The future of the Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) market has been up for debate. According to one expert, the popularity of these products has peaked and will decline, to be replaced by other types of investment.
Commenting on the topic, former business development director at James Hay Richard Mattison said that sales of what he dubbed as “true SIPPs” offering total flexibility “plateauxed some time ago”, ifaonline.co.uk reports.
If his comments prove to be accurate, the number of people engaged in wealth management who choose to make use of these products, which allow people to make their own investment decisions from the full range of investments approved by HM Revenue & Customs, may fall.
Recently, he purchased Whitehall Group, which specialises in Small Self Administered Schemes (SSAS). These are a type of occupational pension scheme that are trust-based and are established individually. He bought the firm along with Jane Davies, former business development manager at James Hay.
Commenting on his motivation for moving into this different area of wealth management, Mr Mattison said: “There is a resurgence in the popularity of the SSAS. SSAS can do everything a SIPP can do and more; it can also handle more esoteric investments than SIPPs.
“We have decided to drag the SSAS into the 21st century by introducing a pricing structure that mirrors that of SIPPs.”
His firm’s SSAS will be priced at £250 per member per year, with a cap of £1,000 on annual fees for each scheme. They will also feature “pay for what you use” menus of prices that are similar to those of more modern SIPPs and they will provide online capabilities.
The pensions market is a topic of heated debate at present. Investors have to be savvy to protect their finances from the ongoing fluctuations of the world’s markets.