Standard Life announces strong performance of its SIPP pensions
The Scottish insurance company has declared that life and pensions sales fell in 2009.
Standard Life Insurance has revealed that life and pensions sales fell by 10.6 per cent to £10.1 billion last year, however, these figures were counteracted by strong performances from its self-invested personal pension SIPP and wrap businesses.The company has attributed the drop in life and pensions sales to poor market conditions in the UK.
The Scottish insurer has, though, continued to witness growth in its individual SIPP customer base and assets under administration, with the total number of accounts increasing 27 per cent.
In fact, there was a 36 per cent increase on SIPP assets under administration, a growth from £8.7bn to £11.8 billion.
David Nash, chief executive of Standard Life, claimed to be pleased with the figures for 2009 in light of the poor economic climate.
He said: "Third party assets under management in our investments business have reached record levels and we have seen increased net flows across our life and pensions operations, particularly in the fourth quarter.
"This momentum, coupled with the recent recovery in market levels, will benefit the group's future profits and cash flow."
Meanwhile, a leading insurance company recently announced the re-launch of its own SIPP pensions product.
Aviva, the UK's largest insurer, claimed that SIPP's can help provide "financial solutions" to higher net worth customers.
The insurer claims that the updated SIPP offers an expansive range of investment options and allows consumers to seamlessly switch between rebalance and holdings portfolios.
Posted by Rosie May
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