Notification of changes to the underlying fund of J46 Barings Korea Feeder

01 Oct 2024

J46 Barings Korea Feeder

We have been notified by Barings International Fund Managers (Ireland) Ltd (the “Manager”), of the following changes to the underlying fund of the FPIL mirror fund named above (the “Affected Mirror Fund”). These changes will take effect from 31 October 2024 (the “Effective Date”).

Change to the target benchmark

The underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund acts as a feeder fund and invests its assets in the Barings Korea Trust (the “Underlying Trust”). The Underlying Trust’s target benchmark is currently the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (the “KOSPI”), which is referenced in the investment objective of the underlying fund of the Affected Mirror Fund. 

The Manager has advised that from the Effective Date, the target benchmark of the Underlying Trust will be changed to the MSCI Korea (Net Total Return) Index (the “MSCI Korea Index”). The MSCI Korea Index, which measures the performance of the large and mid-cap segments of the South Korean market, is considered by the investment manager of the Underlying Trust to be a more appropriate benchmark as it better reflects the underlying portfolio of the Underlying Trust. 

While the KOSPI and the MSCI Korea Index are very similar (as both indices have a large number of individual constituents and similar geographical weightings, and their construction in terms of free-float market capitalisation (meaning the proportion of shares in a company which are readily available to trade in the stock market) are similar), the KOSPI has a larger concentration in a certain issuer whereas the MSCI Korea Index does not; their performance over the long term is comparable. 

The amendment to the investment objective of Underlying Trust will not result in any other changes in its operation, and will not result in any change to other features, including the investment process and asset allocation. The amendments will not result in any change in the fee level or cost in managing the Underlying Trust.  

From the Effective Date, the investment objective of the Affected Mirror Fund will be updated to reference the new target benchmark of the Underlying Trust. Please refer to the Appendix opposite for comparative details of the objective changes.

These changes will happen automatically within affected policies 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.  

Should you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the Investment Marketing Team.