Tilney Bestinvest has today (4 February) announced the removal of the service fee on its Best Sipp, which is available through its online investment service.
The self-invested personal pension’s account fee has a starting tier of 0.3 per cent for balances up to £250,000, leaving only the fund charges.
Tilney Bestinvest confirmed the new fee-free Sipp structure will apply to both existing and new self-directed investors in the ready made portfolios.
Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Bestinvest, said removing the Sipp account fee represents a considerable overall cost saving and narrows the fee gap between managing and selecting your own investments and opting for a diversified, monitored and professionally managed portfolio.
He said: “While some investors enjoy running their own portfolios, many others find they neither have the time nor inclination to do so but cost has been a key deterrent to choosing a managed portfolio.”
He added the firm believes the new fee-free Sipp deal on its ready-made portfolios should help investors square this circle and importantly the underlying investments are not restricted to index trackers, so there is no “dumbing down” of the investment content.
In addition, for investors transferring to the Best Sipp, Tilney Bestinvest will also pay up to £500 towards meeting any exits costs from existing providers.
The £500 will be paid whether or not the investors selects the Ready-made Portfolios or makes their own fund selections.
Daren O’Brien, director at Aurora Financial Solutions said: “Anything that reduces charges for clients is always a good thing. However, by only allowing you then to invest in a pre-made collection of funds that they have selected doesn’t mean you’re getting value for money. You may actually be able to buy the same collection of funds cheaper elsewhere.
“As with any investment, we would alway recommend reviewing and assessing all the charges.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
