Five things your clients will call you about this week

It's our round-up of the stories your clients may have read in the weekend's national newspapers...

SIPPs

The Telegraph took an extensive look at SIPPs and, particularly, their suitability for customers. As one expert explained, many simply invest in insurers' funds, something which could be done for cheaper within a personal pension. There was also a mention of the FSA's concerns that advisers are "churning" existing pensions into SIPPs to benefit from higher commission payments.

Annuity rates

Anyone who felt removed from the eurozone crisis may have had a shock reading a Mail on Sunday piece on how it is seriously affecting annuity rates. With returns from British government bonds falling sharply as a result, the rates have slumped by almost 4% in the past three months. The advice was to shop around but, with phrases like "tearing a huge hole in future pensioners' incomes", panic might be the initial reaction.

ISA woes

Investors who put their money into some of the best-selling ISA funds five years ago have seen them massively underperform, with some losing up to half their money. That was according to a piece in the Telegraph, which singled out the Artemis European Growth fund, down 35% since 2007, and the Aviva Property Trust, now down 36%. With each fund the paper looked at, an alternative was suggested, with the upcoming ISA season in mind.

Positive on retirement

How about this for a more positive outlook on retirement: "With a bit of careful planning, pensioners can have the time of their lives". This was the thrust of a piece in the Independent, which ran through a point-by-point guide from IFAs and other experts on saving for retirement. Starting early, consolidating, reviewing and diversifying were the key recommendations, while fighting the temptation to stop investing in bad times was also advised.

Smaller companies

Smaller companies had a torrid time last year, with investors rushing to pull their money out, but could this make them an exciting opportunity this year? That's what the Independent on Sunday tried to find out, with experts giving an optimistic outlook. Of course, selecting among some of the bigger-name fund managers remains the key challenge, and the Independent name-checked Harry Nimmo, with the Standard Life UK Smaller Companies trust, and Giles Hargreave, who manages the Marlborough Special Situations and UK Micro Cap Growth funds.