Ahead of Pension Awareness Week’s discussion on Self directed pensions (view session), Stephen Rice explains how Aviva’s Self-Directed Investment Option pension works.
A self-directed pension is a pension fund that puts you in control of how and where your pension is managed and invested. At Aviva, we call this SDIO – the Self-Directed Investment Optio – read more
What can I invest in?
A self-directed pension offers you choice and flexibility in how you invest your retirement money. SDIO comes with a wide range of asset classes. You can invest in:
- Investment funds
- Equity, bond and commodity exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
- Shares on global exchanges
- Property funds
- Investment trusts and REITs
- Currencies
- Structured products
How does the Aviva self-directed pension work?
You can choose SDIO for a Personal Pension, Executive Pension, Personal Retirement Bond, Approved Retirement Fund and Approved Minimum Retirement Fund plans.
SDIO is not a standalone or wrapped investment option. It is available as part of one of our policies. The policy is provided by Aviva and Cantor Fitzgerald is the appointed fund administrator for SDIO – read more
Why should I choose a self-directed pension?
SDIO offers you choice and flexibility across:
- Investment solutions – with a wide range of asset classes from a range of specialist providers.
- Retirement products – with a range of options for both pre- and post-retirement pension investors.
SDIO gives you access to a diverse range of global assets, across a range of risk profiles.
As a fund choice on your policy SDIO can be used to build bespoke portfolios either:
- In conjunction with Aviva’s fund range.
- Fully invested in SDIO.
You can switch into and out of SDIO by simply making a fund switch request. Certain investments available to you through SDIO have fixed terms and you may not be able to sell these quickly, or at all, before the investment matures. With access to a range of equity traded instruments and products from specialist providers, it allows you, with your financial broker, to identify changing market trends and gain access to them quickly. Your funds are held in custody by Pershing Securities.
Stephen is Pensions & Investment Propositions Lead at Aviva Life & Pensions. He is a pensions and investments specialist who is passionate about helping Irish customers and advisors make sense of pensions.
Find out more:
Self-directed pensions: a professional view on investment strategy: view session
Self-directed pensions: a personal view on making it work: view session