The evolution of Sipps

In the 20 years since self-invested personal pensions were first introduced, legislative change and market movements have transformed a once niche concept into a mainstream 21st century investment

It has been 20 years since former Chancellor Nigel Lawson gave the green light to self-invested personal pensions. In his 1989 Budget speech, he vowed to "make it easier for people in personal pension schemes to manage their own investments". Since then, Sipps have evolved through a combination of legislative changes and market movements to become a mainstream product. Suffolk Life estimates there are now around 450,000 Sipps in existence with total assets in excess of £60bn. The first Sipp was launched by Personal Pension Management in early 1990. European Pensions Management managing ...