F&C turns to advisers for Lifetsyle launch

F&C Asset Management is poised to distribute its new Lifestyle funds through more than 350 IFAs in a new deal with The Clarkson Hill Group, the company announced.

The deal, which is expected to help advisers respond effectively to the issues raised by the FSA's treating customers fairly initiative, will provide clients with access to best of breed funds from across the market.

The agreement comes as F&C announced its end of year results for 2007, showing UK retail business with reached gross Oeic sales of £703m. It will see Clarkson Hill, an Aim-listed leading national firm of IFAs, offering F&C's four Lifestyle funds which were launched last year. The funds are multi-manager portfolios whose asset allocation is driven by Dynamic Planner, a third-party risk-profiling tool.

Advisers will be able to can risk-rate clients then allocate a relevant Lifestyle fund, which is rebased each quarter to ensure the investor remains in a portfolio that matches their objectives and risk-tolerance.

Ron Prichard, chief executive of the Clarkson Hill Group, said: "At Clarkson Hill, we are committed to providing clients with suitable advice and quality investments, and this is how we add value over and above other firms which simply work from recommendation lists.

"Having considered the entire market, we selected F&C because of its clear fund selection process and asset allocation mechanism that will enhance our advisers' abilities to recommend investments that help clients achieve their investment goals."

John Yule, head of retail distribution for F&C, said: "Clarkson Hill is a successful and fast-growing adviser firm, where quality of advice is pivotal to client service. We are very excited to be working with Clarkson Hill. Recent market turbulence reinforces the message that investors need to be in well-diversified managed portfolios that take account of their appetite for risk. The Lifestyle funds help advisers do this in a practical and joined-up way."

Duncan Philp, senior consultant for Fife-based IFA Macbeth Currie, said clients' attitude to risk played key roles when deciding on investment funds: "Primarily the most important thing when looking at investment is the risk category that a client falls into. Therefore you are providing advice on the risk profile of that client and whether it is a low risk or balanced risk and finding that type of fund that fits that client's profile."

He added that the age of the investor was a fundamental decider when investing, explaining that as clients moved closer to retirement, their money was typically invested in less risky equities, so as to maximise the lump sum benefit upon retirement.