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Aviva admits to fund marketing error; compensates investors

Your Money
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Your Money
Posted:
Updated:
01/12/2014

Aviva is to pay compensation to tens of thousands of investors in one of its funds who were erroneously led to believe their capital was protected.

The group is to pay about 40,000 investors in the Aviva Deposit fund an average of just over £55, meaning the company is set to pay out some £2.2m, according to the Telegraph.

Aviva admitted literature accompanying the fund suggested the value of customers’ money could not fall below the amount they had invested. 

Yet, since 2009, the fund has lost 2.3 per cent, according to figures provided to the Telegraph by FE Trustnet.

Aviva, which said it uncovered the error following a company-wide review, blamed the fund’s performance on record low interest rates.

Aviva chief operating officer Kevin Moss is apologising for the error in letters which are being sent to affected investors.

A spokesperson for the company told the Telegraph: “As part of our continual review of our products we are currently mailing our Aviva Deposit fund customers to emphasise that their investments can fluctuate according to market conditions, and that these type of funds are intended as a shorter-term investment,” she said.

“As part of our review we also identified that although our terms and conditions were correct, we had [implied] in some of our older marketing literature that customers’ funds would not fall below the amount they had invested. This was not correct and we apologise for any misunderstanding.”