Are your clients still important to your SIPP & SSAS provider following an acquisition? Will they continue to receive good value for money when they are no longer the ‘core’ client?
After many years of seeing a shift from traditional pension arrangements with large insurance companies to bespoke SSAS and SIPP operators, I believe we are now seeing what I have been anticipating for some time in this space.
We are now seeing the beginning of the large SSAS and SIPP providers focus on the more ‘platform’ based part of the market with a smaller number of ‘boutique’ firms operating traditional SSAS and SIPP arrangements including commercial property. The large SIPP providers are now effectively becoming the replacement of the original insurance companies but with a modern technology platform and a much more competitive charging structure. The smaller boutique firms are then concentrating on what they do best with more complex arrangements, effectively the original traditional SSAS and SIPP market. SSAS and full SIPPs are boutique products and it is very difficult to be boutique in a large-scale business.
In the main, this will be positive for the industry as advisers will have a much clearer picture of the right provider for their clients depending on their needs rather than a one size fits all approach. The downside, and it will be a significant one, will be for those advisers and their clients who are ‘trapped in a closed book’ where the clients will not fit with the firms core proposition and therefore will not benefit from continued investment into their technology or service propositions.
I believe we will see a significant shift in the market in the next 18-24 months including some of the ‘closed books’ moving from one provider to another. For client and financial adviser, this a time where they should be reviewing whether or not their SIPP or SSAS provider will continue to provide good value for the fees being charged.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to get in touch.