SIPPJul 6 2017

Sipp numbers rise by 66% at Talbot & Muir

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Sipp numbers rise by 66% at Talbot & Muir

Talbot & Muir, the self-invested personal pension (Sipp) and small self administered scheme (Ssas) specialist, has seen a 66 per cent increase in new Sipp cases for the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2016.

The provider welcomed 188 new Sipp clients in the first three months of this year while the first quarter's total last year was 113.

 Brian Talbot, director of Talbot & Muir, said: “This is clear evidence that advisers continue to have confidence in the self invested market and see it as a useful planning tool for a wide range of clients.

"Equally encouraging is that our Ssas new business also continues to increase ahead of what we saw last year.”

Ssas is proving popular despite the length of time it is now taking to register new schemes, up to three months in some cases, to ensure that unscrupulous scammers are not using them as a vehicle to house unregulated, dubious investments.

Paul Darvill, administration and technical director at Talbot & Muir, said: “We pride ourselves on providing a personal service to advisers and their clients and we believe this is why advisers have continued to introduce new business to us.

"We are also seeing an increase in the number of adviser firms using us. This is up 19 per cent from the same period last year, many of them looking for an independent administrator that provides technical expertise, high levels of administrative excellence and is financially strong.

“All Talbot & Muir’s capital requirements are met with tier one capital, which is important for advisers as it is all our own resources and in no way subsidised by tier two or three capital which is essentially external funding. We maintain a healthy surplus.”

Talbot & Muir has also seen a continued interest in new SIPP property cases, proving it is still a very popular asset despite concerns around Brexit.

Commenting on these results, Dennis Hall, managing director of London's Yellowtail Financial Planning said: "I am not all surprised by these figures.

"They come largely on the back of the pension freedoms and people transferring from defined benefit occupational schemes. In fact I would have expected a little bit more."

Scott Gallacher, director of Leicester-based Rowley Turton, agreed that "the increase will be down partly to an increase in people looking for more flexible pension due to pensions freedoms and DB transfers.

"But perhaps it's also down to Talbot & Muir's excellent reputation among advisers. We've used them due to their first class technical knowledge."

Julie Lavers, Chartered Financial Planner at AV Trinity, said: “We too have seen a significant increase in the number of clients for whom a Sipp has become suitable.

"A Sipp offers the ultimate flexibility in terms of income options. This enables us to help our clients extract the income they require in the most tax efficient way, and of course the Sipp continues to be an excellent estate planning opportunity."

stephanie.hawthorne@ft.com