The
MW SIPP
The
MW SIPP is built around quality service and transparency
of charges.
Quality service
We provide the trustee services through MW SIPP
Trustees Limited. The MW SIPP Provider is Pointon York Ltd
and the administrator is Pointon York SIPP Solutions Ltd
– quite simply because they are the best SIPP administrators
and have invested heavily in the software and qualified
personnel required to offer the highest customer service.
Whilst Pointon York is effectively our back office, clients
only deal with us i.e. MW Pensions, never Pointon York.
Further, they receive ongoing personal service from the
same members of our staff: we are not a “call centre”!
We have put in place very efficient communication and administration
procedures between ourselves and Pointon York.
We communicate in plain English.
We are innovative and practical in our thinking
– we are at the forefront of the Family SIPP, for
example, which is a way that assets can be legally transferred
on death from one generation to another.
What
about Regulation?
SIPPs per se are not regulated by the Financial
Services Authority (FSA). However, the MW SIPP is regulated
by the Inland Revenue and we are obliged to ensure that
our SIPPs are run in accordance with their requirements.
The Revenue also has the authority to visit and audit our
offices and files at short notice. Pointon York SIPP Solutions
Ltd and Pointon York Ltd are however regulated by the FSA.
As an actuary, Philip Moores, one of our directors, is governed
by the formal professional standards of the Institute of
Actuaries.
We do of course have Professional Indemnity insurance in
place.
Security
of mind for the client
We are the sole trustee of our SIPP. This is a
conscious decision and is mainly to streamline the administration,
particularly as it relates to investments. We appreciate
that some clients may be concerned that we might abscond
with the assets, even though that would of course be fraud
– and criminal!
If this is a major concern for a client, then as we do not
sign the cheques from the Pointon York account (raising
them by cheque requisition), we are happy to arrange that
all investment instructions and cheque requisitions sent
to the Administrator require signatures from both the client
and ourselves. This would give complete protection, as any
investment realisations would, of necessity, have to be
paid to the SIPP bank account (the one with Pointon York
Limited) i.e. it is not possible for us to instruct that
investment realisations be paid to any other account. The
downside is that this may lead to a delay in some investment
decisions.
Can
MW SIPP Trustees Ltd go broke?
The assets of all MW SIPPs are held by MW SIPP
Trustees Ltd. This is a non-trading company and as such
cannot go bust. Further, within the overall trust, the assets
of each separate SIPP are legally ring-fenced and can only
be used for the benefit of that particular SIPP member.
Fees
We operate solely on a fee basis and do not take
commissions. Our fees are fully transparent and comprehensive
– no “small print”. Fees are all communicated
and agreed in advance with the client. In some cases we
receive an “introducer’s” fee eg from
a bank on arranging a mortgage: these offset our normal
fees and are fully disclosed to the client. Similarly, we
receive 0.1% on cash invested in our specially negotiated
high interest bank accounts – but clients are of course
under no obligation to utilise such accounts.
High interest instant access banking options
Because our SIPP is not tied to any one bank (the
only requirement is that a minimum of £1000 is held
in the bank account of Pointon York. Limited, the “Provider”
of our SIPP), our SIPP clients can invest the balance of
the cash in their SIPP with the bank of their choice. Virtually
every other SIPP requires that the whole of the cash is
invested with their Provider. We believe it is important
that clients have this choice. We have negotiated preferential
immediate access high interest banking facilities for our
SIPP clients with a number of high street banks. There is
no obligation that clients take advantage of this, but we
believe it is important that they have the facility available.
For those SIPP clients who wish to invest directly in property,
either alone or via a syndicate, we have linked with a number
of specialist firms to provide the comprehensive property
service, covering:
a) mortgage facilities
b) conveyancing
c) other legal services re lease etc
d) property syndicate agreement surveying
e) valuations
f) property management
Clients of course have the option to either use
one of our associated firms or one of their choosing (provided
it is acceptable to us and has the right level of required
expertise).
Our
philosophy
We believe in transparency and pragmatism, whilst
always meeting the highest levels of professionalism and
service standards. We stress the positive sides of pensions
and the opportunities they afford – a refreshing change
to what is too often seen as a pensions “crisis”.
Key
personnel
Philip Moores has been in pensions for over 31
years. He is a qualified pension actuary. He has spent many
years advising corporations on pension matters (both in
the UK and in North America). He has been advising on Small
Self-Administered Schemes (SSASs) and SIPPs for 20 years.
He has spoken at the International Actuarial Association
meeting at the ICC in Birmingham in 1998 and the Law Society’s
Annual Conference at the same venue in 2004. He will be
speaking to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors about
SIPPs in 2005.
Chris Williams spent over 25 years split between
the retail industry and management consultancy, at director
and CEO level concentrating on business turnaround, corporate
recovery and mergers and acquisitions. He moved into pensions
some 6 years ago, using his management skills to see and
deliver the opportunities that pensions can and do afford.
He is fully qualified in project management and business
strategy in customer service.
Marion Forshaw worked for the Public Trustee and
Inland Revenue before becoming involved in pensions in the
private sector some 16 years ago. She has spent much of
that time concentrating on SSASs and SIPPs and the trustee
aspects of pensions.
Jean Williams has over 15 years experience of dealing
with the practical day to day aspects of pension and trustee
matters. She is responsible, among other things, for client
communications and relationships.
