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Liberty Sipp reports astonishing 84% rise in assets

For the second consecutive year, Liberty Sipp has increased assets under management by more than a billion pounds.

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The Manchester-based self-invested personal pension (Sipp) provider now has £2.64bn (€3bn, $3.7bn) of client assets under administration, a £1.2bn (84%) increase on April 2017.

The massive increase in assets under management follows an 87% rise in April 2017.

As of 1 April 2018, the provider was administering 11,904 Sipps, an increase of 3,618 on the same time last year.

The jump in Sipp numbers means Liberty has also doubled its client acquisition rate in just a year.

Growth through IFAs

Liberty attributed much of the new business to a rapidly growing network of partnerships with platforms and adviser recommendations.

Liberty Sipp now works with 730 financial adviser firms, up from 535 last year.

The provider currently offers just one product, the Liberty Option Sipp, which it describes as “low-cost and highly transparent”.

Matthew Rankine, director of sales and marketing at Liberty Sipp, said: “Barely a year after we broke through the £1bn of assets under management mark, it took us just 12 months to grow our Sipp book by the same amount again.

“This is a huge achievement, but we’re determined to build on the strength that got us here – our reputation for offering a personal, fast and efficient service.

“We’ve invested in both technology and people, allowing us to handle much greater numbers of clients while maintaining the personal touch that makes Liberty distinctive – and which is the reason so many financial advisers now choose to work with us,” Rankine said.

In the 12 months to April 2017, the company grew its revenues by 39% to £2.1m and made an operating profit of £424,000.

The provider said it is on track to post another strong profit in 2018’s annual results.

Qrops decline

In April 2017, Rankine said the decision by the UK to slap a 25% tax charge on overseas pension transfers would likely boost the UK Sipps market.

“Any region where clients are less likely to transfer into a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (Qrops) but are still looking for flexibility in investing their UK pensions, then a Sipp will be an attractive option,” he said at the time.

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