Barnett Waddingham has appointed former St James Place Wealth director Neil Howitt as its new head of SIPP Finance.

The majority of the £403m of claims to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in 2022/23 were due to investment and pension advice as well as SIPP operator failures.

The SIPP market saw 9 products pulled but 15 new plans launched during the 2022/23 fiscal year, according to an exclusive report for Financial Planning Today magazine, a sister publication to SIPPs Professional.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has opened its doors to claims against two firms passporting into the UK to advise on pension transfers.

South West Financial Planner and accountancy firm Old Mill has acquired commercial property pension specialist Quro Financial Solutions for an undisclosed amount from its founders who are retiring.

M&G Wealth has added the full PruFund range of funds to its M&G Wealth Platform and has also made them available to SIPP clients.

Ahead of the new Consumer Duty requirements, the FCA has warned SIPP operators to ensure standards of conduct are high amid concerns about problems in the sector.

Barnett Waddingham’s SIPP business board has appointed SIPP market expert Mark Smith as an independent non-executive director.

Fund manager Vanguard is to axe its low-cost Financial Planning arm which was launched in April 2021.

All FCA-regulated firms should, by now, have put in place their implementation plans for meeting the Consumer Duty requirements by 31 July 2023 (a later date applies for legacy products).