Sipps - who needs them?

Media attention to Sipps in recent times has been almost tantamount to the discovery of a new star. But is this a universe that reflects clients' needs or another alien encounter?

The surge in popularity of self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) over the past year and a half has been accompanied - and partly fuelled by - a wave of press comment akin to that triggered by the discovery of a new star in the worlds of films, books or pop music. Like most of those other 'overnight' successes, Sipps had a solid history of service behind them well before the A-Day pension changes pushed them into the limelight. But they are widely seen as new and fashionable - an antidote to the rush into buy-to-let property - and the X-factor that has made pensions 'cool' for the first ...