FAQ

AXA Financial is part of the global AXA Group. In 2009, the AXA Group was the largest insurer in the world (AM Best Survey calculated by 2009 net written premium) and is currently AA- rated** (**S&P rating Oct 2011) - for further information on the global AXA Group click here. AXA Financial provides access to circa 50 funds, across 20 fund managers and 15 sectors on a single fund platform. These funds are available via a range of single premium investment and pension bonds known as Evolution. The Evolution range of products is underwritten by AXA Life Europe Limited. AXA Life Europe Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

You should contact your financial adviser directly if you wish to find out more about AXA Financial and our innovative and unique investment and pension products - click here to contact us.

If you have an existing adviser, you can check if they are appointed by AXA Financial by contacting us.

The fund selection is known as the Tailored Selection. The list of investment funds is available by visiting our Knowledge Centre.

AXAFinancial has circa 50 funds across 20 fund managers and 15 sectors that have been selected using an independent fund selection process. The goal is to provide both choice and conviction within each sector to facilitate the construction of appropriate and flexible investment portfolios for investors. Please visit our Knowledge Centre for more information on our funds.

The Fund Selection Process is an independent process by which AXA Financial selects funds to include on its Tailored Selection. A detailed description of the process can be found in any of our product guides on the What We Do webpage.

AXAFinancial offers circa 50 funds on a single fund platform. This is known as the Tailored Selection. AXA Financial does NOT promote an in-house fund manager. Our entire focus is on the AXA Financial fund selection process. This process distinguishes the AXA Financial fund offering from the typical fund offerings available in the Irish market. Please visit our Knowledge Centre for more information on our funds.

Fund performance can be tracked online by visiting our Fund Performance webpage which will give you up to date information on all the funds on offer. The funds can also be tracked in the business press and via Financial Express & MoneyMate.

A Model Portfolio is a selection of funds derived from the Tailored Selection. Using the AXA Financial Investment Planning Tool, each Model portfolio is designed to match one of 5 risk profiles ranging from 1 to 5 with 1 being the most conservative risk profile and 5 being the least conservative. Model Portfolios are built on the principle that spreading investments across markets, managers, strategies and investment styles opens up the potential for attractive returns with appropriate levels of risk. You can view how our Model Portfolios are performing by visiting our Fund Performance webpage.

AXA Financial's Investment Planning Tool is an easy to navigate web -based application for financial advisers to use with their clients. The Investment Planning Tool allows financial advisers to build investment portfolios for investors and includes investor risk assessment, analysis of existing investment portfolios and comparison with target asset mixes (based on an investor risk profile), cost effective investment portfolio options, improved compliance backup and audit trail and full investor investment reporting.

Risk profiling is a process that helps an adviser to establish an investor’s attitude to risk. The attitude to risk is derived by completing a risk profiling questionnaire that provides a risk rating from 1 to 5 with 1 being the most conservative risk profile and 5 being the least conservative.

Your attitude to risk provides an indication of how you feel about risk and investing, i.e. are you a less or more conservative investor? Risk profiling questionnaires are the method by which your attitude to risk is derived by identifying characteristics such as tolerance for ambiguity, desire for profit and investment experience, which are all predictors of an individual’s risk tolerance.

Asset allocation is an investment strategy that aims to balance risk and reward by apportioning a portfolio's assets according to an individual's goals, attitude to risk and investment views. Asset allocation is widely considered the biggest determinant of investment returns.

AXA Financial offers single premium investment and pension products including Buy Out Bonds, RACs and ARFs. Evolution is the family name for this range of products. Evolution is underwritten by AXA Life Europe Limited and is distributed by AXA Financial through financial advisers. Please visit the What We Do webpage for more information on our products.

With Drip-feeding an investor can elect to have an investment automatically switched from one fund, e.g. Euro Money Fund, to another selected fund or funds in monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual instalments, over a chosen period of 1 to 10 years. Drip-feeding can reduce the risk of investing a lump sum during uncertain market conditions by spreading the timing of investments. It allows an investor to phase an investment into their fund choice at regular intervals. Drip-feeding is offered across all Evolution products and further information can be found in any of our product guides on the What We Do webpage.

If a client invests in a mix of funds the investor can opt to add Portfolio Rebalancing to the Evolution product. Portfolio Rebalancing is automatic fund switching at the interval chosen to reset the portfolio’s fund allocation % to their initial values. Portfolio Rebalancing works by realigning the fund portfolio to the chosen investment allocation at a selected frequency and helps to maintain the investor’s risk profile over time. Re-balancing is offered across all Evolution products and further information can be found in any of our product guides on the What we Do webpage.

Evolution provides access to circa 50 investment funds, including a choice of international investment funds and asset classes. The funds are available under the one tax structure, to ensure choice and complete flexibility to adapt to investors' changing needs and objectives. The funds are selected by a Fund Selection Process that sources and selects the funds. The Fund Selection Process is an investment driven process that is independent and unbiased. Please visit the What we Offer webpage for more information on our products.

Evolution is available exclusively via the professional financial adviser market. Please contact us to see if there is an adviser in your area.

An investor can access up to date valuations online at any time by registering for AXA Financial’s extranet service and logging into the extranet section and selecting the Client Information tab. The investor will receive a yearly statement following each Policy anniversary.

An investor can switch funds on-line by logging into the extranet sectionof our website and requesting the changes directly or by completing an Investment Switch Request form (available via the Literature Library tab in the extranet). All fund switches are free.

Details can be updated by logging into the extranet section of our website, (choosing the Profile Options tab), where the User ID, Password and Email Address can be amended.

If you are an appointed adviser or an investor and have forgotten your username or password, attempted to log in and failed more than 3 times, or attempted to change your password and failed, your account will be disabled. This is done in case someone else attempts to try various passwords with your username. If this occurs you will need to email or phone us on 01 4711310 phone us and we will re-enable the account after having confirmed your identity.