● The new FWD Life Income plan, which offers the highest guaranteed cash benefit1, is the first product launched by FWD out of its participating fund.
● Customers will receive a one-time 6% guaranteed payout after year two2 and regular cash benefits from the start of year four onwards to empower customers with a passive income stream.
Singapore, 9 May 2023 – As part of FWD Group’s 10th anniversary celebration, FWD Singapore (“FWD”) today announced the launch of its first participating fund. This is in line with its strategic evolution to becoming an integrated omnichannel insurer offering life and general insurance products with a stronger push on savings plans with capital protection3. This move demonstrates the company’s dedication to providing customers with innovative solutions that meet their evolving financial needs.
“FWD began as a digital insurer making online insurance more accessible, convenient, and affordable to Singaporeans. Now FWD is an omnichannel insurer with established direct-to-consumer and financial advisory channels. As we celebrate our Group’s 10th anniversary, we also embark on the next phase of growth for our Singapore business. We’re committed to maintaining the same drive and innovative spirit. The setting up of our participating fund reflects our ambition to deliver best-in-class solutions to enable our customers to achieve greater financial security for themselves and their families,” said Adrian Vincent, CEO of FWD Singapore.
With newly launched participating fund, FWD can formulate its investment and product strategy without legacy limitations, including by leveraging the current higher interest rate environment for higher potential returns. This is in line with FWD’s overall strategy to develop more innovative participating products in the future and provide financial protection and growth to more Singapore residents.
FWD’s new participating fund builds on the experiences of similar funds launched in the Hong Kong and Thailand markets. Its specialised participating fund team comprises of talents with insurance and participating funds management experience. The insurer also engaged with a best-in-class asset manager who understands and is aligned with FWD’s innovative spirit in finding breakthrough solutions to ensure customers’ financial well-being.
The participating fund will be managed by PineBridge Investments, a private global asset manager focused on active and high conviction investing. PineBridge currently has US$143.1 billion4 of assets under management and will be managing FWD’s participating fund according to its strategic allocations into fixed income, growth assets and cash.
“At PineBridge, we understand the importance of providing investment solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients. By collaborating with FWD, we can offer investors a solution that balances risk and return while delivering strong investment performance. We are excited to work together with FWD to help investors achieve their investment goals,” said Nicolas Kopitsis, Managing Director, Head of Intermediary Distribution Asia of PineBridge Investments.
Accessing FWD participating fund through the newly launched FWD Life Income
Singapore, like the rest of the world, continues to see inflationary pressures due to supply chain disruption and volatile, uncertain capital markets, while rising interest rates also impact the value of some financial products such as bonds.
The first product with access to FWD’s participating fund is the newly launched FWD Life Income plan. The product is designed to provide continuous passive income and help future generations mitigate the impact of inflation, while building a steady stream of returns for wealth accumulation.
The participating fund through FWD Life Income is the first of several solutions FWD will launch to help Singapore residents to grow wealth, not just for themselves, but for their next generation as well.
FWD Life Income provides:
- Early Guaranteed Special Benefit: policy owners will receive a first-in-market5 one-time Guaranteed Special Benefit payout, valued at 6% of the policy’s sum insured, at the 25th policy month. This means a shorter waiting time for the first payout.
- Passive income payouts: after just 3 years, policy owners will start receiving regular cash benefits made up of guaranteed and non-guaranteed components6. This means customers’ future generations can continue to enjoy this passive income stream7, even when the original policy owner passes on, provided that a second person insured has been appointed. This will only stop when the plan matures, is terminated or if a claim is paid.
- Change of person insured: policy owners have the flexibility to change the person insured to their child while continuing to receive the cash benefits.
- Change of policy ownership: policy owners can assign policy ownership to their child when the child is 18 years old or older, so that the child can receive cash benefits.
- Flexible payment terms: policy owners may choose from 3 different premium payment terms, single premium, 5-year regular premium, or 10-year regular premium.
- Financial protection for terminal illnesses or death: the policy pays a lump sum in the event of terminal illness or death of the person insured. The person insured can also be changed to protect the policy owner’s spouse or child.
FWD Life Income adds to FWD’s growing suite of innovative insurance products, which includes the Invest First Plus investment-linked plan that helps customers get more out of their investment with transparent and fixed total charges and Recover First critical illness protection plan that covers customers beyond a defined list of critical illnesses. With this, the company aims to offer valuable benefits and long-term security.
Customers who are interested to find out more about FWD Life Income can contact any of FWD’s financial advisory partners or visit www.fwd.com.sg.
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About FWD Group
FWD Group is a pan-Asian life insurance business with more than 10 million customers across 10 markets, including some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world. FWD reached its 10-year anniversary in 2023. The company is focused on making the insurance journey simpler, faster and smoother, with innovative propositions and easy-to-understand products, supported by digital technology. Through this customer-led approach, FWD is committed to changing the way people feel about insurance. Visit www.fwd.com
About FWD Singapore
In Singapore, FWD started operations in 2016 and is one of the first insurers that provides a direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform that allows customers to buy their preferred life and general insurance products directly from our website as well as a network of preferred Financial Advisory (FA) firms for customers who want to speak with an advisor before committing to an insurance plan. For more information, please visit www.fwd.com.sg
1 Based on comparison made with similar participating whole-of-life income products in the market distributed through the IFA channel and that provide payout as early as from the 37th policy month. FWD Singapore does not guarantee that all aspects of the products have been illustrated. You may wish to conduct your own comparison for products that are listed in www.comparefirst.sg. Information is accurate as of 24 March 2023.
2 This passive income stream will only stop once the plan matures, is terminated, or if a claim is paid.
3 The principal of FWD Life Income is capital-protected only when it is held for at least 18 years for single premium plan, 21 years for 5-year regular premium plan, and 24 years for 10-year regular premium plan.
4 AUM as of 31 December 2022 includes US$45.8 billion (US$19.6 billion equities, US$19.5 billion fixed income, US$6.7 billion multi-asset) of assets managed by joint ventures or other entities not wholly owned by PineBridge Investments. Includes PineBridge Benson Elliot Real Estate AUM of US$4.0 billion.
5 This comparison does not include information on all similar products. FWD Singapore does not guarantee that all aspects of the products have been illustrated. You may wish to conduct your own comparison for products that are listed in www.comparefirst.sg. Information is accurate as of 17 January 2023.
6 Cash benefits will be payable either every policy anniversary starting from the 4th policy year or every policy monthiversary starting from the 37th policy month for the for the annual payout option and monthly payout option respectively, up to the original person insured’s 120th birthday.
7 A policy owner can change the person insured under this policy after 2 years from the policy issue date. They must have an insurable interest on the life of the new person insured at the time of change.
This article contains only general information and does not have any regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and the particular needs of any specific person. All insurance applications are subject to FWD’s underwriting and acceptance. This does not constitute an offer to buy or sell an insurance product or service. Please refer to the exact terms and conditions, specific details and exclusions applicable in the policy documents that can be obtained from our authorised product distributor. You may wish to seek advice from a financial adviser representative for a financial analysis before purchasing a policy suitable to meet your needs.
As buying a life insurance policy is a long-term commitment, an early termination of the policy usually involves high costs and the surrender value, if any, that is payable to you may be zero or less than the total premiums paid.
The performance of the participating fund is not guaranteed and the value of the units in the participating fund and the income accruing to the units, if any, may fall or rise. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of the future performance of the participating fund.
Protected up to specified limits by SDIC. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
