Providers are pulling in impressive levels of new business despite impending capital adequacy changes, according to the latest Money Management research.
The self-invested personal pension (Sipp) survey, published in the November issue of MM, showed providers have set up thousands of Sipps in the past 12 months, even though long-term capital rules for operators are still uncertain.
Topping the list with 25,000 new Sipps is Hargreaves Lansdown, although its data was to the end of March rather than the beginning of August as required by the survey. Closely behind was Standard Life with 17,167 Sipps, another good sign for the firm that reported positive post-RDR business levels earlier this year.
According to the survey, a total of 99,460 Sipps were set up in the past 12 months, with almost 65,000 contributed by the top four providers. However, around a quarter of participants did not submit new business data.
Hargreaves alone accounts for over a quarter of new Sipps, leading some to question whether D2C Sipps pose a threat to financial advisers.
Top 10 Sipp providers by levels of new business over past 12 months |
Provider | Number of Sipps set up |
Hargreaves Lansdown | 25,000 |
Standard Life Sipp | 17,167 |
Scottish Widows | 12,153 |
Aviva | 10,529 |
Aegon ARC Sipp | 5,107 |
LV= | 4,683 |
Ascentric | 4,500 |
Aegon One Retirement | 2,535 |
Suffolk Life MasterSipp | 2,437 |
Curtis Banks | 1,800 |
Data to 1 August 2013, except Hargreaves Lansdown, which is as at 31/03/13. Source and copyright: Money Management. |