Ashcourt Rowan has agreed to sell its self-invested personal pension and small, self-administered scheme businesses, shortly after the FCA announced a new policy statement for Sipp operators.
The London-based wealth management firm has agreed to sell Acomb Trustees, Simmonds Ford Trustees and Ropergate Trustees and certain assets of Pensions Administration to City Trustees, a subsidiary of Mattioli Woods, for a total consideration of up to £355,000.
Ashcourt Rowan acquired these companies as part of its purchase of Leeds-based UK Wealth Management in May.
Jonathan Polin, group chief executive of Ashcourt Rowan, said: “The administration of Sipp and Ssas schemes acquired with UKWM is non-core to our business, and this sale follows that announced last year of Ashcourt Rowan’s own Sipp and Ssas business.”
This comes as Surrey-based Dentons Pension Management announced it had acquired a Sipp book from MAB Pensions, of the Michael Ambrose Group, for an undisclosed sum.
Ian Stewart, joint managing director of Dentons Pension Management, said: “We have made no secret that we are an acquisitive firm, but it has to be for the right business or Sipp book.”
The acquisition adds roughly 125 Sipp plans to the company’s book, which it has said totals more than 4000 high net-worth Sipp and Ssas clients.
Earlier this month, the FCA released a 48-page policy statement, A New Capital Framework for Self-Invested Personal Pension Operators, introducing capital requirements on Sipp operators.
| Firm’s size (assets under administration by £m) | Average % of non-standard assets | Estimated number of firms | Total increase from existing requirements (£000s) |
| Small (0 to 100) | 2.40 | 23 | £1160 |
| Medium (100 to 500) | 5.73 | 35 | £8360 |
| Large (more than 500) | 4.75 | 12 | £8190 |
| Total | N/A | 70 | £17,710 |
David Fox, the director of sales and marketing for Dentons Pension Management, said: “We are confident the new rules can be accommodated within our current structure and resources.”
Adviser view
Stuart Read, director of Devon-based Sabre Financial, said: “The providers that have not got a very big Sipp book can feel themselves unduly penalised by the rules.
“The consequences of this and other factors are that we will see more and more of the smaller players disappear.”
