Dreadful returns and dreadful service from Best Invest SIPP. Alternatives?

jakethepeg1001

I am 79 with around £75k in a SIPP with Best Invest. The service is dreadful with them seldom replying to emails and the return is awful - just over 1% in the last year and only 2.8% pa over the last 5 years, when the stock market went up 13%. Can anyone suggest a better provider?

bjorn_toby_wilde

I’ll jump in and be the first to say that the return is not governed by the provider. The return is determined by what funds you are invested in. If you have a high percentage of low risk investments like bonds, MMFs then your returns will be lower. A higher equity percentage has given higher returns recently but is higher risk.

You should choose a provider because of their fees and charges, customer service and the quality of their digital platform (does it give you the information you need).

If you can post the names of the funds you’re invested in then you’ll get some better answers.

LHW99

Unfortunately most DIY proviers of SIPPs can fall down on communications, although the three larger ones often mentioned here (HL, AJ Bell & II) on the whole seem to manage better than some of the newer ones IMO.

What are you asking Best Invest?

Roger175

Again, just to reiterate the point, the provider won't be the problem with the performance, the issue will be what you're invested in. List the funds and you'll get a far more helpful response.

I'm with AJ Bell and have seen some very good returns in the last few years, but if you'd had the same investments as you currently have, held with AJ Bell, the outcome would have been pretty much the same.

dunstonh

 Can anyone suggest a better provider?

The SIPP provider does not select your investments. You do.

 the return is awful - just over 1% in the last year and only 2.8% pa over the last 5 years, when the stock market went up 13%.

2025 returns were good across the board and almost typical of the norm where 100% bonds is bottom and 100% equities is top and every other split fell into order.

100% bonds made over 5% and global equities over 13% in 2025.

The only real difference with 2025 was US equities underperforming, while UK equities had a rare good year.

So, if you have selected investments that are not very good, you don't blame the provider. You blame yourself.

your return suggests you are not in any stockmarket. So, comparing them with the stock market is probably not a sensible thing to do as it's like comparing a bicycle to a helicopter.

What are you invested in that got such a poor return in a good year?

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81898575#Comment_81898575

Just to be pedantic, Fidelity in the UK are a bigger platform than AJ Bell and are often mentioned on here.

I think in terms of customer numbers they are similar to II.

Catflap2

bestinvest actually offer a pretty good interest rate on cash (one of the things I like) so even if you had it all in cash you would have got around 3.5% I think. So far I’m still accumulating and had no issues with them, though would be interested to know of any problems since I’m planning to start drawdown in the near future

Aretnap

SIPP stands for SELF-INVESTED Personal Pension. If it perform badly the fault is with the person choosing the investments, and the name gives a close as to who that might be...

incus432

The return is based on what you invest in, not the platform, as others have said.

On the plafform choice, I was with Bestinvest for years, and their service went downhill rapidly - Ithink they were taken over a couple of times - Tilney, then Evelyn Partners. Their charges also rocketed. So by all means look to switch. I like AJBell but others seem ok too. I'm not so keen on Fidelity's website but they are offereng big cashbacks for transfers in, so worth considering.

bjorn_toby_wilde

I find AJ Bell very good too. Their app is good and the chat function gets you straight to a human being should you need one. I have one small chunk of pension with them and for this level of investment their percentage fee model is cost effective.

My only quibble with them is the way the app reports gains on MMFs. It seems to reset every time a dividend is paid so for most of the time it’s showing that my MMF holdings have made a loss even though they are actually well into positive territory.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81902025#Comment_81902025

My own experience is that the customer service from AJ Bell, HL and Fidelity is all pretty good.