied on in relation to specific issues without appropriate financial,
insurance, investment or other professional advice. The content of this document is for information
purposes only and does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any investment
or to subscribe to any investment management or advisory service. While the information has been
taken from sources we believe to be reliable, we do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness
and any such information may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute
best judgement at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. Please note that
mention of specific stocks/shares or investments is not a recommendation to trade in those stocks/
shares or investments. In the event of any changes in taxation or legislation, Bank of Ireland Life may
amend the terms and conditions of the relevant contract to take account of any such changes. The
details shown above relating to this fund and its composition are as at the date of this document and
may change over time. If there is any conflict between this document and the policy conditions, the
policy conditions will apply.
State Street Global Advisors Ireland Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Incorporated
and registered in Ireland at 2 Park Place, Upper Hatch Street, Dublin 2. Registered number 145221.
Member of the Irish Association of Investment Managers.
Bank of Ireland Life is a trading name of New Ireland Assurance Company plc.
New Ireland Assurance Company plc trading as Bank of Ireland Life is regulated by the Central Bank
of Ireland. Bank of Ireland Insurance & Investments Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Bank of Ireland Insurance & Investments Limited is a tied agent of New Ireland Assurance Company
plc. Members of Bank of Ireland Group.
1890 309 309†
fundcentre.bankofireland.com
www.bankofireland.com
502513 v1.03.13