BLACKROCK CONSENSUS 85
BlackRock, the fund manager, is a large and well respected investment company.
HOW THE FUND WORKS The fund aims to mirror the investment strategy of the average pension fund (or more specifically, the average fund in the ‘ABI Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares Pension’ sector). While the name of the sector sounds complicated, it simply means the fund can invest anywhere between 40% and 85% of its value in the stock market – not just in UK shares, but across the globe too. This can include higher risk ‘emerging markets’ – like Brazil, Russia, India and China – and the shares of smaller companies which are more risky than their larger counterparts. To balance the amount of money invested in shares, the fund can also invest in bonds, property, and cash (which are typically lower-risk investments). The amount invested in each area will vary over time and may also include higher risk bonds.
ACTIVE vs PASSIVE MANAGEMENT Pension funds can either be ‘actively’ or ‘passively’ managed. Actively managed funds are trying to beat the markets they are investing in, while passively managed funds simply aim to perform in line with the markets. The Consensus 85 fund invests ‘passively’. This means BlackRock aims to track rather than beat the performance of the markets it invests in (like the UK, US or Europe). This passive approach keeps the cost of investing down – meaning lower charges for your pension.
How has BlackRock Consensus 85 performed over the last 5 years?
BlackRock Consensus 85 has increased by 33.35%* over 5 years. It aims to track the sector average, but has done slightly better than this by outperforming over the last 5 years. It fell significantly in value in 2020 due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, but has since recovered. Please remember past performance is not a guide to the future. The value of investments can rise and fall, so you could get back less than you put in.
BLACKROCK CONSENSUS 85 vs SECTOR
Please note, past performance is not a guide to future performance. *Source: Lipper IM 31/03/2022 The performance figures on this page do not include the effect of HL rebating part of the fund's ongoing charge. This means they will slightly understate the performance investors through HL have actually received.