Sipp inflows for January to September increased by nearly £3bn compared to the same period last year, according to data which covers 90% of the UK’s leading life and pensions companies.

The figure rose to £12.29bn compared to £9.41bn for the corresponding period in 2014, which equated to growth of 31%.

The bulk of Sipp inflows this year have been via transfers, reported Equifax Touchstone, representing 54% of investment, followed by single premiums at 43% and 3% via regular premiums.

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Geoff Greensmith, director at Equifax Touchstone, said: “The Sipp market is showing healthy inflows but it is important to note that some of the transfers are money moving from one Sipp provider to another.

“Providers cannot afford to be complacent, if their proposition is not up to scratch they will see clients walk. The increase of new investment across pension products more broadly is encouraging.

“There is a tendency to focus on people being unprepared for retirement and it’s reassuring that market volatility hasn’t stopped people from investing into their pension.

“Managing the transfer of pension assets is a service that not all financial advisers offer as it can sometimes be time consuming and costly for the end investor. However, Touchstone stats show that levels of pension transfers remain high and there is clear demand for consumers to find the right solution to meet their individual retirement needs.”

Equifax Touchstone’s analysis also showed that following the pension freedom changes introduced in April 2015, £1.38bn has been invested into flexible drawdown pension products via single premiums and transfers. Flexible drawdown inflows were up 15% in Q3, a value increase of £99m, compared to Q2.

Mr Greensmith said: “The massive impact of the pension freedom changes is clearly illustrated by the high and growing inflows into flexible drawdown products.”

The data showed that new investments (excluding transfers) across pension products including Sipps and personal pensions stood at £8.69bn for January to September 2015, compared to £5.56bn for the same period last year, which was an increase of 56%.