Should you ask for FOS complaint figures in SIPP due diligence?

'Providers should stump up data'

Tom Ellis
clock • 2 min read

Curtis Banks has called on advisers to ask SIPP providers for their FOS complaint data as part of the due diligence process. Tom Ellis asks experts if this constitutes good practice and whether, as the Sipp provider argues, it can offer "a valuable insight into how well-run a firm is and the investments held".

Curtis Banks has pointed out self-invested personal pension (SIPP) complaints rose76% year on year between July and September 2017. Furthermore, it said, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) investigated 1,310 SIPP complaints from January to June 2017, 706 of which were resolved with more than half (57%) upheld in favour of the consumer. According to Curtis Banks pension technical manager Jessica List, these numbers indicate not only was a complaint made to the provider, but the firm has also failed to resolve it to the investor's satisfaction. "Advisers should be prepared to questio...

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