Investments can go down in value as well as up, and you may get back less than you put in. See our full risk disclosure for details.
Investment risk refers to the potential for your investments to fluctuate in value. This can mean gains, but it can also mean losses. It’s the trade-off for seeking higher returns over time.
At Moneyfarm, we work with you to tailor investments that match your financial goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Diversification is key: spreading investments across asset classes can help manage risk.
We offer a range of investment options, each with unique risks:
Understanding your risk tolerance and financial objectives is crucial. Holding your investments over the long term can help mitigate short-term market fluctuations.
Moneyfarm is a FCA regulated investment firm and it is required to ring-fence all your money, which means legally binding agreements ensure that your money belongs to you and cannot be accessed or used by us, the bank or anyone else, even in the event of firm failure. In addition, as an investment firm, in the unlikely event of our collapse due to mismanagement or insolvency, if we are unable to return funds or assets, the FSCS covers losses up to £85,000 per person. Further information about FSCS protection is available here."
You can find the new terms and conditions here and the existing terms and conditions here
There are three main changes to know about:
1. Transfer to a new scheme and change in who oversees and administers the pension
The change: We will be changing the pension scheme which includes the companies responsible for overseeing and administering your pension.
You’ll be transferred from Moneyfarm pension scheme to MFM pension scheme
The Trustee (the company that oversees the scheme) is changing from Embark Trustees Ltd to Quai Trustees Ltd.
The Administrator (the company that handles the day-to-day work) is changing from Embark Services Ltd to Quai Investment Services Ltd.
What this means for you (the member): Very little change. All your contact, customer service, and support will still be managed by the same team at Moneyfarm. Quai will perform the same background tasks (like managing records and ensuring compliance) that the previous providers did.
2. Change in how your investments are held
The change: Your money will move from a "direct investment" model to an "insured fund" model. Instead of directly investing in the underlying investment funds (like ETFs) in your portfolio, your portfolio will now hold units in a single insured fund provided by a specialist company, Mobius Life. See more details on this below.
What this means for you: The way in which your pension is changing, however the investment strategy and the overall aim of your portfolio will not change, achieving the same exposure to underlying assets. This is a technical change to the legal structure in which your money is held, offering a different way to manage your portfolio's assets. Some of the benefits have been laid out below.
3. Clarity on particular charges
Please note The Moneyfarm fee - what you pay to us - will not change. In fact, we expect your overall costs to reduce as a result of negotiated savings in the fees charged at the level of the underlying investments your portfolio is invested in.
The change: The new terms and conditions provide more detailed information on specific, potential administrative charges that could apply to your account in particular circumstances.
What this means for you: This change details out the administration charges that your pension may incur over and above your Moneyfarm fee. You can review all fees, including these potential administrative charges, in Appendix 1: Fees & Charges Schedule of the new terms and conditions.
We want to make investing in your pension as simple and easy as possible. By only offering actively managed portfolios, this still provides the range of investment portfolios and risk levels suitable for your situation. But it also means that everyone benefits from the more frequent changes Moneyfarm’s asset allocation team makes throughout the year in response to market conditions, rather than once or twice, which is what currently happens if you are in fixed allocation.
If you are currently within our fixed allocation tier for your Pension, your management fees are lower than the actively managed tier. However, because we are removing the fixed allocation tier, we will not change what you pay. So you’ll benefit from the additional rebalances and changes made to portfolios without paying more for active management
Yes, your total fees will reduce!
The Moneyfarm fee - what you pay to us - will not change but your total cost will go down. This is because we’ve negotiated a reduction to the fees charged at the level of the underlying funds that your portfolio is invested in..
This means the total average fee on your investments will drop significantly:
Our focus during this transfer of schemes is to make sure you are invested throughout the process, not disinvested into cash and missing out on any market movements that might negatively impact your pension.
During the transfer process, your current pension investments will be sold and the new investments bought on the same day. By selling and buying on the same day, you should not miss out on any changes in market prices.
Yes. Each Moneyfarm Portfolio within the new SIPP is structured as a unit-linked life insurance fund and is held under a long-term insurance policy administered by Mobius Life Limited (the Insurance Company).
Mobius Life Limited (company no: 3104978) is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England and Wales at: 2nd Floor, 2 Copthall Avenue, London, EC2R 7DA.
You will continue to have a range of portfolios to invest in, offering both a classic and ESG option, each with different objectives to suit individuals' needs and circumstances. As mentioned previously, the objectives and risk levels of the new SIPP portfolios have been designed to closely align with the current ones, so they remain suitable for your current financial situation.
Moneyfarm still sets the investment strategy for each of the portfolios and informs Mobius what blend of underlying investments should be in each portfolio.
When you add money to your pension, you purchase units in your chosen portfolio. When you withdraw money from your pension, the equivalent value of units is then sold from your portfolio, and the cash is made available to you.
In your portfolio, you own units; you do not personally own individual holdings in the underlying investments. Your, and all the other scheme members’ units, are invested in the funds, made available by Mobius, under the life insurance policy taken out by the scheme.You will continue to have visibility of what your portfolio is invested in, the individual underlying assets and their composition.
You will notice a change in the underlying assets of your portfolio. This change is mainly about moving from ETFs to Mutual Funds. This new approach is made possible by our new partners and allows us to provide you with the same market exposure.
ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) and mutual funds are popular investment funds that expose you to a "basket" of different investments, like stocks or bonds, in a single purchase. This helps you diversify your portfolio and reduce risk without having to buy dozens of individual securities. The key differences between them are how they are traded, priced, and managed.
ETFs trade like individual stocks on a stock exchange throughout the day. Their price constantly changes based on supply and demand. An investor can buy or sell them at any time the market is open. They are generally passively managed, meaning they track a specific index (like the FTSE 100) rather than having a manager actively pick investments to beat the market.
Mutual funds are not bought and sold throughout the day like stocks. Instead, they are priced only once per business day (though some funds may price less often, like weekly or monthly).
All buy or sell orders placed that day are processed at the same price, which is called the Net Asset Value (NAV). This NAV price is calculated at a specific time, such as midday or after the market closes. These funds are usually actively managed by professionals who try to achieve better returns than the overall market.
All choices about which underlying investments your portfolio is invested in will continue to be made by Moneyfarm’s asset allocation team.
Your portfolio risk level won’t change as part of the migration. The objectives and risk levels of the new SIPP portfolios have been designed to closely align with the current ones, so they remain suitable for your current financial situation.
So, for instance, if you are currently invested in our Portfolio 6, the objective has not changed. It aims to generate strong growth, while accepting considerable fluctuations in value, and it is best suited for investors with a long-term time horizon. It will continue to be invested in multi-asset classes, and will continue to hold typically 65-85% in global equities with the rest diversified across different sleeves of fixed income investments and commodities.
We will continue to monitor your portfolio as before, ensuring your investments are expertly managed in the way you’re used to.
No. Your current pension (Moneyfarm Pension) is administered in the background by Embark Services Limited and the independent Trustee is Embark Trustees. With the move to the new scheme, we have created MFM Pension (short for Moneyfarm) with the administrator being Quai Investmetn Services Limited and the Trustee being Quai Trustees Limited. The set up is exactly the same as now, just with different partners who operate in the background. The client experience and service has, and always will be delivered by Moneyfarm.
See below for some more detali on the roles our partners play:
The trustee is responsible for operating the scheme for the benefit of its members as a whole in accordance with the trust deed and the scheme rules. They hold the legal title to all the scheme's assets (the money and investments) in trust, separate from Moneyfarm.
The trustee is ultimately accountable to the scheme members for the quality of the scheme administrator’s (Quai Investment Services Limited) work. This means the trustee must actively:
The administrator is responsible for the day-to-day management of the scheme. It undertakes activities like:
We are finalising the timeline for this change and will update as soon as we can. We will give you sufficient time to look through all the information provided in advance of any changes being made.
Over the migration period, there will be a short period where you won’t be able to complete any transactions. Again, we will communicate the details of this, well in advance, to give you as much notice as possible
The new structure has access to a wider range of assets, giving the Moneyfarm investment team access to assets that were not previously available to them.
You will see a lower overall cost. The fees charged by the managers of the underlying funds are, in general, lower than those charged for the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which the current portfolios are invested in.
Payments will be more flexible, quicker and easier. Currently, you can only contribute to your pension via a direct debit. With the new pension scheme, you will be able to contribute via EasyBankTransfer or via a direct bank transfer from your online banking account. You won’t need to change any details as we’ll be doing that for you in the background. However, full details of this will be communicated soon.
A unit-linked life insurance fund is a type of fund offered by the insurance company, in this case Mobius Life, to provide investment returns as part of the insurance policy that the Pension scheme has taken out with Mobius. A life company can offer a vast range of unit-linked funds, offering a mix of exposure to different asset classes, risk profiles and returns. They combine the benefits of a life insurance policy with an investment component, all wrapped up within your self-invested personal pension.