SIPP  

Curtis Banks launches Sipp

Curtis Banks launches Sipp

Curtis Banks has launched a self-invested personal pension to replace its current range of products. 

The ‘Your Future Sipp’ product brings together elements of products previously offered by Curtis Banks and Suffolk Life.

Your Future Sipp is fully digital, with advisers and clients able to access it via mobiles, tablets and computers, and includes open market access to a number of investments, including discretionary, brokers and commercial property.

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It also features automated adviser charging.

There is no establishment charge for the product and the annual administration fee is £260 plus VAT.

The company stated the Sipp was competitively priced, with clients only paying for what they use. It comes without application fees for online applications and a tiered annual administration fee.

Your Future Sipp accesses the administration platforms and teams of Curtis Banks.

Will Self, chief executive of Curtis Banks (pictured), said: "The Sipp market is undergoing an evolution. On one side a number of platforms are clearly struggling to offer the service levels that advisers demand, and are far from an automatic choice for advisers with outsourced investment propositions.

"On the other, a number of Sipp providers face an uncertain future as they clean up legacy books, which contain illiquid investments and are not innovating in new products. 

"As one of the leading providers, we have looked to the future and created the new Sipp proposition that advisers asked for, supported by a nationwide adviser support network."

Steven Nelson, consulting director at the Lang Cat, said: "There is obviously a crossover point whereby fixed fee products and services such as the Your Future Sipp from Curtis Banks, work out cheaper when compared to alternatives that operate on a percentage-basis.

"What is significantly less simple are the many, many aspects adviser firms need to consider when carrying out provider research and individual suitability exercises. 

"Price is a component part of the wider picture, but an extremely important one from the customer perspective. Our research shows us that there is a significant portion of customers on platforms whose investments sit wholly within a pension-wrapper.

"We reckon that adviser firms need to be comfortable that the balance of benefits derived from platform usage are passed onto the customer."

Curtis Banks will also be launching an online portal that directly supports the Your Future Sipp to reduce administration time for advisers. 

Andrew Rastrick, Chartered financial planner at Sterling Asset Management, said: "Curtis Banks has talked with advisers to design a new product and proposition that really suits the future of retirement.  

"They have taken into account not only how people save and access their retirement pot but also the need to access individual information at a time that suits me and on any device, being mobile and iPad friendly is so useful.  

"They have also taken into account the need for the full flexibilities of a bespoke Sipp but the charging only occurs when it is used."