Spotlight On… Investment Options

Spotlight On… Investment Options

At Curtis Banks we know that your clients’ investment strategies and requirements can change throughout their retirement planning journey. We are proud to offer one of the widest choices of investment options available, so your clients’ self-invested pensions meet their bespoke needs.

Discretionary fund managers

Discretionary fund managers can offer managed portfolios that are risk profiled but also bespoke portfolios tailored to individual client needs. This allows you and your clients to build SIPP portfolios that are completely tailored to their needs.

You can appoint an investment firm of your choice to manage your clients’ investments on either a discretionary, advisory or execution only basis. We provide access to a wide range of firms and we are happy to work with any new investment firm that meets our due diligence requirements. Most of our products are able to hold accounts with multiple investment managers at the same time.

Click here to view a list of over 200 approved investment firms that we already have relationships with. You’ll also be able to see a list of Investment Partners that report data to us electronically, enabling us to offer reduced fees.

Commercial Property

It’s no secret that Curtis Banks specialises in commercial property, with 50 years’ experience and more than 9,000 properties held across the Group on behalf of our clients.

We own properties across the UK with uses ranging from the ordinary to the extraordinary. The most common types of property that we see include shops, offices, restaurants, land, industrial units, hotels, and leisure facilities.

If it’s commercial and based in the UK we will happily assess it, be it freehold, leasehold or commonhold. From airfields to zoos, commercial property means more than bricks and mortar.

Whether you have a single client looking to buy a property outright, or a mixed group of SIPP and non-SIPP purchasers looking to use borrowing to facilitate their purchase, we can help you navigate the process. We also have dedicated teams who will support you and your clients with various aspects of ongoing property management, such as lease renewals and development works.

You can learn more about the process of acquiring a property with Curtis Banks in our Property Guide.

Bespoke investments

We are experts in the administration of a wide range of investments, from standard to specialist. Specialist investments are only allowable in our self-invested pensions if they meet our due diligence requirements. The FCA restricts who can receive the promotion of and invest in specialist investments, this includes: certified high net worth investors, certified sophisticated investors and self-certified sophisticated investors.

Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (UCIS) for example, allow clients to pool their money together to invest and contain complex features or investment strategies. UCIS are unregulated as they have not been authorised or recognised by the FCA.

Unlisted shares can be allowable and cover any UK-based company shares (including ordinary and preference shares) that are not listed on a stock exchange. Private Equity is an alternative investment class that invests in or acquires private companies on a managed basis.

We deem Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes and unlisted shares to be specialist investments. Our Schedule of Allowable Investments identifies whether we categorise an asset as standard or specialist.

Cash

There are plenty of reasons why savers may wish to hold some of their savings in cash as an intentional part of their retirement planning strategy. Cash is a secure asset, won’t decrease in value and we pay interest on any cash held in the SIPP bank account. Find out more about how the interest on SIPP bank account balances is applied and how this will be of particular benefit to clients as interest rates increase.

For savers looking for better returns than may be available from the default SIPP bank account, we offer access to a range of cash investment options including: fixed term, fixed rate, and notice accounts. Your clients can open accounts directly with Curtis Banks or through an investment firm from our panel of approved bank providers. You can also choose to use a ‘cash platform’ which offers easy access to compare various rates and manage multiple cash accounts without having to complete a new application each time.

Gold

Gold can be used in a self-invested pension by clients who are looking to diversify their investment portfolio. Gold is sometimes seen as something clients feel they know and understand as a tangible asset in a way they may not feel they understand stock market investments.

Gold can be accessed in our self-invested pensions in two ways: via the Royal Mint (wholly owned by His Majesty’s Treasury), or via an online platform – non-physical gold traded through an online platform. Providers must be one of our Investment Partners and meet our due diligence requirements.

Gold is classified as ‘non-standard’ investment – it is not regulated by the FCA and is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

 

If you’d like to speak to us about how our wide range of investments options can help your clients, please contact your local Business Development Manager to discuss your next Curtis Banks SIPP recommendation. Or, visit our investments page to learn more about our wide range of investment options.

Charlie Dewey
Head of Sales, Curtis Banks