FutureWise - building a better future

Our investment strategy for workplace investing pension schemes, FutureWise, aims to provide the best outcomes for your members, by adapting to every stage of their journey to and into retirement.

At Fidelity, we only offer one default strategy, so that all workplace pension scheme members can benefit from a single-minded approach of strong governance, investment expertise, foresight and a focus on sustainability.

We recognise that members are entrusting us to build better financial futures for them – this is a huge responsibility, and one that we don’t take lightly. As most savers stick with the default option, the performance of FutureWise is central to the retirement hopes of many employees.

The evolution of FutureWise

FutureWise is continually evolving and innovating to meet the needs of your business and your members.

You can find out more about FutureWise in our guide or by watching these short videos:

Unlike traditional lifestyle strategies, members’ savings are invested in one all-encompassing fund from the start and into retirement to enable them to take regular retirement income using income drawdown. We can tactically increase or decrease the allocation to certain investments to further diversify (within prescribed bandwidths) when we believe doing so can add value or better manage risk.

There are 11 Target Date Funds and more will be launched over the coming years. The funds range from 2025 to 2070, with dates every five years. Members have the flexibility to change their retirement date and then their savings will move into a fund with the appropriate target date. Around three years after the TDF reaches the target date, the member’s money is automatically moved into the FutureWise Target Date Retirement Fund.

This offers:

• Simplicity and clarity: Having one single fund makes it much easier to monitor investments. In addition, PlanViewer, our easy-to-use online site, helps members to understand how their money is invested, the charges, risk and performance.
• Future-proofing: FutureWise TDFs are managed in close collaboration with BlackRock. The underlying funds are managed by BlackRock in accordance with fund specifications defined by Fidelity. As the glidepath and the portfolios are delegated to Fidelity, it enables future innovation and the flexibility to change strategies and access to broader investment opportunities.
• Efficiency and value: The TDF structure is easier to administer and creates operational, tax and investment efficiencies that we can pass on to members.

The FutureWise TDF strategy has our net zero commitments baked into our governance structure, but it also goes a step further committing to having a lower carbon intensity than its market comparator, which is already partially Paris Climate aligned.

We make sure the companies FutureWise invests in are sustainable, with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. Likewise, there are some companies we won’t invest in as we don’t believe they’ll provide long-term value. This covers various areas from weapons manufacturers to thermal coal companies and violators of the UN Global Compact.

We have set targets to help us achieve this:

1. Halve the carbon footprint of our investment portfolio by 2030, from a 2020 baseline, reaching net zero across portfolios by 2050; and
2. Achieve net zero across Fidelity’s own operations by 2030.

We combine competitive, transparent pricing with rigorous governance and oversight to ensure peace of mind for you and target good outcomes for your members.

Our default investment strategy has the flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions and the ability to deliver best member outcomes. We are grateful for the trust of our clients and members who use FutureWise for their retirement savings.