The annual bonus rate for 1.5 million Standard Life With Profits policyholders has been frozen this year, following their bonus announcements this morning.
One concession to investors was cutting back on the Market Value Reductions (MVRs) applied to some policies, to reflect the positive stockmarket performance in 2009.
Commenting in an article on Citywire, Informed Choice Chief Executive Nick Bamford said that investors in Standard Life’s £33.4 billion ‘Heritage’ with profits fund would be questioning their returns:
‘They will be asking the question why I’m paying premiums into a my endowment and not getting much back on the policy valuation,’ said Bamford. ‘Should I surrender it and use it somewhere else?’
