Scottish law firm Morton Fraser has been appointed to the legal panels of three SIPP providers with the firm expecting demand for advice on commercial property held in personal pensions to continue to grow.
Its specialist Property in Pensions team will provide legal services to Barnett Waddingham, which manages assets over £1.33 billion for 3,500 SIPPs; James Hay Partnership, which manages over £19 billion of pension and investment savings and Glasgow-based SIPP administrators, @sipp.

Morton Fraser has secured panel appointments with five UK pension providers in the last six months. It had previously been appointed as legal adviser to Carlisle-based InvestAcc and Xafinity SIPP, based in Stirling.

Morton Fraser’s dedicated Property in Pensions Team has doubled its income for the firm in just three years and the company says it is the only Scottish independent law firm member of the Association of Member Directed Pension Schemes.

Fergus McDiarmid, partner and Property in Pensions Team Lead at Morton Fraser, said: “The priorities and requirements of the SIPP industry have shifted in recent years. There is now far greater emphasis on specific and consistent property in pensions legal expertise. We anticipate that demand to fuel further growth in our team as more and more SIPP providers refine and improve their offerings with expertise like ours.

“This is particularly prevalent given the results of the recent Brexit vote and the uncertainty which it brings to many industries. It is therefore pleasing that despite this, the demand for our work for property in pensions continues to grow.”

Morton Fraser has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, employing over 270 people.