Friends Provident
International Summit Bond

Summit is an international lump sum investment bond - with a loyalty bonus. It is a unit-linked international investment bond that claims to reward you with a loyalty bonus on the 3rd anniversary of your investment and every subsequent anniversary. The bonus rate then rises on the 6th and 11th anniversary.

FPI's Summit claims to offer a loyalty bonus and the option to withdraw up to 90% of your investment, penalty-free from the start of your plan.

Summit is available to those who are aged 18 and over (at least one life assured must be 79 or under at the plan commencement) and are willing and able to accept the risks.

Features of Friends Provident International's Summit Bond:

• Requires a minimum investment amount of at least USD 37,500 (or currency equivalent).
• You can set up the plan on your own life, on another person's life, or jointly on up to four lives.
• You can choose the currency in which you would like your plan to be denominated. Currencies include:
  – US dollars,
  – UK pound sterling,
  – Euros,
  – Dirhams and
  – Hong Kong dollars.
• An establishment charge of 0.4% of your payments will be taken quarterly for the first five years after you take out your plan or after each additional payment.
• An administration charge of 1.2% of the bid value of each fund a year is charged.
• One-off or regular withdrawals can be taken from your plan, depending on your needs.
• 90% in total of your payment can be taken out, penalty-free during the first five years (from day one) and after that there is no limit, subject to the minimum plan value.
• If any additional investment is made, then you can take 90% of that investment for the first five years after it is paid, with no limit after that, subject to the minimum plan value.
• If the plan is set up on your life, it will end when you die. They will pay an extra 1% on top of the cash-in value of your plan. Any outstanding establishment charges will be taken before they pay the death benefit.
• You can invest in up to ten funds at any one time. They divide each fund into units and your payments buy units in the funds you choose.

Plan contributions:

FPI's Summit Bond requires initial contributions. These can be summarised below:

If you wish to add to your plan, the minimum additional payment is as follows:

Loyalty bonus:

As per the Friends Provident International's Summit, on the third anniversary date of the plan and on every subsequent anniversary, you will be entitled to a loyalty bonus. The bonus will be applied as additional units into your plan.

Any additional payments you make will also receive their own loyalty bonus from the third anniversary of each contribution. The loyalty bonus structure is as follows:

NOTE:

• Friends Provident International states that what you get back in the future entirely depends on how well the investments have performed and the value of the plan can go up or down (you can get back less than you've paid in).
• Some of the funds available for investment carry a high level of risk and can erode your capital.
• Changes in currency rate and inflation can also affect the value of your plan.
• We would recommend reading the expert verdict section of this review before making a decision about Friends Provident International's Summit Bond.