Portfolio investment funds

Each fund has a designated risk category. To keep within this risk category, the fund manager continuously tracks the performance of individual assets, using his or her understanding of the market to adjust the holdings in the fund.

The fund manager's goal is always to maximise the return within the fund's designated level of risk.

Taxation – UK Resident Investors

The commentary below is general in nature and only provides a summary of the principal tax considerations for certain UK resident investors who are individuals and who hold investments in HSBC World Selection Portfolios. The actual tax consequences of any investment will depend upon the individual's specific circumstances, therefore we would recommend you seek professional tax advice.

Funds with UK Reporting Fund Status:

Where a share class of an offshore fund has UK Reporting Fund status, broadly, any gain on the disposal of such a holding is treated as a capital gain and subject to UK capital gains tax rules.

Funds with Non-UK Reporting Fund Status:

Where a share class does not have UK Reporting Fund status or does not have UK Reporting Fund status throughout the entire period that the investor holds it, any gain arising on disposal is treated as an offshore income gain and subject to UK income tax rules.

World Selection – UK Reporting from 1 August 2015:

Since 1 August 2015, all HSBC World Selection Portfolio share classes have UK Reporting Fund status. This means that from 1 August 2015, for UK resident investors who are individuals who invest in an HSBC World Selection Portfolio share class for the first time, any gain on the disposal of such a holding is treated as a capital gain and subject to UK capital gains tax rules Funds which convert to UK Reporting Fund Status.

When a non-reporting offshore fund/share class converts to having UK Reporting Fund status, a UK investor will have the option to make an election to treat themselves as disposing of their investment in the fund immediately before it became a reporting fund and then reacquiring it as an investment in a reporting fund. The effect of making such an election results in any gains on this deemed disposal being treated as offshore income gains and subject to income tax whilst future gains in respect of the "reacquired" investment will be subject to capital gains tax treatment. If a UK investor opts not to make such an election, the entire gain will be taxed as offshore income gains and subject to income tax.

Please note that an exchange of shares between different funds of HSBC World Selection Portfolios is regarded as a disposal (i.e: if you sell out of one HSBC World Selection Portfolio and invest the proceeds in another World Selection portfolio that is considered a disposal and any gains will be chargeable to tax).

Regulations on international tax transparency may require us to report certain information about you to the Jersey Tax Authority, where your account is held. Under international agreements to exchange account information, the Jersey Tax Authority may transfer this information to the tax authorities of other jurisdictions in which you may be tax resident.

Therefore before choosing any investment products, it is important that all of your personal details are complete and accurate otherwise we will not be able to process your application.

Please review your existing details on your Personal Internet Banking profile in the “Update Your Details” section and provide the new information we require:

Country of Birth and any Multiple Citizenships you may hold (both of these fields are located within the "Update Personal Details" section).

Designate a Residential Address and indicate how long you have lived at this address (both of these fields are located within the "Change Correspondence Address" section). If you have lived at your current address for less than 3 years, you must also provide details of your previous residential address.

In addition to this information, we also need to collect information from you about your tax residency(ies) and relevant tax identification numbers. If we do not have this information, our administration team will need to contact you, which will delay your application.

Depending on the information you provide, we may also need to contact you to obtain further supporting documentation as prescribed by our regulatory requirements.

If you have updated your details recently then these do not need to be supplied again, until any information changes. If your personal information changes in the future, please notify us within 30 days.