Tag Archives: SIPP

I don’t want “active” or “passive” – I want value for my money Stuart!

Posted on June 4, 2023 by henry tapper

Stuart Kirk , the journalist who fell out with ESG and the industry it has spawned is now being controversial for a living (rather than a sacking). This week’s FT column finds him falling out with himself for being active … Continue reading →

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Can Trustees, SIPPS and lawyers provide DWP with agreed rules on DC transfers?

Posted on July 6, 2022 by henry tapper

Six years ago, no-one had heard of PensionBee; it was a start-up operating out of a serviced office in the Borough with a handful of staff, a scanner and some very good coders who knew their way around Salesforce. Rather … Continue reading →

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Are SIPPs to be trusted?

Posted on January 2, 2022 by henry tapper

We don’t need no education I am no fan of the phrase “financial education” even less  “thought control”. When financial experts turn teachers and start treat their customers as children, alarm bells should be ringing. They are clearly ringing at … Continue reading →

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It’s time to stop sneering at St. James’s Place

Posted on July 29, 2021 by henry tapper

St. James’s Place released their half yearly results yesterday and the market responded by marking up their shares 5%. The results told us that SJP had added nearly £10bn to funds under management and that operating profit had shot up. … Continue reading →

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The rise and fall of SIPPs

Posted on February 23, 2019 by henry tapper

  It’s easy enough for me to throw stones at SIPPs, I don’t invest in them, I don’t advise on them and I don’t run one. In the early days of SIPPs , two good friends, John Moret and John … Continue reading →

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FCA to tame the drawdown bucking bronco!

Posted on January 29, 2019 by henry tapper

  Yesterday was a good news day for people concerned about retirement income. The FCA made two meaningful statements on what it intends to do to help ordinary people trying to manage their in retirement finances. The first was the … Continue reading →

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Are SIPPs just too complicated?

Posted on August 23, 2018 by henry tapper

  News yesterday  that complaints about SIPPs (Self Invested Personal Pensions) are now upheld by the pension ombudsman more than any other financial product. The number of new complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service concerning Sipps has nearly doubled in … Continue reading →

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The problem with platforms (is that everyone loves them).

Posted on August 14, 2018 by henry tapper

Platforms are a relatively new but significant and growing distribution channel. The platform service provider market has doubled since 2013 from £250bn to £500bnassets under administration (AUA). This growth in AUA has been driven by rising markets and increasing levels … Continue reading →

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Can “for profit” prosper? Yes – but we need dashboards that profit us all.

Posted on July 21, 2018 by henry tapper

There is a strong tradition in this country of delivering services through “not for profit” organisations. Such organisations have been self-sustainable because of the endowments or trust funds that support their management. The most obvious manifestation of the not for … Continue reading →

Posted in Dashboard, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hargreaves Lansdown’s IGC as pretty and effective as a chocolate teapot!

Posted on April 28, 2018 by henry tapper

    In 2015, David Grimes and the Hargreaves Lansdown IGC, delivered what remains the worst IGC report I have ever reviewed. Things improved considerably in 2016 but the IGC has not kicked on and I find the 2017 report … Continue reading →

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