Standard Life launches Future Opportunities to improve member outcomes

Standard Life has launched Future Opportunities, a new pension default aimed at improving member outcomes by embracing private markets. 

Future Opportunities will give scheme members access to opportunities that were previously only available to professional investors. 

The strategy will gradually introduce private assets alongside initial public market investments, adapting to market conditions and investment assumptions to maintain an appropriate balance of risk and return.

Future Opportunities is designed with a focus on quality private market opportunities, manager independence and discretion, and transparent fees. 

Standard Life has embedded oversight through regular reviews of strategic asset allocation, asset quality, deployment pace, and fee transparency via a performance fee model. 

To target high-quality assets, Standard Life is working with Future Growth Capital (FGC), a private markets investment manager established in the UK. 

The retirement specialist introduced a clear charging structure, including a variable annual management charge (AMC) for private markets and a performance fee based on meeting return targets. 

The AMC only charges members for private assets currently in the portfolio, not for future expected allocations, and the performance fee applies only if the entire private markets portfolio hits its targets.