Sipps: Coming of age
The definition of a Sipp needs to be re-evaluated, as the industry has grown and evolved
The second type of group Sipp, better described as a corporate Sipp, is where company employees are provided with a Sipp product funded by the employer’s contributions. Each member is given personal investment choice from a range of options, unlike the syndicated Sipp.
However, this prompts the question whether a Sipp in its true form can be offered as a bulk product to a number of employees.
It also begs the question: where do you draw the line in using the term ‘Sipp’ to describe a personal pension? The debate has rumbled on for years.
What do consumers think the term means?
Certainly, an investor who thinks he or she has bought a ‘true’ Sipp that can move out of equities and into property will be disappointed and surprised when this is not the case.
This client is faced with the choice of what may be a costly pension transfer or not being able to make the perfectly allowable investment.
It is for this reason that perhaps the title ‘Sipp’ should be restricted under trade descriptions to the true Sipp providers only. Surely this is the best way to treat a customer fairly.
Richard Mattison is business development director at IPS Partnership
