Norwich Union has announced that investment bond sales have risen sharply following the launch of its new Portfolio bond, which was launched on 7 July 2003 and replaced two earlier Norwich Union bonds, Bond 2000 and Portfolio Bond.
Since its launch, sales of Portfolio through the IFA channel have been 54% higher than combined sales figures for Bond 2000 and Portfolio Bond between January and July 2003. Total sales through all channels from 7 July 2003 have been about 660m.
Neil Davies, head of investment product development at Norwich Union, commented, “We put a lot of work into Portfolio and that has paid off. Since its launch, sales of Portfolio have done very well. Portfolio has been in demand with investors because it offers access to a broad range of funds including Norwich Unions Guaranteed, Property, Distribution, Corporate Bond and With-Profit funds. The recently re-launched Guaranteed Fund is a popular option because it offers a broad asset mix and a guarantee that investors will not lose their capital on the fifth anniversary. The product literature has been designed to be simple and free of jargon while charges are also easy to understand.”