Vanguard - Best for low fees and a simple investment structure
Vanguard’s SIPP is simple, straightforward, and low-cost. It is a favourite among DIY investors who favour simple tracker funds and are looking to save on investment fees.
Investment choices: There is a very limited range of investments on the Vanguard platform, but this is no bad thing for newer investors or those who take a hands-off approach. You can’t invest in individual company stocks through Vanguard. Instead, you have access to around 85 Vanguard funds. These funds offer access to global companies and bonds.
Fees: There are typically no dealing fees. Annual management fees are just 0.15%, capped at £375 a year, on top of fund fees averaging 0.20% a year. This makes Vanguard’s SIPP a very low-cost option for investors with a portfolio of less than £100,000.
If your portfolio is worth more than £100,000 then a broker with flat fees may work out cheaper and you’d get more investment choice. Annual management fees would be £150 a year on top of ongoing fund charges. But Vanguard offers a great starting point for a SIPP.
Platform: The website is easy to navigate and you can filter funds by region, risk level or management type. There is not yet a mobile app available to all users but one is currently being tested. For an even deeper dive, check out my full review of Vanguard.
Interactive Investor - Best for flat fees
If you have a healthy pension pot of more than £55,000, and like access to a wide range of investments, then a flat-fee SIPP provider such as Interactive Investor (ii) is worth considering.
Investment choices: There is a broad range of investments available through the ii SIPP, with more than 40,000 assets to choose from including U.K. and U.S. stocks, funds, investment trusts, ETFs, and bonds. You can also invest in ready-made portfolios if you’d prefer not to choose your own investments.
Fees: Interactive Investor’s SIPP costs £12.99 a month (£155.88 a year) for those with savings above £50,000. If you already have an ISA or trading account with ii, the SIPP fee reduces to £5 a month (£60 a year). For those with less than £50,000, ii’s SIPP fee is £5.99 a month.
In comparison, if you held £55,000 in funds with a platform such as Fidelity or Hargreaves Lansdown, you’d pay annual management fees of £192.50 and £247.50 respectively. As you can see, a flat-fee platform can be a cheaper option for those with more invested.
Interactive Investor’s regular investing service also means there are no dealing charges if you invest regularly each month. Otherwise, one-off investments are £3.99 to buy or sell.
These dealing charges are on the lower end of other rival traditional platforms but are more expensive than a broker like CMC Invest, which offers free trading - although the monthly SIPP charge is more expensive at £25 a month (free for the first year).
Platform: There is excellent educational material and the mobile app is also comprehensive. The website is easy to use and I found it relatively simple to figure out ii's services and charges navigating through it. To learn more about what it has to offer, read my full review of Interactive Investor.
Hargreaves Lansdown - Great all-rounder
Hargreaves Lansdown’s SIPP could be a great option if you have a large amount invested in ETFs or investment trusts and don’t trade frequently.
Fees: If you hold ETFs, investment trusts, or company shares then Hargreaves Lansdown’s SIPP is competitive on price as the annual management fee is capped at £200. Dealing charges are high though at £11.95 per trade for listed companies, so can work out quite expensive if you trade regularly.
Hargreaves Lansdown charges annual fees of 0.45% on mutual funds, so the platform can also work out expensive if you hold a large amount in mutual funds. If you have more than £20,000 invested in funds you may be better looking at a flat-fee broker or one that charges lower management fees. Fidelity, for example, charges 0.35% and fund trades are free like Hargreaves Lansdown.
Platform and Investment Choices: Overall, the Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP is a very good choice as research materials are extensive, there is great customer service support, a very wide range of investments, and a user-friendly app. Read my full review of Hargreaves Lansdown for a more comprehensive description.
Saxo - Best for experienced investors with £200,000 or more
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If you have a large SIPP portfolio worth more than £200,000, Saxo’s SIPP is worth looking at.
Fees: Annual management fees are 0.12% if you hold stocks, funds, or bonds (equal to £240 a year), or 0.2% if you hold mutual funds (£400 a year on a £200,000 holding).
Saxo does not charge dealing fees for funds. Trading fees for UK shares are 0.05% (minimum £3) or 0.01% (minimum $1) for US stocks which means Saxo is on the low end compared to other SIPP providers.
Platform and Investment Choices: Saxo gives access to the widest range of investments among the platforms we reviewed this year, offering 23,500 stocks across 50 exchanges and 6,000 funds. Meanwhile, Saxo’s trading platform is one of the most comprehensive we tested and is used by both professional and large-scale traders. Delve in deeper at my exhaustive review of Saxo.
FAQs
Can I transfer my SIPP to another provider?
Yes, you can transfer a SIPP to another provider if you feel there is another that suits you better or if you are looking to save on fees. You also don’t need to go through a financial adviser. Simply find the provider you wish to switch to and start the transfer process from your new account.
crisis_alertWatch out for scams!
Always choose a SIPP provider that is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is illegal for a company to cold-call you about pensions. Don’t sign up for any SIPP provider that contacts you out of the blue and promises investment returns that are too good to be true. All the investment platforms we review on UK.StockBrokers.com are trusted providers.
Be mindful that some providers charge exit fees when you move your SIPP away from them. However, providers attempting to attract new clients, such as Bestinvest or Fidelity, offer to cover the cost of some or all of your exit fees when you switch to them. In any case, it is always good policy to check for any set-up costs and ongoing charges with your new provider.
One available option is to sell your investments and convert them to cash to transfer to the new SIPP provider to then reinvest. Alternatively, you may be able to transfer your investments directly to another provider without selling them first if the new one offers the same investments. Do be aware that transferring your investments directly is more complicated and the process is likely to take longer than simply transferring the holdings as cash.
You can transfer funds between SIPPs at any time if you are under the age of 55. That said, if you are aged over 55 and have already started withdrawing money from your SIPP, there may be some restrictions.
Is there a penalty for withdrawing from SIPP?
There is usually a penalty if you withdraw from your SIPP before the age of 55, unless you have a serious health condition that allows you early access to your funds. You will pay tax of 55% on the amount you want to withdraw, so you’ll lose more than half of what you take out - a severe penalty for early withdrawal.
Once you are above the age of 55, there should be no longer be any penalties for withdrawing from your SIPP. However, there still may be income tax to pay depending on how much you earn per year.
What are the best-performing SIPP funds in the UK?
The three best-performing investment funds in the U.K. in the first half of 2024 were Neuberger Berman 5G Connectivity Fund Acc, Janus Henderson Global Tech Leaders, and Alger Focus Equity Z Fund US, according to investment data firm Morningstar. These are not specific SIPP funds, but they can be held in SIPPs.
Top 5 performing funds of 2024:*
- Neuberger Berman 5G Connectivity Fund Acc +30.45%
- Janus Henderson Global Tech Leaders +29.96%
- Alger Focus Equity Z Fund US +29.96%
- L&G Global Technology Index Trust Acc +29.51%
- Alger American Asset Growth US +28.81%
* 1 January - 30 June, Source: Morningstar
crisis_alertImportant disclaimer:
Please remember that past performance may not be a good prediction of future results. A fund which previously performed well may falter and decline in the future for various reasons. Always use due diligence and your best judgement before investing into a fund or stock.
According to SIPP provider Interactive Investor, these were the most popular SIPP funds, by category, held by its customers in July 2024:
Mutual funds:
- Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity A Acc
- Fundsmith Equity I Acc
- Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity A Acc
ETFs:
- Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (VUSA)
- iShares Core MSCI World ETF USD Acc (SWDA)
- Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (VWRL)
Investment trusts:
- Scottish Mortgage (SMT)
- Alliance Trust (ATST)
- F&C Investment Trust (FCIT)
Is my SIPP pension protected?
As long as your SIPP provider is fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) then your money is protected by the Financial Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to the value of £85,000. Search the FCA’s financial services register to see if a provider is registered there and what would happen to your money if the company fails.
While you won’t get compensation if your investment goes down and you lose money, the FSCS may cover poor investment management.
Who is the best SIPP provider for commercial property?
You cannot directly hold commercial property through self-directed investment platforms – commercial property is a specialist type of investment. That said, you can invest in commercial property investment funds (called real estate investment trusts or REITs) through many of the best online brokers in the U.K. To buy and hold commercial property directly you’ll need a regulated specialist provider such as Standard Life or Barnett Waddingham.
Other SIPPs we rate:
- Bestinvest: Offers free fund dealing. Account fees start from a low 0.2% for ready-made portfolios. However, there is a minimum annual management fee of £120 per year for SIPPs.
- AJ Bell: A wide range of investments are available with AJ Bell’s SIPP. Annual service fees are a maximum of 0.25% for funds or up to £120 for shares and ETFs. Share dealing costs £5 and fund dealing is £1.50.
- Fidelity: Charges a flat-rate fee of £90 a year for amounts under £25,000, and 0.35% on amounts above this up to £250,000. Dealing fees are £7.50 per trade but drop to £1.50 for regular investing.
Why you should trust us
Elizabeth Anderson has been a financial journalist for more than a decade. She’s written for major national newspapers, contributed to corporate reports and research, and reviewed dozens of share dealing platforms, SIPP providers, ISAs, and brokerage firms. Elizabeth started her career at Bloomberg and has worked for the BBC, The Telegraph, The Times and the i newspaper. She is passionate about helping people understand finance and investing. A keen investor herself, Elizabeth invests through general dealing accounts, ISAs and several SIPPs.
Steven Hatzakis is a well-known finance writer with 25+ years of experience in the foreign exchange and financial markets. He is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for Reink Media Group, leading research efforts for ForexBrokers.com since 2016. He has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages. Steven holds a Series III license in the US as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
All content on UK.StockBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the U.K. brokerage industry.
Ultimately, our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .1% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Click here to learn more about how we test.
How we tested
At UK.StockBrokers.com, our online broker reviews are based on our collected quantitative data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research and collect hundreds of data points while testing brokerage firms, share dealing platforms, SIPP providers, ISA providers, and other financial service providers relevant to U.K. investors. . on the top forex brokers and monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here).
Mobile testing is conducted on modern devices that run the most up-to-date operating systems available:
- For Apple, we use MacBook Pro laptops running macOS 14.5, and the iPhone 15 running iOS 17.6.1
- For Android, we use the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra devices running Android OS 14.
All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser.
Our researchers thoroughly test a wide range of key features, such as the availability and quality of trading platforms for web, desktop, and mobile, charting, real-time and streaming quotes, and educational resources – among other important variables. We also evaluate the overall design of the mobile experience, and look for a fluid user experience moving between mobile and desktop platforms.
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