At a glance
When stability is more important than growth, this lower risk and slower growth approach is designed to keep things steady.
Our experts invest your money globally to give it more chances to grow and to spread the risk. They use Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations to help select what to invest in.
Download Key Information
Highlights
Lower risk
Likely to be a much less 'bumpy' ride than with our growth approaches.
Lower growth, more stability
Keeps things steady if you're okay with limited potential for growth.
All done for you
Managed for you by our dedicated team of investment experts. All in one neatly packaged approach.
How your money's invested
At least 75% of your money is invested in lower risk assets with potentially lower returns. The rest is invested in assets that aim to provide a higher potential return but carry a higher level of risk.
Our experts review this mix regularly within the adjustment range and in line with the investment objectives.
Investment Mix
Typically 15%
invested for higher growth potential with higher riskTypically 85%
invested for lower risk with lower growth potential
Remember, the value of investments can go up and down, so you may get back less money than you put in. Tax depends on your individual circumstances and the regulations may change in the future.
Where your money's invested
Our experts manage the mix of investments, within the adjustment range and to achieve the approach objectives.
Here’s the detail at 31 March 2023.
Higher risk
- 1% - Shares (emerging markets)
- 4% - Shares (UK)
- 2% - Real estate investment trusts
- 10% - Shares (overseas developed)
- 2% - Bonds (emerging markets)
- 1% - Bonds (high yield)
Lower risk
- 16% - Cash
- 36% - Short maturity bonds
- 5% - UK Government bonds (Gilts)
- 17% - Global government bonds
- 3% - UK corporate bonds
- 3% - Global corporate bonds
What do these terms mean?
Close ModalBonds: These are like IOUs, used by companies and governments to raise money. The buyer effectively lends money to the seller, in return for interest on their investment over a set amount of time. When that time’s up, the value is paid back.
Gilts: These are just a type of bond. But instead of lending money to a company, it’s lent to the UK Government.
Shares: A share is a tiny bit of a company. Share owners are called shareholders. If a company does well, shareholders are rewarded with a proportion of the profits, paid out as dividends. The value of shares rises and falls according to the company’s performance, and other factors.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs): These are pools of money gathered by a company from investors. They’re used to buy, manage or invest in property and land (real estate) to generate income – a way of investing in commercial property without needing millions.
How the fund invests
Your money is invested in a group of funds, rather than directly in stocks and shares. This is known as a fund of funds.
Top holdingsThe following is up-to-date as of 31 March 2023.
- Aberdeen Standard Liquidity Fund
- abrdn Global Short Dated Corporate Bond Tracker
- abrdn Short Dated Global Inflation-Linked Bond Tracker Fund
- abrdn Short Dated Sterling Corporate Bond Tracker
- Payden Global Government Bond Index Fund
- abrdn Global Government Bond Index Fund
- abrdn Global Inflation Linked Bond Tracker
- Vanguard UK Government Bond Index
- Vanguard Global Short-Term Corporate Bond Index
- Virgin Money UK Index Tracking Trust

What you could've earned already
The graph below gives you an indication of how much you could've earned, after charges, if you had invested £10,000 in this approach five years ago. Remember, past performance isn't a reliable guide to future performance.
Here's the detail at 31 March 2023.
-
Mar-18: £10,000Mar-18: £10,000
-
Apr-18: £10,014.25Apr-18: £10,010.34
-
May-18: £10,057.37May-18: £10,020.83
-
Jun-18: £10,095.89Jun-18: £10,031.18
-
Jul-18: £10,129.46Jul-18: £10,041.69
-
Aug-18: £10,135.58Aug-18: £10,052.28
-
Sep-18: £10,086.16Sep-18: £10,064.73
-
Oct-18: £10,017.94Oct-18: £10,077.42
-
Nov-18: £9,996.12Nov-18: £10,089.90
-
Dec-18: £9,981.83Dec-18: £10,102.62
-
Jan-19: £10,101.35Jan-19: £10,115.35
-
Feb-19: £10,102.41Feb-19: £10,127.46
-
Mar-19: £10,295.33Mar-19: £10,140.23
-
Apr-19: £10,308.45Apr-19: £10,152.78
-
May-19: £10,379.88May-19: £10,165.54
-
Jun-19: £10,495.48Jun-19: £10,178.13
-
Jul-19: £10,644.02Jul-19: £10,190.93
-
Aug-19: £10,762.14Aug-19: £10,203.75
-
Sep-19: £10,746.34Sep-19: £10,216.38
-
Oct-19: £10,638.53Oct-19: £10,229.24
-
Nov-19: £10,630.40Nov-19: £10,241.89
-
Dec-19: £10,613.68Dec-19: £10,254.78
-
Jan-20: £10,741.37Jan-20: £10,267.68
-
Feb-20: £10,708.79Feb-20: £10,280.18
-
Mar-20: £10,297.54Mar-20: £10,289.62
-
Apr-20: £10,563.23Apr-20: £10,296.87
-
May-20: £10,710.20May-20: £10,304.16
-
Jun-20: £10,805.32Jun-20: £10,311.42
-
Jul-20: £10,847.01Jul-20: £10,318.73
-
Aug-20: £10,811.86Aug-20: £10,326.03
-
Sep-20: £10,849.79Sep-20: £10,333.31
-
Oct-20: £10,831.23Oct-20: £10,340.62
-
Nov-20: £11,039.44Nov-20: £11,039.44Nov-20: £10,347.92
-
Dec-20: £11,115.35Dec-20: £10,355.24
-
Jan-21: £11,093.66Jan-21: £10,362.57
-
Feb-21: £10,898.47Feb-21: £10,369.82
-
Mar-21: £10,974.38Mar-21: £10,377.15
-
Apr-21: £11,061.13Apr-21: £10,384.47
-
May-21: £11,082.82May-21: £10,391.82
-
Jun-21: £11,158.73Jun-21: £10,399.15
-
Jul-21: £11,288.86Jul-21: £10,406.51
-
Aug-21: £11,343.08Aug-21: £10,413.87
-
Sep-21: £11,202.11Sep-21: £10,421.22
-
Oct-21: £11,267.17Oct-21: £10,428.59
-
Nov-21: £11,332.24Nov-21: £10,435.94
-
Dec-21: £11,310.55Dec-21: £10,444.01
-
Jan-22: £11,115.35Jan-22: £10,452.74
-
Feb-22: £10,985.22Feb-22: £10,463.12
-
Mar-22: £10,941.85Mar-22: £10,475.15
-
Apr-22: £10,753.16Apr-22: £10,488.13
-
May-22: £10,701.10May-22: £10,503.29
-
Jun-22: £10,413.73Jun-22: £10,519.54
-
Jul-22: £10,654.47Jul-22: £10,537.26
-
Aug-22: £10,488.56Aug-22: £10,559.05
-
Sep-22: £10,046.11Sep-22: £10,582.12
-
Oct-22: £10,130.70Oct-22: £10,608.93
-
Nov-22: £10,333.48Nov-22: £10,641.27
-
Dec-22: £10,235.88Dec-22: £10,677.49
-
Jan-23: £10,437.59Jan-23: £10,715.87
-
Feb-23: £10,320.47Feb-23: £10,755.28
-
Mar-23: £10,415.90Mar-23: £10,799.18
Mar 2018 to | Mar 2019 to | Mar 2020 to | Mar 2021 to | Mar 2022 to | Total over 5 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This fund | 3.0% | 0.0% | 6.6% | -0.3% | -4.8% | 4.2% |
Performance Comparator* | 1.4% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 3.1% | 8.0% |
*The fund doesn’t use a benchmark as a guide for investing or as a target to beat. But we do use a performance comparator which investors may want to compare the fund’s performance against. This is the Bank of England Base Rate +0.75%, which represents an incremental return over and above cash savings, in keeping with the lower risk / defensive nature of the fund
Source Lipper, total return (income reinvested). The returns shown above are based on index returns (see above) up until 29 October 2020 thereafter actual returns are used. Lump sum invested 31 March 2018 to 31 March 2023. For details of the performance comparator for each fund please see the respective Key Investor Information Document.
Key information
In our important documents you’ll see our Careful Defensive approach referred to as the Virgin Money Defensive Fund. Before applying, please make sure you’ve read the following:
Want to check out the performance of another fund?
View our funds