SIPPs and Suitability – the FCA View
In 2018 the Financial Conduct Authority asked Work & Pensions Select Committee chairperson, Frank Field, to provide a list of questions that SIPP providers must answer before enabling clients to access a SIPP.
This is because the FCA had serious concerns about whether all financial advisers were giving full consideration to the twin issues of suitability and due diligence checks before recommending a SIPP. It also called on all advisers to ensure that SIPPs align with clients’ investment objectives.
Fees – a Question of Transparency
It is important that all SIPP clients fully understand the long-term fee burden and charging structure. For example, does the SIPP provider impose a one-off charge or ongoing investments fees and, importantly, does it charge an annual flat fee or calculate its fee as a percentage of the total value of the scheme?
Expat Pension Transfer Advice from Blacktower FM
Blacktower FM gives full consideration to your retirement planning goals and financial circumstances before recommending any SIPP product. We also ensure that the provider is fully scrutinised so that you are not later left counting the cost.
Our advisers have helped many clients find the SIPP that is most suitable for them, particularly in cases where their cross-border financial needs are not able to be met by an employer-sponsored pension scheme.
Where appropriate, we may also be able to help clients consolidate multiple pension arrangements into a SIPP in order to improve the management and efficiency of their most important retirement asset.
For more information about how we may be able to help you, contact us today. We have offices across Europe, including in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, all providing wealth management the Blacktower way. Discover the difference.
*Sarah Stokes, Managing Director at Pension Claim Consulting Ltd, quoted in The Express, 29 April, https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1120473/brexit-news-Pension-news-expats-state-pension-compensation-claim-SIPP
This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, investment recommendations or investment research. You should seek advice from a professional adviser before embarking on any financial planning activity. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in this communication is correct, we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.
That is the question concerning many expatriates at the moment. What a difference a few days can make to the whole issue, before Cameron went to the EU to try to negotiate with a group of people that dislike anything that could disrupt the status quo or threaten their position (no matter how valid the argument), it looked like the in vote had the upper hand. 
The UK government has admitted there are not enough pension transfer specialist advisers to deal with demand, particularly in the case of more complex transfers into overseas pensions. This was the government’s response in March to a consultation launched two years ago, on whether the need to take financial advice, introduced with pension freedoms, created difficulties for overseas residents – residents such as those living in Cyprus wishing to transfer their pension savings from the UK to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS).