SIPP boom is over, says former James Hay director

The boom in SIPP sales that has seen numbers of the products grow to 700,000 is over, a former James Hay Partnership director has said.

Richard Mattison, who was business development director at James Hay until September 2011, said sales of "true SIPPs" offering total flexibility "plateaued some time ago".

His comments contradict predictions made by MoreToSIPPs director John Moret, who has claimed SIPP numbers will hit 1.2m by 2015.

Mattison this week announced he and Jane Davies, former business development manager at James Hay, have bought SSAS firm Whitehall Group.

Explaining the move from SIPP to SSAS, Mattison said: "There is a resurgence in the popularity of the SSAS.

"SSAS can do everything a SIPP can do and more; it can also handle more esoteric investments than SIPPs.

"We have decided to drag the SSAS into the 21st century by introducing a pricing structure that mirrors that of SIPPs."

Whitehall Group's SSAS will be priced at £250 per member per year, with a cap of £1,000 on annual fees for each scheme.

The SSAS also have "pay for what you use" menus of prices similar to those of more modern SIPPs. They also offer online capabilities.

Mattison said the firm has no plans to acquire any more books of business but did not rule out future acquisitions.

Mattison's announcement comes after several industry figures have protested the SSAS market is not dead as is commonly held.

Hornbuckle Mitchell and Dentons have both shown a renewed energy in advertising their SSAS business in the past six months.