UK’s first-ever peer-to-peer SIPP launched. Abundance to address current hurdles stopping many people from investing more towards their retirement
October 20, 2015: Abundance – the ethical P2P investment platform – has launched the UK’s first-ever peer-to-peer investment SIPP, called ‘the Abundance Pension’, to address head-on the current concerns stopping more people from saving adequately towards their retirement.
Independent research conducted for Abundance by OnePoll has revealed that despite 88% of adults believing that it is their responsibility to fund their retirement, only 63% have some form of pension in place, owing to the following concerns:
• 47% of people are concerned about the effects of global stock market shocks on their pension, and 44% are interested in pension options that reduce their exposure to the global markets
• A third of people (33%) worry about where their pension funds are invested, with just 14% believing their pension provider is very transparent in this area
• 21% of people would invest more in their pension if they knew exactly where the funds were being invested
• There is significant demand for uncorrelated pension assets to spread the risk, eg – 22% of people would be interested in a pension that offered returns solely derived from renewable energy (even after the recent government cuts), with the average pension investor looking to move around 25% of their assets into such a pension.
All of Abundance’s open existing and future projects, offered to investors via tradable debentures from individual UK PLC’s producing renewable energy, will be eligible for inclusion in the product where they will attract full pension tax advantages and full pension freedoms at age 55. Thus, the product is a unique ‘positive pension’ that will provide good, steady and uncorrelated returns from investments that also produce a positive social or environmental impact.
This new product means that the increasing number of people who do not want their money to support businesses they deem to be unethical will now be able to enjoy strong returns with all of the tax advantages of a pension as they save towards their retirement, but without having to swallow their ethics in the process.
The Abundance Pension is being offered through a partnership with one of longest established and most respected UK SIPP providers, European Pensions Management Ltd (EPM). EPM has worked consistently to help give investors broader access to new asset classes that can help in pension planning. EPM is the scheme trustee and administrator, while Abundance will be the first point of contact for all customer-facing activity.
Bruce Davis, cofounder and joint MD of Abundance said, “We hope that this new product’s unique combination of tax relief, the diversified and uncorrelated nature of our debentures, and the steady and attractive returns they pay from investments matching our customers’ values will make the product a significant new motivation for many people to save more towards their retirement. Finally, they will have easy and direct access to choose between diverse investment assets, all with a social or environmental benefit, and all paying consistent, strong and uncorrelated returns within a tax-advantaged pension wrapper. The Abundance Pension launch is also a useful precursor to the arrival of the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) next year, which we also plan to offer. If anyone had any doubts as to how competitive and effective an ‘IFISA’ is likely to be, the Abundance Pension provides a very promising indication.”
This year Abundance is again sponsoring ‘Good Money Week’ (http://goodmoneyweek.com/) that kicks off next week, making the Abundance Pension launch all the more timely and topical. Good Money Week will highlight both the growing public demand for having more control over where their money is invested and the extent to which this need is unmet by most mainstream financial services providers.
• New independent research reveals that while 88% of people believe it is their responsibility to fund their retirement, only 63% have a pension of some kind.
• A range of issues discourage people from investing more or even from taking their first steps in saving towards their retirement, including a lack of diversity, transparency and control.