How to Make an Investment with IPS
Our pension arrangements are highly flexible in terms of the choice of investment structure.
A list of permitted investments for registered pension schemes is provided below.
Approved Investments
- Stock Exchange listed companies
- AIM and OFEX companies
- Deposits
- Unit trusts and OEICS
- Government Securities
- Quoted Debentures, loan stocks
- Traded futures and options (relating to stocks and shares on a recognised futures exchange)
- Companies quoted on a recognised overseas stock exchange
- Building Society permanent interest bearing shares (PIBS)
- Second hand endowment policies
- Insurance company managed funds and unit linked funds
- Direct property purchase (including commercial property, agricultural land, hotels, nursing homes and public houses, both in the UK and overseas)
- Hedge funds
- Exchange Traded Funds
- Contracts for Difference
- Shares in unquoted private companies
- Offshore funds
- Investment grade gold bullion
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS)
- Pooled investment vehicles and syndicates where the member cannot influence or control the investment (known as "Genuinely Diverse Commercial Vehicles")
- Intellectual property
- Loans to unconnected third parties
- Loans to sponsoring employers (SSAS only)
Regulations actually permit a pension scheme to make any investment but a forbidden investment will incur onerous tax penalties which make them unviable.
Investments detailed below are not permitted by us.
Forbidden Investments
- Direct purchase of residential property
- Direct purchase of tangible moveable property (art, antiques etc)
- Commodities
- Loans to connected parties
- Wasting assets (defined as having an expected life span of 50 years or less)
- Property limited liability partnerships
- Premium bonds
- Residential ground rents
- Indirect investment in residential property and tangible moveable property (i.e. where the pension fund purchases shares or units in a company or fund which enables the member or connected parties to control or influence the investment strategy of that company or fund. For example, the SIPP purchases 50% of the shareholding in a company which invests in residential property.
Please note that The IPS Partnership is not authorised to give advice on investments. If you do not already have an independent financial adviser, information can be obtained from www.unbiased.co.uk or telephone 0800 085 3250.
Please see our Guideline on Arranging Investments for further details regarding how to set up:
- Deposit Accounts
- Equities
- Investment Trusts
- Fixed Interest Securities
- Warrants
- PIBS
- Futures
- Options
- Unit Trusts
- OEICS
- Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferrable Securities (UCITS)
- Traded Endowment Policies
- Property
Neither The IPS Partnership PLC, PAL Trustees Limited or Barclays Bank accepts any liability or responsibility for investment decisions made by the member or their advisor(s). The Trust documentation for the IPS SIPP contains provisions to limit the liability of these companies to the extent of the assets of the individual's SIPP in such cases.
