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David Fox of Dentons

A pensions firm has reported the trend towards including commercial property in new Sipps has continued, with a further increase this year.


Dentons Pension Management said the purchase of commercial properties in the first half of 2014 has risen and of these, 48% were transfers in from other Sipp providers.
David Fox, director of sales and marketing at Dentons, said: "In 2013, 44% of all our new Sipps included commercial property and this trend is continuing in 2014.
"For the first half of this year 45% of new Sipps included commercial property and 48% were transfers from other Sipp providers.
"This is despite the very high fees some charge to transfer cases away."
The average size of the new Sipps that hold property at Dentons was £190,000 and existing Sipps holding property was £450,000.
Property purchase within a Sipp has been increasing in popularity once again as savers look for less esoteric investments and a change of asset class as equities have peeked at 11-year highs, the firm reported.
Mr Fox added: "There has been a misconception that the commercial property that pension savers invest in tends to be bricks and mortar warehousing and office blocks.
"However, it should also be remembered that Dentons holds recording studios, nightclubs, boat moorings, a former police station, an old saw mill that is being converted into a children's nursery and a forest in Scotland, to name but a few.
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"This is the great attraction of property investment within a Sipp, it can be used to help grow a business or invest in something that the pension saver is passionate about.
"At a recent seminar an adviser asked if their client would be able to invest in a motor racing circuit, we were happy to help, and yes it is allowed."
Dentons has also reported that it appears concerns arising from the Budget that consumers would take money from their pension savings and invest in buy to let properties instead have been unfounded.
At recent seminars, the firm asked advisers if there had been an increase in clients contacting them about releasing money from their pension fund and investing in a buy to let.
Just 17% of those advisers questioned had seen any enquiries.

 

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