Talbot & Muir has called on the self-invested personal pensions (Sipp) industry to standardise its reporting on non-standard investments (NSIs)
The independent Sipp and small self-administered scheme (Ssas) specialist has issued a due diligence document designed to explain what advisers need to know when considering which self-invested personal pension (Sipp) provider to work with.
Talbot & Muir believes industry standardisation of NSI reporting is key to making it easier for advisers and their clients to compare pension providers.
Graham Muir, director at Talbot & Muir, said: "It is now more important than ever for advisers to ensure their clients are with a provider that can be considered ‘safe’ and which has not stored up significant issues which may have a detrimental effect on service standards.
"We strongly believe that there is a uniform way to disclose what is ‘under the bonnet’ of each Sipp provider.
"As there is no such disclosure at the moment, we have devised a list of questions with our responses that we believe will provide advisers with a much greater insight into a provider’s exposure to these problem issues.”"
Mr Muir added: "This is now available as part of our due diligence pack and we urge the industry to follow suit and provide a clear and uniform approach to this issue."
Talbot & Muir’s call for standardisation follows a number of court cases where Sipp providers have attempted to defend themselves over claims they should have done more due diligence on certain investments.
In October the High Court dismissed a case brought against the Financial Ombudsman Service by Sipp provider Berkeley Burke.
The case saw Berkeley Burke fight a decision from 2014, in which the Fos ruled the Sipp provider had to compensate a client after it failed to carry out adviser-style due diligence on his investment.
