Sipp provider freezes fees after advisers say firms 'abuse' increases

Sipp provider Xafinity has announced it has frozen its fees for the coming year after advisers told the firm some companies were 'abusing' their ability to make increases. In a statement the firm explained its decision had been made following "extensive communication" with its adviser partners and "ongoing research of their opinions". Some 62% of advisers who took part in Xafinity research recently said they had seen a rise in set up fees, while 94% said they have seen a rise in annual fees, and 44% an increase in exit fees.Also, 39% of advisers believed that providers were increasing exit fees in order to discourage transfers out.Andy Bowsher, director of self invested pensions at Xafinity, said: "Fees are currently a highly emotive issue in the market, and many financial advisers that we speak to believe that some providers are abusing their contractual ability to increase fees."Our view remains that we will charge fees on the basis of the costs to manage the accounts and, for this reason, we are delighted to be able to freeze our fees for another year."August has been a significant month for Sipp operators, with a warning letter sent to all chief executives from the FCA about failings in the sector, while new capital adequacy rules were also published by the regulator. {desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile} Speaking about the capital adequacy changes, Mr Bowsher said: "Xafinity is a well-capitalised Sipp provider and we are in a very comfortable position against the recent announcement by the FCA in respect of capital adequacy requirements."We were prudent and disciplined in our approach to unregulated investments in the years when some providers were not so."We currently hold capital well in excess of both the current and recently announced future FCA requirements."

Sipp provider freezes fees after advisers say firms 'abuse' increases

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