“You are the best, by some distance” – our 2026 survey results, revealed

This article is intended for financial services professionals only. None of the information contained in this article should be received as advice. Pensions are a complicated area of financial planning and IPM suggests that financial advice from a suitably regulated financial adviser is sought before an individual takes any action in respect of their pension savings.

In September, we ran a survey that gave advisers the opportunity to let us know what’s working and what isn’t.

The last time we ran a survey was in 2024 – so we thought it was about time to check in and get honest feedback on our service.

Here’s what we found out.

Advisers are very happy to recommend us to clients

We asked, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend IPM to your clients when they need a bespoke SIPP?”

The average response was 9 – showing that respondents are very confident in recommending us. What’s more, 43% of respondents opted for 10, showing they would have no hesitation whatsoever in sending clients our way for a bespoke SIPP.

We have improved our online offering and advisers are finding it useful

Since our last survey in 2024, we have spent a lot of time improving our online offering – but has it been useful to advisers and their support teams?

We asked about this in our 2026 survey.

As we continue working on our online offering, this information will guide our team towards what firms benefit from most of all.

We’re successfully supporting advisers in meeting Consumer Duty requirements

Consumer Duty has changed the landscape of client servicing, and as a result, we wanted to know whether IPM was helping advisers meet its all-important requirements.

We asked about the following options, with respondents being given the opportunity to select:

Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree

We’re pleased that not a single respondent disagreed with any of the below statements. All those who did not select “agree” instead selected “neither agree nor disagree”.

87.18% agreed that IPM is proactive in ensuring good client outcomes without putting in place unnecessary barriers.
87.18% said that overall, they find it easy to work with IPM.
74.36% agreed that IPM supports them in meeting their Consumer Duty obligations.
61.54% agreed our Fair Value Assessment and Target Market Statements are clear and helpful.
79.49% agreed that our client communications are clear.

It is heartening to know that while there is some room for improvement, our service is helping many of the advisers and administrative staff who work with IPM to meet their Consumer Duty obligations.

Should we subscribe to the Origo Pension Transfer Service?

We do not currently subscribe to the Origo Pension Transfer Service and wanted to ask our respondents whether this affects them recommending IPM to others.

56.41% said it would make no difference.
35.90% said it would make them more likely to recommend us.
7.69% said it would make it significantly more likely for them to recommend IPM.

Some respondents did make additional comments that they would prefer us to subscribe to Origo, and this is an ongoing conversation within the IPM team.

Our ratings and reviews marginally increase the chance of advisers recommending us to clients – but our service levels set us apart from the crowd

We are proud to hold a five-star rating from Moneyfacts and have done since 2017. Plus, in October 2024, we received an AKG rating of B-. We do not currently hold a Defaqto rating.

When we asked whether these accolades would make advisers more likely to recommend us, the results were mixed.

Moneyfacts

Regarding our Moneyfacts rating, 61.54% of respondents said it would not make a difference to whether they would recommend us, with under 10% saying it would make them significantly more likely to do so.

AKG

Our AKG rating appears to hold greater weight. 64.9% of respondents said the rating would make it more likely or significantly more likely for them to recommend us.

Defaqto

Finally, we do not currently have a Defaqto rating. According to our survey respondents, 58.97% would not be more likely to recommend us if we had one, while one-third said they would be more likely to recommend us.

What does set us apart and drive recommendations, however, is our client servicing standards – as you can see below.

Advisers are not confident about the state of the SIPP market, but they trust IPM to do the job

We asked our survey participants to share their thoughts about the general state of the bespoke SIPP market.

While not all seem confident in the current SIPP landscape, many respondents told us that we are one of the few firms they trust with complex cases, especially where property is concerned.

Here are a few comments that stood out:

“You know your business and for more complex true SIPP requirements you are the best, by some distance, SIPP provider I’ve worked with.”
“[Please] continue to provide the bespoke and personal service, which is lacking elsewhere in the FS sector!”
“I am not keen on SIPP transfers when there’s a property […] That said, if I did spot a property case in future, you would be the top of the list.”
“The general state of the market is terrible […] The list of firms I’d trust with my clients’ money is very short.”

We know that regulatory change and increasing red tape are making the advice process more complicated for advisers and clients. We will continue to invest in our personal service that leverages our team’s experience, ensuring that firms and clients always feel supported when handling complex cases.

“What’s the best thing about working with IPM?”

This is the question that really stands out to us. Advisers had the chance to say what makes a difference and why they stay with IPM, sometimes for decades, rather than exploring other opportunities in the bespoke SIPP market.

Here are some of the supportive comments we received (and you may notice a theme appearing!):

“Human touch”
“The people and the culture”
“Direct access to people I know can help”
“Communication and support from the team”
“Attention to detail and service”
“Pragmatism, efficiency, clear communication, the ability to talk to real human beings with knowledge and experience”
“Personable and friendly service, knowledgeable and helpful staff”
“Real people, huge experience”
“Expert knowledge, personal service, and long staff retention make you stand out from the crowd”
“[The business is] not too big”

These reflections truly show that our commitment to care and support does not go unnoticed.

We aren’t perfect and are always searching for ways to improve how we do business, but these comments are an indication that advisers and support staff feel looked after whenever they work with the IPM team.

Thank you to all who responded to our survey

We want to extend our thanks to everyone who took the time to give us their thoughts via our 2026 survey.

If you have any questions about what you have read here, feedback for IPM, or want to find out about working with us, email info@ipm-pensions.co.uk or call 01438 747151 to learn more about working with our specialist team.