Self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) are not yet a mainstream investment interest among investors chronicle readers, but a substantial minority responded to the questions on Sipp providers, and nominated Selftrade as this year's worthy winner.
The questions revolved around costs, both dealing and annual fees, and the range of underlying assets that can be traded within the Sipp wrapper. In both cases, the average satisfaction rating is around 4.35. And what of the winner? Selftrade puts on an impressive show, scoring 4.83 on the issue of cost (ahead of the likes of Alliance Trust and TD Waterhouse). The broker notches up exactly the same score on the range of assets available (with TD Waterhouse again coming in as runner-up with a very respectable 4.75).
Interestingly, 2005's winner, Hargreaves Lansdown - which last year received nothing but positive comments, particularly about its low costs - got a more mixed reaction this year. Comments such as "despite the low cost image, trading with them is expensive", suggest investors are sensitive to Sipp pricing structures, and have a clear idea of what rates as good value.
All this makes Selftrade's high score on cost all the more of an endorsement.
What's more, Selftrade has adopted a simple and transparent charging structure, in line with its recently acquired sister broker, Squaregain (formerly Comdirect). It now charges a flat £12.50 dealing fee for both online and phone trades, with no annual or inactivity charges (although the pension administrator or trustee, which is a separate body, will charge a set-up fee and/or ongoing management charge). And that flat dealing fee applies equally to UK - including Aim and Ofex - equities, and to the European and US markets. The choice also extends to funds, warrants, fixed-interest investments and exchange-traded funds.
