UK insurer Norwich Union - part of Aviva - has launched its new self invested personal pension (SIPP) that will provide access to a wide range of funds from Norwich Union and a range of external fund managers.
The new product will give financial advisers specialist tools including risk profiling analysis and asset allocation modeling tools, to enable them to better advise their clients.
The new tools will all be accessible online and customers will benefit from a quick switch function enabling them and their advisers to view their investment opportunities and make quick decisions about their investment choices, Norwich Union says.
The platform and servicing for the new SIPP will be provided by Lifetime (the wrap platform wholly owned by Norwich Union) and will (after April 6, 2006) include access to commercial property funds, which will be administered by Suffolk Life.
We conducted extensive adviser and consumer research into the SIPP and pensions market, the results from which have helped us create a highly versatile and flexible SIPP product. Through the technology platform of Lifetime and support from Suffolk Life, the new product will provide access to over 1,000 investment funds including commercial property and will be supported by the latest e-commerce innovations, said Mike Kirsch, commercial and marketing director at Norwich Union Life.
The new SIPP forms part of our retirement solutions package which means that many customers will have the opportunity to move existing pension arrangements seamlessly into a new SIPP when they wish to, he added.