Liberty SIPP previously offered the Liberty SIPP and Liberty ICON SIPP but wanted to make its proposition even more transparent and easy-to-understand — and, crucially, flexible and low cost for the client.
The Liberty Option SIPP is the solution, only charging clients for what they use. So, for example, if a client wants to transfer in a property, they pay the property fee; if they want to take an income, they pay the drawdown fee.
It's a build-it-yourself SIPP where people pay for what they need, not pay over the odds for services they don't need.
The Liberty Option SIPP will charge a flat annual fee of £150 and offer 1% interest on its cash account from which, consistent with its principles and adherence to TCF, it will take no commission.
The £150 annual fee covers, among other things:
- Free contributions
- Free administration
- Free access to online valuation tool
- Free annual reporting
- One free standard investment, e.g. a regulated DFM (Discretionary Fund Manager) account
In a step forward from a traditionally analogue application process, The Liberty Option SIPP can also be applied for online: no more need for endless reams of paper and postage costs. Best of all, for clients applying online, there are no set-up costs.
During a transfer to The Liberty Option SIPP, the IFA and/or client is kept up-to-date on progress in real time via an online portal. All transfer notes and valuations can be seen in one place.
Effectively, the IFA and/or client can see as much information as the administrator and is always fully in the loop.
While it will remain a whole-of-market SIPP, Liberty SIPP has partnered with a number of established platforms, investment firms and Discretionary Fund Managers, including Charles Stanley, Brewin Dolphin, Raymond James and Brooks MacDonald.
John Fox, Managing Director, Liberty SIPP, commented:
"Liberty SIPP has always prided itself on its transparency and we felt that paring down our proposition to just The Liberty Option SIPP would make it even more consumer- and IFA-friendly. We also wanted people to have a SIPP that's tailored to their needs, not one that's tailored to everyone else's needs.
“We believe SIPPs' popularity will continue to rise in the years ahead and, as they become more mass-market, it's vital to keep it simple. We have also invested heavily in the technology platform, as today's SIPP, for both the IFA and client, needs to be real-time and always-on.
“With new capital adequacy rules due to be implemented, the next couple of years will be a challenging period for many in the SIPPs market.
“As a result, we continue to build up our cash resources in anticipation of these changes. With many larger providers potentially struggling to adjust to the new raft of regulatory demands, and geared on current account commissions, we believe we are one of very few SIPP providers in the market with sufficient capital adequacy."
