The Trustee regularly reviews the range of investment funds available to the Plan’s members to ensure there is a sufficiently broad array of options for all members to save towards their retirement.

Following a recent review, the Trustee has decided to introduce a new global equity option that is designed to be compliant with Islamic law, i.e., Shariah compliant. The name of the new fund is the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund and it is available to you as a freestyle option if you prefer to manage your investments yourself.

The fund aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation through investment in a well-diversified equity index portfolio that meets Islamic investment principles. You can find more details on the fund factsheet. 

It is important to recognise that this new option is first and foremost an equity fund and therefore any member considering an investment must be comfortable with the potential volatility that can accompany investing in the stock market.

If you have any questions about the fund or your Plan benefits, please contact Mercer, the Plan administrator via the online contact portal at www.contact.mercer.com, or call the Mercer Helpline: 0344 854 3338.

If you want to instruct a change to your Plan investments, then you can do so by accessing the Mercer OneView portal via the MyCatPension website (using your CWS ID if you are a current employee). If you are a deferred member of the Plan but have forgotten your passcode or User ID and have previously logged in to Mercer OneView, you can reset both online. You will need to correctly answer the security questions you completed when you first logged on to Mercer OneView.

Remember, the Trustee can’t give you financial advice. If you’re thinking of making investment changes, you should consider seeking independent financial advice from a regulated financial adviser. You can find one using the MoneyHelper website.