Banks and building societies slash savings rates

November 20, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Savings | comments (0)

Savers face drastically lower returns as banks and building societies slash their savings rates by up to 2.55 per cent, following the recent cut in base rate to 3 per cent.

More than half a dozen savings account providers have already cut rates, with over half of these reductions matching, and in some cases, outstripping, the base rate reduction by an additional 1.05 per cent.

For instance, Lloyds TSB has reduced its Easy Saver 2012 accounts by 1.5 per cent and term deposits by up to 2 per cent.

Capital One Savings has similarly cut its variable rates and base beater savings account by up to 2 per cent,  as has Norwich & Peterborough building society on its Gold Savings and Family Regular Savings accounts.

Anglo Irish Bank has reduced its popular range of fixed rate bonds by up to 2.40 per cent.

So what should people be doing to secure the best returns?

David Black, Defaqto banking consultant, says: “Use your cash ISA allowance of up to £3,600 as ISA rates tend to be slightly better than standard rates and the returns are tax free. If you have spare cash that you don’t need for a year, go for a fixed rate bond, such as Kent Reliance building society’s  6 per cent one year bond.

“Most variable rates are likely to come down by 1.5 per cent and you will be lucky to get anything over 5.25 per cent. Rates are being cut and accounts withdrawn all the time so you need to move quickly to get the best rates.”

The recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting minutes show that a cut of 2 per cent was considered at the last meeting, indicating that a further rate cut of 0.5 per cent is possible, as soon as December.

After tax and inflation, the recent cuts mean that most savers will receive a negative real return. But you can mitigate this to some extent by saving via tax-free and index linked accounts such as cash ISAs and National Savings & Investment products.

To view the top rates,  visit Defaqto’s best buy tables:

http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/cash-isas.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/term-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/notice-savings-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/instant-access-accounts.aspx

For National Savings & Investment products visit:
http://www.nsandi.com/
 

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Savers’ dilemma puts focus on gilts

November 18, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Savings, UK economy | comments (0)

The dramatic cut in base rate to 3 per cent may spell good news for homeowners with mortgages, but for savers it could be a disaster.

For every mortgage, there are six to seven savers, and many pensioners and others on fixed incomes are dependent on the interest from their savings to top up their income.

So where can you put your money and get a decent rate of return, if banks and building societies cut savings rates by up to 1.5 per cent?

Some experts are touting gilts as the saviour of savers. Gilts are bonds issued by the Government which pay a fixed rate of interest over a set term and are considered to be safer than corporate bonds which are bonds issued by companies wanting to raise capital.

Because companies can go bust and default on their financial obligations, corporate bonds are considered more risky than gilts which are guaranteed by the Government.

Gilt managers are prediciting a return on 7 to 10 year gilts of around 4-8 per cent over the next two years. Ccompared with likely returns from banks and building societies of 3-4 per cent, gilts looks like a reasonable alternative.

But gilts are not risk free. Although you are guaranteed to get back your original investment back when your gilts mature,  prices and yields can vary significantly before the maturity date, depending on what happens to base rate and inflation.

So if you paid £100 today for a 10-year gilt with a 4 per cent yield, its face value could subsequently fall if base rate were to rise in two years’ time.

This would cause investors to flee gilts in seach of  higher returns elsewhere, thereby drving down the face value of gilts.  If you wanted to sell your gilt at that time, its sale value might be only £90, instead of £100.

Inflation is another enemy of  gilts as it erodes the value of fixed incomes. Although inflation now appears to be falling, it could re-emerge in future years, particularly with the increase in Government spending.

But if inflation and base rate fall to around 1 per cent, or even zero, as some commentators are now predicting, gilts could offer double digit returns. 

You can buy individual gilts via a stockbroker, or a gilt fund or gilt index tracker via a  fund manager. For advice on gilts, contact an independent financial adviser via www.unbiased.co.uk

For more on gilts, visit the Debt Management Office’s website:
http://dmo.gov.uk/index.aspx?page=Gilts/About_Gilts
http://dmo.gov.uk/index.aspx?page=Gilts/Daily_Prices

For the best savings rates visit:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/instant-access-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/cash-isas.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/regular-savings-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/term-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/notice-savings-accounts.aspx

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Credit card companies called to account

November 13, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Credit Cards, Store Cards | comments (0)

The Prime Minister has stepped into the row over credit card charges by calling on the industry to adopt a more responsible approach to lending. 

Card company chiefs can expect to be hauled into Downing Street to account for their actions as research this week revealed brazen increases in credit and store card charges, despite the near halving of base rate since May.

According to Defaqto research, the average annual percentage rate (APR) for credit cards has risen from 17.2 per cent to 17.6 per cent since May - at a time when base rate has fallen from 5 per cent to 3 per cent.

One of the worst examples is the NatWest credit card which has hiked its APR  from 13.9 per cent to 16.9 per cent for purchases.

Card companies have not only been increasing interest rates for purchases, but  have been quietly tweaking their terms and conditions, to the detriment of their customers.

For example, some providers have reduced the number of interest-free days before cardholders start incurring interest, while others have increased balance transfer and cash withdrawal charges.
 
Nearly a third (30 per cent) of the credit card market (44 out of 145 cards) have cut the interest-free period for new customers from 56 to 50 days, at a cost to cardholders of £3m.

91 per cent of balance transfer cards now levy a fee, compared to just 29 per cent in 2005. Balance transfer fees have soared from an average of £11.02 per transfer in 2005, to £52.09 today. An estimated 7.9m balance transfers are carried out each year, costing cardholders £412m.

In 2005, the average APR for cash withdrawals was 21.22 per cent APR, compared to 29.97 per cent today, costing cardholders £161m a year in interest.

The charges levied on store cards are even worse. The average APR on 33 store cards from high street retailers such as Argos, House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer has increased from 24.5 per cent 25.4 per cent between May and November this year.

Defaqto’s banking consultant, David Black, attributed the increases to card companies’ need to recoup losses incurred elsewhere due to fraud, bad debts and restrictions on the sale of payment protection insurance.

Politicians have expressed concern that at a time of rising unemployment and the current credit squeeze, hard pressed consumers will turn to using their credit cards to raise emergency cash.

Check out the Defaqto best buy tables for purchases:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/credit-cards/best-buys/0-percent-on-intro-purchases.aspx

Best buys for balance transfers:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/credit-cards/best-buys/0-percent-on-balance-transfers.aspx
 
Standard credit card best buys:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/credit-cards/best-buys/standard-credit-cards.aspx

Try out the Defaqto credit card calculator:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/credit-cards.aspx

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Lenders to reduce mortgage rates

November 10, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Mortgages | comments (0)

The major mortgage lenders caved in to Government pressure to reduce their lending rates last Friday, following a severe ticking off by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling.

Nationwide, HBOS, the RBS/NatWest and Northern Rock will cut their main variable lending rates by the full 1.5 per cent on 1 December, to reflect last week’s cut in base rate. Lloyds TSB and the Abbey had announced similar moves last Thursday.

The Nationwide is cutting its base mortgage rate from 6.19 per cent to 4.69 per cent, while RBS/NatWest is cutting its standard variable rate (SVR) by the same amount, from from 6.69 per cent to 5.19 per cent.

The HBOS SVR will fall from 6.50 per cent to 5.00 per cent.

Lenders had come under intense political and media pressure to pass on the full 1.5 per cent cut in base rate to their customers as quickly as possible, and in full.

But the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) warned that the precise level of any reductions would be a commercial decision for each individual lender because Libor (the London Interbank Offered Rate) - the rate at which banks lend to each and which, in turn, affects mortgage rates - remains stubbornly high at 4.49 per cent.

Lenders also have to balance the needs of their borrower with those of their savers, who will see a steep fall in their income. Building societies are particularly reliant on savers‘ deposits as they are not allowed to borrow as much as banks can from the capital market.

Michael Coogan, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said: “I think over the next few days and weeks we will see that the banks and building societies will move by anywhere between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent - the individual decisions will be on the basis of assessing what they want for their savers, as much as what they want for their borrowers.”

Almost all tracker mortgages have been withdrawn for new borrowers as lenders consider at what rates to reintroduce them.

Lloyds TSB, which owns Cheltenham and Gloucester, was the first to announce that it is to reduce the cost of fixed-rate deals for new borrowers.

Some deals for those offering a deposit of at least 25 per cent will become 0.3 of a percentage point cheaper from tomorrow (Tuesday 11 November).

The three-month sterling Libor rate - which has the greatest influence on new tracker mortgages - fell from 5.56 per cent to 4.49 per cent on Friday, its lowest level since the end of 2005.

But the rate remains almost one and a half percentage points above the Bank of England’s base rate - still well above pre-credit crunch levels.

Check out all the latest mortgage rates:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/mortgages.aspx

For the latest savings rates visit:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/instant-access-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/regular-savings-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/cash-isas.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/notice-savings-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/term-accounts.aspx

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End in sight for Icesavers’ compensation nightmare

November 7, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Savings | comments (0)

The 230,000 customers of the insolvent Icelandic bank, Landsbanki, have started to receive emails from the Financial Services Compensation scheme explaining how they can access  the £4.5bn of  deposits held in its Icesave accounts.

The payment process, which will be rolled out over the course of November, should see customers receiving 100 per cent of their money transferred into their  ’linked’ bank accounts as from next week.

Icesave customers will receive two e-mails from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the first telling them that the process for retrieving their money is being launched, and the second giving them precise details of what they should do.

Savers will be asked to go onto the Icesave UK website using their existing login details and be given a time slot for logging in and transfering their money. The process will be entirely online, with customers being given a month to move their cash.

Savers can expect to receive the money in their linked bank accounts within five days of triggering the payment.
 
The FSCS’s maximum compensation limit for  savings in an insolvent UK-authorised bank is normally £50,000, but the UK Government has agreed on this occasion to guarantee deposits up to 100 per cent.

Those with Icesave ISAs will be able to move their money to ISAs with other financial institutions, without losing their tax status.

However, the outlook for the thousands of investors in the Isle of Man arm of Iceland’s Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander bank, is less certain. Savers will have to wait until 27 November to find out whether they will get any money back.
 
Its Manx operation has 7,000 accounts, holding £850m, most of which is held by savers living outside the island. 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has said repeatedly that the UK Governement will not bail out individuals with offshore accounts and the Isle of Man’s Financial Supervision Commission only recently changed its compensation rules so that depositors, wherever they live, can claim up to £50,000.

In October, the UK Government arranged for the Dutch bank, ING, to take over the accounts of 160,000 customers who held money in the UK arm of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and of 22,200 individuals with Heritable bank, a subsidiary of Landsbanki.

In Guerney, there is no compensation scheme at all for offshore account holders.

For more on the FSCS visit: www.fscs.org.uk

FSCS customer helpline 0845 7300 131 (Icesave enquiries only)

For more on compensation arrangements at Uk banks and building societies:
http://www.find.co.uk/saving/deposits/guide-to-saving-security

Visti the Defaqto savings account best buy tables
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/instant-access-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/regular-savings-accounts.aspx
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/cash-isas.aspx

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Financial services news round up

November 5, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Insurance, Pensions, Savings | comments (0)

Extreme economic turbulence  continued to dominate events in  October as concerns over the financial stability of banks, building societies and insurance companies intensified.
 
The FSA said it was keeping a wary eye on life companies, as life assurers suffered from a steep decline in the value of their portfolios of equities, bonds and commercial property.
 
Analysts, Fox Pitt Kelton, correctly predicted that Aegon and ING were among the most vulnerable and both received capital injections from the Dutch authorities to strengthen their balance sheets by the end of the month.
 
The FSA relaxed some of its capital requirements for life assurers to prevent them having to sell equities in a falling market. Some annuity advisers called for the  age 75 annuity purchase rule to be waived temporarily because of the financial crisis, but to no avail.
 
The UK Government increased compensation on savings accounts to £50,000 per person and per UK authorised institution, following the collapse of three Icelandic banks. However, it agreed to guarantee UK-based retail deposits in Icelandic bank accounts up to 100 per cent.
 
For investors in the Icelandic banks’ offshore accounts, such as in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, the situation was less clear. IFAs with clients in offshore bonds, Sipps and SSASs were frantically trying to establish what compensation, if any, was available at the time of writing.
 
There were also concerns about money held in AIG Life’s UK enhanced fund which is to close on 15 December. Investors have the choice of withdrawing their investment or transferring it to a protected recovery fund.
 
Market value reductions were imposed on with profit policies provided by Friends Provident, Scottish Widows (15-20 per cent) and Norwich Union (13-22 per cent).
 
Elsewhere, as the industry awaits the final version of the Retail Distribution Review, financial adviser firm, Lighthouse, called for the review to be delayed due to the current financial crisis.
 
The Association of Independent Financial Advisers attacked the ABI’s attempt to undermine the sales/advice split proposed in the latest version of the RDR and warned that, if successful, this would lead to more mis-selling. Instead, it called for tied and multi-tied agents to be placed  under the ’sales’ banner.
 
The Pensions Bill, which continues its tortuous journey through Parliament, included changes which will allow people to buy back 9 missing years of National Insurance Contributions if they retire before 2010, and 6 years if they retire after 2010.
 
However, potential entitlement to superior benefits via entitlement to the  pension credit or via a spouse’s basic state pension, mean that many individuals will need advice as to whether it is in their interests to pay for missing years’ contributions.

Scottish Life’s pension guru, Steve Bee, highlighted the fact that the State Second Pension ( S2P) will soon become a flat rate top-up and that the loss of the earnings-related second pension will be a big issue for many middle earning employees.
 
With the relaxation of the self-investment rules for protected rights funds on 1 October, the FSA warned advisers to ensure they give suitable advice when transferring protected rights into Sipps.
 
As part of the latest ministerial reshuffle, Rosie Winterton became Pensions Minister, replacing the highly regarded Mike O’Brien, while Paul Myners became City minister, requiring him to step down from his role at the  Personal Accounts Delivery Authority.

This led some commentators to predict the launch of personal accounts might have to be pushed back from 2012.
 
Elsewhere, the Financial Ombudsman Service announced plans to ‘name and shame’ financial firms with poor complaints handling statistics, while the FSA failed in its bid to use human rights legislation (which guarantees individual privacy) to block a freedom of information request about the ‘Lautro 12′ life offices. 
 
The FSA hit back saying that the Tribunal needs to consider its other arguments before the IFA Defence Union can claim victory.  But the IFADU said it was confident the information would be disclosed and that it would set up a fighting fund to investigate whether advisers can sue the regulator and the life offices.

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Why mortgage rates won’t always fall in line with base rate

November 4, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Mortgages, Savings | comments (2)

Even though base rate is expected to be cut this week, homeowners should not assume that mortgage rates will fall accordingly.

Following the last cut in base rate, three in four mortgage lenders failed reduce their standard variable rate (SVR) and mortgage brokers are predicting that subsequent cuts in base rate are unlikely to be matched by lenders.

Even if you have a tracker mortgage, which is suposed to follow base rate movements, don’t assume that all lenders offering trackers will do so in practice.

Halifax and a number of building societies, including Nationwide, Skipton and National Counties (to name but a few) set a minimum mortgage rate known as a collar, which they will continue to charge, even if base rate drops below the collar rate.

So if base rate were to fall to 2 per cent, Halifax has a collar of 3 per cent, Nationwide one of 2.75 per cent, while HSBC  says it has the right to stop reducing its tracker rate if there is a “material change to the mortgage market.”

Halifax, however, says its 3 per cent collar, isn’t necessarily a floor and that it ”may, or may not” choose to exercise the collar rate.  

Ray Boulger of mortgage broker, John Charcol says: “This uncertaintly is annoying for borrowers, but with the Halifax set to be taken over by Lloyds TSB, there may be political pressure for it to help customers by cutting rates below the collar.”

Lloyds TSB itself does not impose a collar, nor do Woolwich or Chelsea building society, while Abbey has a minimum  rate of 0.001 per cent.

Collars are often hidden away in the small print of a mortgage offer, so borrowers can sometimes remain blissfully unaware of their existence until it’s too late.

Ray Boulger  says: “Collars have become an issue of late because, until recently we never expected base rate to drop below 3 per cent, whereas now that is a distinct possibility.”

It may worth taking advice from a mortgage broker as the lending market remains difficult, following the withdrawal of thousands of mortgages from the market.

To find a mortgage broker visit
www.unbiased.co.uk
Try out Defaqto’s unique mortgage calculator:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/mortgages.aspx

STOP PRESS….. The 200,000 UK investors in Landsbanki’s popular IceSave account, are to start receive emails from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) inviting them to apply to have their IceSave funds transferred to their linked bank accounts.

The emails will be rolled out over the course of November to prevent the system overloading and to ensure a smooth transfer process, so that all the bank’s UK customers receive their money back by Christmas.

Although the FSCS compensation for retail savings deposits is normally capped at £50,000, on this occasion, the Government is guaranteeing investors’ deposits up to 100 per cent.   

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Compensation on the way to Icesavers

October 28, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Savings | comments (0)

More than 200,000 retail depositors  in Icesave UK, the UK retail  branch of Icelandic bank, Landsbanki, will get back their saving paid back to them electronically, via their ‘linked bank’ accounts,  the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) announced yesterday.

The FSCS expects to launch the process in 10 days’ time, following the Government’s guarantee that 100 per cent of all deposits held by retail depositors of Icesave will be repaid and that savers will not lose their ISA tax status.

The FSCS will write to IceSave depositors setting out how the process will work and will contact customers again with instructions on how to complete a short electronic process to effect the transfer.

The process will be phased over a number of days to prevent  system overload and for security reasons.

FSCS chief executive, Loretta Minghella, says:  “We will be contacting retail depositors to tell them how the transfer process will work and when they can access the system.

 ”The automated payment process is expected to be in place in 10 days’ time and the first payments are scheduled to start in the second week of November.”

Icesave’s customers do not need to do anything for the time being. The correspondence you receive will tell you everything you need to know about how to access your savings, ISAs or term accounts.

The FSCS is also processing compensation applications from customers of Heritable and Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander whose accounts were not transferred to ING Direct.

The FSCS made the first compensation payments to members of Heritable Bank just 17 days after the bank was declared in default by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

FSCS director of claims, Jonathan Clark, says: “We have sent application forms for compensation to all individuals whose accounts were not transferred to ING Direct and would encourage those who believe they have lost money to return the forms as soon as
possible.

 ”We are hoping to have paid all eligible claims by the end of November.”

The FSCS thinks there are less than 100 eligible retail depositor accounts that have not transferred to ING Direct.

For more information about the FSCS visit www.fscs.org.uk.

You can check whether the financial institution you are dealing with
is authorised by the FSA, by phoning the FSA’s Helpline: 0845 606 1234.

Check out the Defaqto best buy tables for instant access  savings accounts:

http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/instant-access-accounts.aspx

Top 10 regular savings accounts:

http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/regular-savings-accounts.aspx

Top 10 cash ISAs

http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/cash-isas.aspx

Top 10 children’s accounts

http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/savings-accounts/childrens-accounts.aspx

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Small businesses fail to maximise returns on spare cash

October 21, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Loans | comments (0)

Small businesses no doubt suffer at the hands of the banks when it comes to borrowing, but they could do more to help themselves to maximise the returns on their spare cash, according to research  by Standard Life Bank.

The latter found that, on average, SMEs hold £12,630 in low-paying business current accounts, with one in five holding over £20,000 in such accounts. Nearly a third of SMEs didn’t even know how much was in their current account.

Half of the 500 managing directors and finance directors questioned said they were unhappy with the interest paid on their current accounts, with some of the latter paying less than 2 per cent. Over a third said they didn’t have a separate business savings account, and of those that did, one in four said they rarely, or never, used it.

There are number of high paying business current accounts, such as Alliance &Leicester Commercial Bank’s Free Business Account, paying 5.10 per cent, and Bank of Scotland Business Banking paying 4.75 per cent on its Total Business Account 2, both on deposits of just £1.

Standard Life Bank yesterday launched a new Business Bonus Savings Account, paying 5.25 per cent, for the first six months, thereafter reverting to 3.65 per cent for customers that have not previously held a Business Bonus Account with the bank.

The Business Bonus Savings Account requires a minimum opening deposit of £1,000 with a maximum investment of £10 million.

For businesses which are able to tie up funds for a fixed term, Secure Trust Bank is paying 6.57 per cent on its 60 day notice account, on a minimum deposit of £10,000.

Elsewhere, Ipswich Building Society is paying 5.75 per cent on its Premier Deposit 2 account on 7 days’ notice, and West Bromwich building society 5.70 per centon its 7 Day Corporate Deposit account.

For more on business banking charges and interest rates visit:
http://www.fsb.org.uk/news.asp?REC=2582

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Check you’re getting a fair deal on cash in Sipps

October 17, 2008 | posted by Pam Atherton in Banking, Pensions | comments (0)

Over £13bn could be held in cash within Self Invested Personal Accounts (Sipps) according to James Hay, as investors flee equities, property and bonds for the relative safe haven of cash.

The average James Hay Sipp currently holds £46,000 in cash, with deposits comprising over 35 per cent in some of its clients’ portfolios. James Hay also reckons  that average cash holdings across all Sipp providers stand at 15 per cent - probably an all time high.

All of which raises the question of how much interest Sipp providers are paying on this money.

To date, most Sipps only held small amounts of cash and for relatively short periods, usually dividends and contributions pending investment, but now investors are switching out of other asset classes in a big way until the stockmarket stabilises.

James Hay is offering its Sipp customers (until 30 October) the option to sign up for a Special Deposit Account which pays 6.40 per cent fixed, with no tiers or catches.

Other Sipp providers are paying anything from 2.01-2.26 (Alliance Trust on balances over £5,000) to 4.07 per cent  (Hargreaves Lansdown)  on amounts up to £49,999.

Standard Life and Scottish Widows are currently paying base rate less one per cent  (3.50)  and Hornbuckle Mitchell base rate less 0.75 per cent (3.75).

James Hay marketing director, Andy Pennie, says:” With the average Sipp cash balance estimated to be as high as £46,500, up to 300,000 investors could be missing out on around £1,687 per year - the difference between the lowest and highest rates.”

Pennie says Sipp holders should also check which bank/s their cash is  held with, in view of the current concern over the security of deposits.

James Hay’s Special Deposit Account is provided by its owner, Banco Santander, one of the largest banks in the world.

Matt Ward, Defaqto principal consultant, pensions and wealth management, says IFAs should be advising clients on this: ‘If the client is  not content with the terms offered by the Sipp bank account, the IFA needs to see if the Sipp provider can give access to an alternative cash vehicle.’

For more on Sipps, visit:
www.sippsupermarket.com
Read the Defaqto guide to Sipps:
http://www.defaqto.com/consumer/pensions/compare-sipps/guide-to-sipps.aspx

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