Inexpensive SIPP providers? Liberty, Gaudi, Others?

RetiredandHappy

I am looking for opinions on cheap (thats low priced - not poor quality) SIPP providers.

I currently have an X-O Liberty SIPP. This is the older X-O SIPP administered by Liberty SIPP, not the current X-O SIPP managed by Gaudi. Over the 4 years, their charges have gone up and their performance reduced. I expect that the X-O SIPP is a sub-set of their larger Options SIPP but since they fell out with X-O, all mention of the X-O Liberty SIPP has disappeared from their site. So I am left unsure what my fees are or what the current T&Cs are. The T&Cs should be tighter than the Options SIPP (Only deal through X-O in London Stock Exchange shares) and as a result the fees should be lower (nothing esoteric to worry about.)

Now Liberty have been taken over by Embark Group so the connection to X-O has become even more lost in the past. I will ask Liberty, but thought I would first seek opinions on the Embark Group, EBSpensions (the new Liberty name), Gaudi (who present more as a software provider than as a substantial financial institution), and on any other similar but better/sounder providers. So, any opinions or experience?

Secondly, as part of the takeover by Embark, I am requested to agree to the change of contract by "novation". I looked that up and it sounds superficially OK but I worry that it implies acceptance of a change from the devil I know to another (perhaps worse) devil I do not even know. Is there anyone out there in a similar position and what are your feelings on this change and the method of implementing it?

Shedman

I'm in the same XO Liberty SIPP. I agree that the continuing rise in fees is very annoying given it was initially put forward as a low cost SIPP. As an idea of the current fees the annual management fee is now £145 plus VAT (£174) and annual drawdown fee is £100 plus VAT (£120). I had thought that perhaps they had stop levying an annual fee as it used to be taken quarterly and nothing had been taken from Feb 18 but at the end of Dec they suddenly took the whole £174.

Once in drawdown (as I am now having just drawn an amount to utilise my PA for this tax year) it now makes even Hargreaves Lansdown look reasonable, especially given their level of service and website, choice of investments etc (compared to the XO SIPP). As HL don't levy fees for drawdown and I'm in ITs and ETFs their maximum would be £200 so nearly £100 a year cheaper.

However, having said that the actual process of initiating the drawdown from Liberty/Embark was relatively straightforward - I called them up and was told that I just had to download and complete a form from their website and post it off and then complete an online risk questionnaire to which they sent me a link. So I don't think the change to Embark has had a negative impact.

Even so I'm considering moving due to the costs issue.