Pension provider ends ‘selected’ adviser focus
Glasgow-based self-invested pension firm Yorsipp has launched a new website targeting the wider universe of financial advisers, following eight years of being sold through “selected” intermediaries.
To coincide with the launch, the firm has also slashed costs in an initial offer to run until the end of March that will see transferring savers charged a total fee of £825 for the first year, including any costs of transferring in a property, which the firm says equates to a saving of £1,500.
The charge reduction is aimed at helping to offset any “exit penalty” that may be imposed by the incumbent provider, Mr Canning added. He said that Yorsipp may extend the offer period at the end of the March but that the firm would wait and see how the initial sale offer went.
An investigation by FTAdviser, carried out in March last year, found fixed transfer-in costs ranged from £450 to £1,450 across the market, with others applying bespoke time-based costs. The cost to transfer a property out ranged from £250 to £800, with Hornbuckle Mitchell the most expensive.
At the time, Sipp providers were frustrated over some firms’ charges to transfer out, which they claimed were high to discourage clients from transferring out of their existing scheme. Since then, a number of providers have reduced their property transfer fee.
In November, Sipp provider City Trustees launched a property transfer campaign targeted at financial advisers, in an attempt to help advisers move dissatisfied property investors away from other Sipp providers.
In April, Suffolk Life also halved the property acquisition fee to £725 where a panel solicitor is used.
Mr Canning said:“We know that advisers value transparency. However, our feedback is that advisers find it increasingly difficult to compare charging structures - with property and exit costs being particular examples.
“At Yorsipp we aim to give complete transparency - this includes quoting fees which are Vat inclusive, to complete freedom over which professional advisers can be used in the transaction, at no additional cost.
“In addition to assist clients who feel ‘trapped’ in high charging and/or poor service arrangements we now report monthly on our actual operational performance to give comfort over our ongoing level of service.”
This article was updated after publication to remove a reference to the product being offered directly and to clarify that the launch offer includes all first-year costs.
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
