September marked the introduction of capital adequacy requirements for self-invested personal pension (Sipp) providers, raising the cost of doing businesses for providers offering non-standard investments.
Financial Adviser contacted a number of providers to find out how the new rules had impacted their fees and charges.
Sixteen providers came back with detailed breakdowns of their charging structure. All but two providers – Morgan Lloyd and Sippchoice – said they had not lifted their fees as a result of the capital adequacy rules. One provider, London Colonial, said a charge was likely to be introduced in the next review.
By far the most expensive Sipp on the list was Morgan Lloyd’s ‘Qualitas’ product. For an investor holding non-standard investments, in the first year the Qualitas Sipp would cost £2,125, including set-up fees and capital adequacy charges.
The second most expensive was MW Pensions, which could cost investors as much as £1,100 in the first year, plus an undisclosed capital adequacy charge for members holding non-standard assets. However, as with a number of providers, MW Pensions’ Sipp charges differ depending on the complexity of investments, and can cost as little as £275 in the first year.
Full Sipps offered by Dentons, London Colonial, Rowanmoor and Sippchoice, were next on the list, with costs ranging from £750 to £895.
The cheapest Sipp on the list was, potentially AJ Bell, which, for customers starting with a pot of more than £25,000, and investing in AJ Bell’s Funds and Shares product, could have no fees at all. However, for other investors it could cost as much as £220 in the first year. Standard Life customers could also potentially pay no fees.
Members of a James Hay Sipp with more than £195,000, who set-up online, would also pay no fees. However, those set up with a paper form and with less than £195,000 would pay £295.
Curtis Banks’ eSipp costs between £100 and £150, with no set-up fee. Liberty Sipp has an annual fee of £150 and no set-up fee.
Hargreaves Lansdown, Aviva and Nucleus all charge percentage fees, meaning low balance Sipps would attract very low fees. Those three providers also charge no set-up fee.
London Colonial (for its Simple Investments online Sipp), and Rowanmoor (for its Single Investment Sipp) came next on affordability.
As for exit charges, the most expensive found by Financial Adviser was Momentum, which charges a maximum of £500, followed by Morgan Lloyd’s full Sipp, which charges £450.
For low exit fees, Hargreaves Lansdown charged £50, followed by AJ Bell, which charged just £75.
Of the providers contacted, Mattioli Woods and Suffolk Life did not provide detailed breakdowns of their costs and fees.
A spokesperson for Mattioli Woods said: “Our initial fees and annual fees vary from client to client.”
A spokesperson for Suffolk Life made no comment on fees, but said they had not increased them to meet capital adequacy rules.
For a more detailed breakdown of the fees and charges of the Sipps from providers that disclosed the information go to FTAdviser.com
