Standard Life Investments is to hike its annual management charge on 7 funds in its portfolio to retail investors on 1 November 2011.

The company said it had taken the decision in order to ‘remain competitive’ within the market and noted that it would be writing to investors in the relevant funds on 11 July 2011 to notify them of the change.

The funds affected are:
- Standard Life Investments Global Index Linked Bond
- Standard Life Investments UK Gilt
- Standard Life Investments Corporate Bond
- Standard Life Investments Select Income
- Standard Life Investments Higher Income
- Standard Life Investments UK Smaller Companies
- Standard Life Investments Global Equity Unconstrained

The above funds will see their annual management charge rise from the existing 0.95 per cent to 1 per cent from November.

Institutional investors will also be affected by the changes, as the company will be pushing up the charges on the institutional classes of the UK Smaller Companies and Global Equity Unconstrained funds from 0.75 per cent to 0.80 per cent.

Standard Life Investments said it would be releasing an official statement on the changes later today.

In a letter to financial advisers, Jacqueline Kerr, head of UK Wholesale at Standard Life said the changes were the result of a market audit.

She explained, ‘At Standard Life Investments we conduct regular reviews of our products to ensure our fund charges remain competitive within the market.’