Our recent study around trends in SIPP provision has revealed that increased investment in technology should be a key consideration for SIPP providers.
The nationwide study among over 100 advisers found widespread support for investment in technology by providers as a positive for expanding the SIPP market over the next three years with research highlighting key developments.
Speeding up applications through the use of electronic signatures and digital due diligence was a significant improvement for 71% of advisers, with two out of three also saying that using digital portals for all transactions should be an investment focus for SIPP providers.
Revealing the extent to which technology has become a crucial part of the day-to-day life of an adviser, more than half of the respondents said that a focus on technology was a key consideration when searching for a SIPP provider for their clients.
The study also showed that efficiency remains the most important factor for advisers, with 84% considering efficient administration a major priority.
Commenting on the integration of technology into the market, Group CEO Sandra Robertson said:
“The SIPP market continues to grow strongly as advisers and clients see the benefits of taking control of their retirement planning and investments.
Providers need to make it as easy as possible for advisers when recommending SIPPs. Investing in technology will deliver returns as it is clearly a major factor for clients when choosing who to trust with their money. Simple steps such as faster applications and digital portals are increasingly a basic factor for clients.”
With increased levels of efficiency, access and integration as a result of technological enhancements, SIPP providers are adapting to new market trends. Here at iPensions Group, we have made significant investments in technology during the last three years. A commitment to innovation has allowed us to future-proof our offer and provide a high level of efficiency and timely support to advisers and clients, ensuring that our service is as robust tomorrow as it is today.
Last month we launched The Platform SIPP, which reflects our focus on innovation in the SIPP market and introduces technology to enable advisers and clients to consolidate their pensions into an online managed SIPP solution. The Platform SIPP provides 24/7 hour online access and it is the first in a series of technology-led pensions solutions designed to provide advisers and their clients with transparency, control and choice.
Disclaimer
The content of this article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or taxation advice. You should not rely on the information contained in this article as legal, financial or taxation advice. The content of this article is based on information currently available to us, and the current laws in force in the UK. The content does not take account of individual circumstances and may not reflect recent changes in the law since the date it was created. It is essential that detailed financial and tax advice should be sought in both jurisdictions and any legal advice, if required.
iPensions Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Licence Number 464521.
Technology enhanced pension consolidation and portfolio access
We are delighted to announce the launch of The Platform SIPP, the first in a series of technology-led pensions solutions designed to provide advisers and their clients with transparency, control, and choice.
The Platform SIPP, which is available to UK and non-UK residents, underlines our drive for innovation in the SIPP market and introduces technology enabling advisers and clients to consolidate their pensions into an online managed solution.
Clients benefit from 24/7 online access and monitoring of their portfolio and a transparent fee structure. There are no dealing fees for online direct dealing and no SIPP set-up fee or transfer in fee. The annual trust fee is £200, and the platform service fee is 0.35% a year. The Platform SIPP provides access to more than 2,500 investment options including funds, investment trusts and ETFs, as well as cash and deposit accounts. All investment options have gone through an exacting due diligence and selection process to ensure adviser and client peace of mind. The Platform SIPP only accepts assets complying with the FCA’s list of standard assets.
The launch is supported by a strong, knowledgeable award-winning SIPP team which will help advisers create and deliver better client outcomes efficiently.
Sandra Robertson, Group CEO said: “The market for pension consolidation will continue to expand as UK and non-UK residents look to bring all their pension schemes together and The Platform SIPP has been designed to support them.
It is a highly competitive option for advisers which gives control and flexibility while offering 24/7 access to manage and monitor portfolios. We are delighted to have delivered the first launch under iPensions Group which demonstrates our ambition and focus on growth in the market.”
Full details of the charging structure are available online here and advisers can contact the support team on advisersupport@ipensionsgroup.com.
Disclaimer
The content of this article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or taxation advice. You should not rely on the information contained in this article as legal, financial or taxation advice. The content of this article is based on information currently available to us, and the current laws in force in the UK. The content does not take account of individual circumstances and may not reflect recent changes in the law since the date it was created. It is essential that detailed financial and tax advice should be sought in both jurisdictions and any legal advice, if required.
iPensions Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Licence Number 464521.
Hrishi Kulkarni, Group Chief Technology Officer, outlines how technology will drive the next phase of growth at iPensions Group.
It has been a three-year journey involving significant investment, but customers and advisers will see the benefits of iPensions Group’s focus on technological transformation, Group Chief Technology Officer Hrishi Kulkarni says.
“Our aim is to make iPensions Group known as the technology-based pension solution provider with all our services designed to ensure members and advisers are centre stage. We have exciting plans for further technology enhancements as the business progresses.”
“As a group we are working towards a new phase of growth focused on implementing market-leading technology which will support the development of new products. To achieve the ambition though we have had to completely overhaul our approach to technology. Technology-driven products are the future for us” he says.
The board and shareholders at iPensions Group identified the opportunity to transform the business into one with best-in-class technology delivering unrivalled levels of service. They recognised that technology is an enabler for business growth and can increase efficiency for future scalability and diversification.
The decision was taken to develop a feature-rich platform providing major automation and not to buy an off-the-shelf system.
The impact of the new system is transformational as Hrishi explains. “Three years ago, we were operating with 80% to 90% manual processing. We could have bought a third-party system but nothing on the market was entirely what we needed so we developed our own while carrying on with business as usual. That kept costs down and enabled us to design a platform to suit our members and advisers.”
The benefits of the new platform are clear for staff – there is a central system to manage advisers and members as well as all products on one platform. It delivers end-to-end management of the administration process and all the key information is available for decision making.
It is a massive resource as it saves time by automating processes. For instance, processing and uploading investment valuations can now be done in minutes and hours rather in days or even months.
For advisers and members the new system is a step-change in the efficiency of communications about their schemes as well as offering improvements to onboarding with the launch of electronic checks. However as Hrishi says: “More importantly this is just the beginning as technology will enable iPensions Group to offer digital services to advisers and members as well as to help drive new products.”
“What we have automated on our platform are the high-risk or time-consuming processes and we have developed a platform which is 100% designed to suit our current and future needs. We can enhance the platform at our own pace to support our business strategy. That can mean moving faster when we need to and means being able to control the development costs.”
“Staff have embraced the process. People now don’t just come to me asking for solutions but also now they come up with innovative ideas to enhance our platform. That has also applied to data security and staff awareness of the online and offline security threats and what everyone should do to protect client data. This mindset change and the fact that we have the technical capability to convert those ideas into technology solutions will help iPensions Group in the future as we drive our business forward.”
Disclaimer
The content of this article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or taxation advice. You should not rely on the information contained in this article as legal, financial or taxation advice. The content of this article is based on information currently available to us, and the current laws in force in the UK. The content does not take account of individual circumstances and may not reflect recent changes in the law since the date it was created. It is essential that detailed financial and tax advice should be sought in both jurisdictions and any legal advice, if required.
iPensions Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Licence Number 464521.
Recently, it seems that not a week goes by where Defined Benefit (DB) transfers are not dragged into the spotlight.
Even as the challenges of coronavirus on the worldwide financial markets continue to develop, DB Transfers are still very much in focus across the financial services sector.
We’ve all seen the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has made on global stock markets and volatility continues, one consequence of which is plummeting gilt yields, often to record lows.
In ‘normal’ times, low gilt yields would usher in a trend towards increased Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETVs) and despite ‘normal’ times being a far cry from what we are currently experiencing, the trend towards increased CETVs is continuing.
With this in mind, serious consideration should be given to the impact that market volatility and potential employer solvency will have on scheme funding levels, as well as the decisive action trustees may need to take in response to this – such as reductions in these values.
On Friday 27th March 2020, The Pensions Regulator released guidance which effectively allowed Scheme Trustees to temporarily put a pause on providing new CETVs to their members for a period of three months. The regulator also gave them the ability to freeze the payments of these transfer values for the same period.
However, despite this measure, it is important to note that the obligations of Scheme Trustees are not being waived, but rather, no regulatory action will be taken against Scheme Trustees for any action taken during this three-month window.
Upon release, it felt that the regulatory guidance had the potential to be a game-changer for DB transfer advice. However, it has proven to be quite the opposite. Early indications are that most Scheme Trustees are not making any changes at all, with many signalling to us that it’s ‘business as usual’, although this may change of course as we go further into this window.
Another significant development in the DB transfer advice market is the recent decision from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to delay the release of their policy statement until Q2 or Q3.
This was originally due for release by the end of March 2020, and a full ban on contingent charging was deemed likely, together with the introduction of abridged advice.
The delay in releasing this statement seems at odds with other simultaneous action being taken by the FCA, including a heavy focus on protecting clients from scams and a fortnightly request for commentary on DB transfer activity from those firms that they deem active in this market.
Clients are always going to be highly vulnerable to scams in the current climate and we feel that the FCA’s reluctance to follow through on their proposals at this time does nothing to protect against this.
At such a time of uncertainty, it’s clear that clients are more in need of advice than ever and they must not see accessing their DB pension as an escape from any wider financial issues.
It is imperative that any advice currently provided to clients fully considers the potential impacts of COVID-19 in both the short and long term. There are additional risks of transferring in the current climate and clients need to be made fully aware of these before making what is an irreversible and life-changing decision.
DB pensions may offer a client the guarantees and security they need at a time when everything else is so uncertain.
One other issue heavily impacting the DB transfer advice market is the availability of Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) to those firms wishing to continue providing this specialist advice.
PII premiums continue to increase several-fold in addition to policy excesses with, many firms finding it too expensive or too risky to continue providing advice in this area.
This is having the effect of reducing the supply of DB transfer advice, at a time when the demand remains for the service.
PII providers appear to be taking a blanket approach and this, in our opinion, is heavily impacting the ability of clients to get trusted, high-quality advice.
The next few months will prove to be key in determining the future direction of the DB transfer advice market and, in the absence of a vaccine, the post-COVID-19 World.
Disclaimer
The content of this article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or taxation advice. You should not rely on the information contained in this article as legal, financial or taxation advice. The content of this article is based on information currently available to us, and the current laws in force in the UK. The content does not take account of individual circumstances and may not reflect recent changes in the law since the date it was created. It is essential that detailed financial and tax advice should be sought in both jurisdictions and any legal advice, if required.
iPensions Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Licence Number 464521.
iPensions Group is now accepting electronic signatures for all its pension and investment forms to help ease the process for advisers and their clients during the COVID-19 crisis.
We were already planning to offer e-signatures, but accelerated the implementation of them as the pandemic forced advisers to give up face-to-face meetings.
We are accepting e-signatures on all pension forms and investment company documentation for all our SIPP products when submitted using DocuSign or Adobe Sign. Members and advisers are now able to sign documents electronically without the need to print, sign and scan. Advisers will however need to confirm with investment companies directly that they accept e-signatures and will have to set up their own accounts with DocuSign or Adobe Sign.
Craig Cheyne, Managing Director of iPensions Group said: “Advisers and clients expect high standards of service at all times and accepting electronic signatures will assist, particularly as all parties are having to adapt how they work and live.
“Our own staff are working from remotely, so are well aware of the need to be flexible, to ensure that we continue to provide this high level of support to members and advisers.”
Disclaimer
The content of this article is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or taxation advice. You should not rely on the information contained in this article as legal, financial or taxation advice. The content of this article is based on information currently available to us, and the current laws in force in the UK. The content does not take account of individual circumstances and may not reflect recent changes in the law since the date it was created. It is essential that detailed financial and tax advice should be sought in both jurisdictions and any legal advice, if required.
iPensions Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Licence Number 464521.
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