By Jonathan Laws, Senior Independent Financial Adviser, Cameron James
Verdict: Our 60-Second Take
The IFGL SIPP is a legitimate, FCA-regulated international SIPP that solves a real problem: it is one of only a small number of UK SIPPs that will keep your pension on the books when you live outside the United Kingdom, whether you are a US tax resident, a Green Card holder living overseas, or a UK national now subject to the US substantial-presence test. The wrapper itself is safe, the FCA registration is real, and the PFIC shielding inside the wrapper is genuinely useful for any US-connected investor. The product is not the problem. The way it is sold sometimes is. The IFGL SIPP almost always appears bundled with the Ardan International platform or RL360 Bond, and sometimes Friends Provident International products, and all of those companies sit inside the same corporate group. The all-in cost across SIPP, platform, funds, and adviser can reach 1.5% to 2.0% per annum, if not higher. Whether that is the right answer for you depends on your jurisdiction mix, your tax residency, and whether the adviser proposing it holds the right authorisations in the country you actually live in.
Verdict: A sound wrapper that earns its place on a shortlist of cross-border SIPP options, but only after you see the all-in cost in writing and verify your adviser’s permissions for the country you live in.
The Three Routes That Brought You Here
Most readers of this review arrive via one of three routes. The right answer for you depends on which.
| Route | Reader profile | Where to go in this guide |
|---|---|---|
| Route 1 | A proposed transfer. Your existing UK pension is being recommended into the IFGL SIPP by an international financial adviser. | Fees, all-in cost, group-concentration, and Five Points to Verify sections. |
| Route 2 | An existing client review. You already hold an IFGL SIPP, possibly carried over from the Sovereign International SIPP rebrand in March 2023, and you want a second opinion on whether it still fits your circumstances. | Strengths and limitations, and the Alternatives section. |
| Route 3 | The Hartley Pensions legacy. You were a Hartley Pensions client and the administrators moved you into the IFGL SIPP or the Resolute SIPP without you choosing it. | The Hartley Pensions section below. |
This review is structured so that each of those routes is addressed directly. The fees, all-in cost, group concentration, and five points to verify before signing sections are most relevant to Route 1. Route 2 readers should jump straight to the strengths and limitations comparison and the alternatives section. The Hartley sub-audience section is built for Route 3.
What the IFGL SIPP Actually Is
The IFGL SIPP is a Self-Invested Personal Pension administered by IFG Pensions Limited, a firm authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under FCA registration number 458576 (verify at register.fca.org.uk). It is a UK-registered pension scheme under HMRC rules, which means the wrapper itself carries the same legal status as any other UK SIPP. The plan operates under the MW SIPP 2 Trust Deed, with MW SIPP Trustees Limited acting as trustee.
IFGL stands for International Financial Group Limited, an Isle of Man-based financial services group. The same group owns:
- Ardan International: the investment platform most commonly used inside the IFGL SIPP
- RL360: an offshore investment bond provider
- Friends Provident International (FPI): another offshore bond provider
The IFGL SIPP itself was previously known as the Sovereign International SIPP, and was acquired by IFGL from the Sovereign Group in March 2023. Provider documentation is published at ifglpensions.com and the fee schedule at ifglpensions.com/downloads.
Following the FCA’s Consumer Duty review in 2023, IFGL simplified its product range. It now markets two SIPPs to new business: the IFGL SIPP for international clients who are former UK residents and no longer UK taxpayers, and the Insight SIPP for UK resident clients. The earlier Acorn Lite SIPP has been closed to new business. Separately, the Resolute SIPP was launched specifically to receive former Hartley Pensions clients during the administration process.
The IFGL SIPP Is a Wrapper, Not a Platform
One point that often gets lost in third-party reviews is that the IFGL SIPP is a pension wrapper and an administration service, nothing more. It does not come with a built-in investment platform. When you open an IFGL SIPP, you are paying IFG Pensions Limited to hold the legal structure, maintain HMRC compliance, and handle events such as drawdown payments and transfers. The investment platform that sits inside the wrapper is a separate decision, chosen by your adviser, and it is where the majority of the running cost actually falls.
In practice, the vast majority of IFGL SIPP business is placed through one of two platforms. Ardan International is the most common pairing by volume, partly because it sits within the same IFGL corporate group and is the default assumption in most adviser proposals. It is a modern, fee-transparent custody and trading platform offering access to funds, ETFs, equities, and bonds across multiple currencies. RL360 is the second most common, particularly for proposals that bundle an offshore investment bond inside the SIPP wrapper. Both sit under the IFGL group umbrella, which returns us to the group-concentration point below.
Outside those two, Novia Global and Invinitive are not uncommon, particularly where a cross-border client’s circumstances call for a platform with broader currency or jurisdictional capability. The point is that the IFGL SIPP wrapper itself is platform-agnostic: what goes inside it depends entirely on the adviser’s recommendation and the platforms your adviser has access to.
This matters because when you are evaluating any IFGL SIPP proposal, you are really evaluating two separate things at the same time: the suitability of the IFGL wrapper itself, and the suitability of the platform being placed inside it. The first question is relatively easy to answer. The second is where most of the meaningful due diligence needs to happen, because the platform drives most of the cost, most of the investment access, and most of the ongoing service experience.
CAMERON JAMES VIEW — JONATHAN LAWS, SENIOR IFA
When an overseas client asks us to review their options, our preference is to place Novia Global, Morningstar Wealth International, and Invinitive ahead of the IFGL SIPP in most cases. All three operate as Pensions with integrated platforms with no group-concentration concern; their fee structures are straightforward, and their investment access for US-connected clients is great. Novia Global, in particular, offers a breadth of multi-currency capability that we find works well for clients moving between jurisdictions.
The IFGL SIPP does have a place on the shortlist. For clients inherited from the Hartley Pensions administration who are already in the wrapper and are otherwise well-positioned, a second transfer is often not necessary. And for clients where the specific Ardan platform capability or the adviser’s relationship with IFGL makes it genuinely the best answer, we will, in theory, recommend it. But we do not start there. We start with the question of which platform best fits the client’s jurisdiction, tax profile, and long-term portability needs, and then select the wrapper accordingly.
Who the IFGL SIPP Is Built For
The IFGL SIPP has a tightly defined target market. It is built for:
- Former UK residents who are no longer UK taxpayers and want to keep their pension in a UK-regulated structure, including those now living in the United States, the EU, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, or anywhere else outside the UK
- Cross-border individuals who hold UK pension benefits and want a wrapper that follows them when they move country
- Clients who wish to consolidate multiple legacy UK pension arrangements into one place
- Pension pots of at least £75,000 (around $95,000), which is the IFGL minimum for new business
- Clients who are already working with a regulated financial adviser
It is not designed for people still in UK employment or still UK tax resident. The Insight SIPP is the relevant product in that case, and it generally does not accept contributions from non-UK sources. It is also an adviser-only product: you cannot open one directly. A regulated financial adviser must establish the plan on your behalf and sign off on suitability. The adviser must hold the correct authorisation for the country where you actually live, not just the country where you used to live. If you have moved abroad and found a provider freezing or closing your account, our guide on what happens to your SIPP when you leave the UK sets out the wider picture.
Three Cross-Border Situations Where the IFGL SIPP Is on the Shortlist
The IFGL SIPP is not a US residents only product, and treating it that way is the single biggest framing mistake in third-party reviews. The wrapper is built for anyone with UK pension benefits who has moved out of the UK and needs a globally portable home for them. Three situations crop up most often in our practice.
Situation 1: UK nationals who are now US tax-resident
A British engineer takes a job in Boston, gets a Green Card three years later, and is now a US tax resident under both the Green Card test and the substantial-presence test. Their old UK workplace pension and an old UK personal pension are sitting in legacy schemes that may or may not pay to a US address. They need a SIPP that accepts a US-resident beneficial owner without forcing them to liquidate. The IFGL SIPP is one of the few that will.
Situation 2: US citizens or Green Card holders living outside the United States
An American executive on a multi-year posting in London, an attorney in Dubai who kept her Green Card, or a US dual-citizen now retired in Spain. These clients are US persons for tax purposes wherever they go: they file US returns and are subject to PFIC, FATCA, and FBAR rules no matter where they live. They may have built UK pension benefits during a UK posting. When they leave the UK, most retail UK SIPP providers refuse to keep their account open, a pattern we have documented with Bestinvest, Fidelity, and Interactive Investor. The IFGL SIPP is one of the wrappers that will continue to service a US citizen abroad.
Situation 3: Cross-border and dual-status individuals who move between jurisdictions
A senior consultant who spends part of the year in the US, part in the UK, and part in the UAE. A married couple where one spouse is US-resident and the other is UK-resident. A retiree planning to split their later years between the US and Portugal. These clients need a wrapper that does not have to be sold and rebought every time their tax residency shifts. The IFGL SIPP, as a UK-registered scheme that already accepts US-connected beneficiaries, is structurally suited to that pattern.In all three situations, the IFGL SIPP is on the shortlist, not automatically the answer. Novia Global, Morningstar Wealth International, and Invinitive belong on the same shortlist. The right one depends on jurisdiction mix, pension size, currency preference, and adviser permissions. For a deeper comparison of US-friendly UK SIPP options for cross-border clients, see our International SIPP overview and our full UK Pension and SIPP Transfer guide for US residents.
The Full IFGL SIPP Fee Schedule
The biggest gap in most third-party IFGL SIPP reviews is honest detail on cost. Below is the published IFGL SIPP fee schedule as at April 2024, indexed to UK CPI annually. Verify current fees against the latest IFGL Pensions documentation at ifglpensions.com/downloads before transferring.
| Fee type | Amount (GBP) |
|---|---|
| Establishment fee | £350 |
| Annual fee (cash and Ardan platform only) | £500 per annum |
| Annual fee (wider investment range) | £600 per annum |
| Additional annual fee on value over £300,000 | 0.1% (capped at £1,500) |
| Cash account setup | £50 |
| Regular income payments | £150 per annum |
| Ad hoc payment | £150 per payment |
| PCLS (UK tax-free cash) payment | £225 |
| UFPLS payment | £300 |
| Annuity purchase | £300 |
| Transfer out to UK scheme | £450 |
| Transfer out to QROPS | £950 |
| Death benefit payment and wind-up | £500 |
| Pension sharing order (divorce) | £500 |
| Non-standard asset surcharge (per asset) | £300 per annum |
| Time charges (other work) | £120 to £200 per hour |
The 2% Cash Retention Policy: A Structural Problem
One aspect of the IFGL SIPP that rarely features in third-party reviews deserves direct attention: the cash retention policy applied at the SIPP level to cover trustee and administration costs.
IFGL requires that a minimum of 2% of the total SIPP value is held in cash within the wrapper at all times. This cash is retained by the SIPP administrator to cover trustee fees, scheme expenses, and other operational costs as they fall due. The policy originated under the Sovereign International SIPP and has continued under the IFGL branding.
What makes this more significant than it first appears is that the underlying investment platform (most commonly Ardan International) operates its own cash retention policy at the platform level, also typically set at 2%. That means in the standard IFGL SIPP plus Ardan pairing, up to 4% of your total pension value may be held in cash at any one time: 2% retained at the SIPP wrapper level and a further 2% retained at the platform level. Neither pot of cash generates returns for you, and the interest on the SIPP-level cash accrues to IFGL rather than to the client.
| The Problem With Combined Cash Retention On a £250,000 SIPP in the standard IFGL plus Ardan pairing, up to £10,000 of your pension (4% of the total) may be sitting in cash at all times, split between the SIPP wrapper and the platform. None of that cash is generating investment returns. The interest on the SIPP-level portion accrues to IFGL, not to you. |
This drag is most visible for clients who are not actively drawing income or making contributions. For example, someone in their mid-fifties holding the pension in the accumulation phase and not yet near retirement will simply watch the 4% cash pool sit idle, acting as a permanent brake on portfolio performance year after year, compounding silently against them. This is not a transparent or client-friendly policy. When combined with the SIPP administration fee, the platform fee, fund charges, and adviser fees, the combined cash retention adds a further layer of silent cost that most clients are never explicitly shown on a single page. At Cameron James, we consider this one of the weaker structural features of the IFGL SIPP and a meaningful point of difference when comparing it against alternatives such as Novia Global, Morningstar Wealth International, and Invinitive, none of which operate an equivalent mandatory cash drag at the wrapper level.
When calculating the true all-in cost of an IFGL SIPP, the combined cash drag must be included alongside the administration fee, platform fee, fund charges, and adviser costs. A proposal that presents only the published fee schedule is omitting a real and ongoing cost.
The All-In Cost Few Reviews Show You
The IFGL SIPP fees above are only one layer. The total cost of running an IFGL SIPP across all layers usually breaks down like this:
- IFGL SIPP administration fee: £500 to £600 per year, plus event-based charges
- 2% SIPP-level cash retention: a permanent cash drag equal to 2% of SIPP value, with interest accruing to IFGL, not to you
- 2% platform-level cash retention (Ardan): a further 2% held at the platform level, meaning up to 4% of your pension is held in unremunerated cash in the standard pairing
- Investment platform fee: typically Ardan International at around 0.4% per annum, plus dealing charges of around £5 per fund or ETF trade
- Underlying fund charges: the ongoing charges figure (OCF) of whatever funds you hold, ranging from around 0.10% for passive trackers to 1.5% or more for active funds
- Adviser fees: typically an initial transfer fee and an ongoing servicing fee, depending on the adviser firm
CAMERON JAMES VIEW — JONATHAN LAWS, SENIOR IFA
On a £250,000 pension (roughly $315,000) invested through Ardan in mainstream funds, the combined cost can easily reach 1.5% to 2.0% per annum once every layer is added together, and that is before you factor in the cash retention drag. None of this is hidden, but it is rarely shown to clients in one place.
Before transferring into the IFGL SIPP, ask any adviser proposing the plan for a written breakdown showing the all-in annual percentage cost including the cash retention impact. If they will not put it on one page, that is information in itself. You can see how we set out costs on our Our Cost page.
Been Offered an IFGL SIPP? Get a Second Opinion.
If an adviser has proposed the IFGL SIPP, a short conversation with a dual-regulated Cameron James adviser will tell you whether the all-in cost and the structure are genuinely right for your circumstances.
The Group-Concentration Question
| Amber Flag: Structural Point to Ask About in Writing Within the IFGL group, three things sit under the same parent: the pension administrator (IFG Pensions Limited), the investment platform (Ardan International), and the investment product providers within the platform (RL360 and Friends Provident International). If an adviser proposes IFGL SIPP plus Ardan plus an RL360 or FPI product inside the platform, every layer of your pension is supplied by one corporate group.That is not, by itself, a reason to avoid the IFGL SIPP. It is a legitimate and regulated structure, and group-aligned solutions are sometimes the right answer. But it is a question you are entitled to have answered in writing before you sign: why is this concentration in your best interest, and what alternatives did the adviser consider? This is the single most important structural point in this review. The wrapper is fine; the bundle around it is what to scrutinise. |
US Tax: PFIC, FATCA, Treaty, and the NT Code
For any reader who is a US citizen, Green Card holder, or US tax resident, wherever in the world they actually live, four US tax topics dominate every IFGL SIPP conversation.
PFIC rules inside the SIPP wrapper
PFIC (Passive Foreign Investment Company) rules are the single biggest US tax trap for UK pension holders who are US tax residents. Most UK and European mutual funds and ETFs are classified as PFICs from the US tax perspective, and the punitive PFIC tax regime is extremely costly if you hold them outside a qualifying pension.
The good news: investments held inside a SIPP wrapper, including the IFGL SIPP, are generally treated as held within a qualified pension plan for US tax purposes under US-UK treaty principles, with reporting relief under IRS regulations at Section 1298(f). This means PFIC reporting and taxation does not apply to the underlying holdings during the accumulation phase. That is a meaningful advantage compared with holding the same funds in a UK ISA or general investment account, both of which would trigger PFIC issues for any US person.
FATCA and FBAR reporting
The IFGL SIPP is treated as a foreign financial account for US reporting purposes:
- FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)
- Form 8938 (FATCA) reporting applies where higher thresholds are met on your US federal tax return
- The IFGL SIPP itself reports under FATCA to HMRC, which exchanges information with the IRS
None of this is avoidable, but it is manageable when you work with an adviser and a US tax preparer who understand the structure.
The US-UK Double Taxation Treaty (Article 17)
Under Article 17 of the US-UK Double Taxation Treaty, pension income drawn by a US tax resident from a UK pension is generally taxable only in the United States, provided the correct treaty position is claimed on your US tax return. This prevents double taxation.
The NT (No Tax) Code
To prevent UK tax being withheld at source on your SIPP income payments, you typically apply to HMRC for an NT (no tax) code using the DT-Individual form. This is not automatic and can take several months to process. Without it, UK tax may be withheld on your SIPP income even though the treaty allocates taxing rights to the United States.
| Timing Note A common error is initiating drawdown before the NT code is in place. UK tax then gets withheld, and the client has to reclaim it. Coordinate the timing of the NT code application with the timing of your first SIPP payment. |
Standard Assets Only
The IFGL SIPP does not accept non-standard investments. All underlying assets must fall within the FCA standard asset list (broadly: regulated funds, listed equities, listed bonds, ETFs, and similar). This is genuinely positive, as it reduces the risk of being placed into illiquid, unregulated, or speculative holdings inside the SIPP. If a non-standard asset somehow enters the plan, IFGL applies a £300 per annum surcharge per asset.
If You Were Transferred In from Hartley Pensions
A significant portion of new IFGL SIPP business in 2024 and 2025 came from clients of Hartley Pensions, which entered administration in July 2022 with more than 16,000 clients on its books. The administrators, UHY Hacker Young, have been transferring clients in tranches to new SIPP operators, with IFGL Pensions taking on the largest share, including a bulk transfer of the RL360 SIPP book and a sizeable portion of the Ardan-linked SIPP book.
The latest administration updates are published at uhy-uk.com and on the FCA site at fca.org.uk.
If you are a former Hartley Pensions client now living anywhere outside the UK who has been moved into the IFGL SIPP or the Resolute SIPP, you were effectively onboarded without choosing IFGL yourself. That does not make it the wrong destination, but it does mean you should now review the plan on its merits, rather than assume it is the right long-term home simply because it was the administrative endpoint of the Hartley process. In practice, that means asking the same questions any new transferee should ask:
- What are the all-in fees, including the 2% cash retention drag?
- What is the underlying investment strategy?
- Is the structure aligned with my current tax residency?
- Is my adviser authorised to advise me in the country I now live in?
Strengths and Limitations
| Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|
| UK-registered, FCA-administered pension scheme | IFGL, Ardan, RL360, and FPI all sit within the same corporate group |
| Accepts US-connected clients (rare among UK SIPPs) | Multiple fee layers (SIPP, platform, funds, adviser) |
| PFIC rules do not apply during accumulation inside the wrapper | Up to 4% combined cash retention (2% SIPP level plus 2% Ardan platform level) with SIPP-level interest accruing to IFGL, not clients |
| £75,000 minimum is accessible for most UK pension consolidators | Transfer out to a QROPS costs £950 |
| Standard assets only, lower risk of illiquid holdings | Adviser-only product (cannot be opened direct) |
| Open architecture via Ardan, multi-currency capable | Requires careful FBAR and Form 8938 reporting each US tax year (for US persons) |
| Works across multiple jurisdictions, not just the US | Limited independent online reviews due to adviser-only distribution |
| NT code process is well understood by experienced cross-border advisers | NT code can take months to obtain. Plan ahead of drawdown |
Alternatives Worth Considering
Depending on your country of residence, pension size, and investment preferences, the following may be worth comparing alongside the IFGL SIPP. All three are independent of the IFGL corporate group and do not operate an equivalent mandatory cash retention policy at the wrapper level.
Novia Global
Novia Global is a fee-transparent, platform-based SIPP with strong multi-currency capability and no group-concentration concerns. It is frequently our first choice for cross-border clients, particularly those moving between jurisdictions or holding a mix of GBP and USD-denominated assets. The platform is clean, modern, and straightforward to audit. Annual SIPP fees start from £180, making it materially cheaper than the IFGL SIPP at most pension sizes before platform and fund costs are added. For US-connected clients in particular, Novia Global’s open architecture means the investment portfolio can be built around compliance with US tax requirements from the outset.
Morningstar Wealth International
The Morningstar International SIPP is a platform-based SIPP administered through Morningstar Wealth International Limited and designed explicitly for internationally mobile clients. It offers broad investment access, a well-regarded research and fund screening infrastructure, and a fee structure that is straightforward to model. For clients who value the Morningstar investment research ecosystem or who are already working with advisers embedded in that platform, it is a strong alternative to the IFGL SIPP with no equivalent group-concentration issue.
Invinitive
The Invinitive SIPP is a more recent entrant to the cross-border SIPP market but one that has attracted attention for its transparent, technology-forward approach. It is built specifically for non-UK residents, operates with a clean fee structure, and does not carry the cash retention policy or group-concentration issue that characterises the IFGL SIPP proposition. For clients who prioritise simplicity, fee transparency, and a modern administrative experience, Invinitive is increasingly on our shortlist alongside Novia Global and Morningstar Wealth International.
| On QROPS For most US-based clients, a QROPS is not the right answer because the United States is not on the HMRC ROPS list. For clients in the EU, the Middle East, or Asia-Pacific, the QROPS question is more open, but transfers to QROPS now carry the UK Overseas Transfer Charge in most situations under post-2024 rules, so the decision needs jurisdiction-specific advice. The choice is therefore almost always between different US-friendly UK SIPPs rather than between a SIPP and a QROPS. For a deeper comparison of UK and International SIPP options for cross-border clients, see our International SIPP overview. |
Five Points to Verify Before You Sign
1. No safeguarded benefits. Your existing pension does not contain safeguarded benefits, guaranteed annuity rates, defined benefit accrual, or similar, that require specialist advice before any transfer. If it does, that is a different process with statutory advice requirements.
2. All-in cost in writing, including cash retention. You have a written breakdown showing the all-in annual percentage cost across every layer: SIPP administration, 2% cash retention, platform, funds, and adviser. If the adviser will not produce a single-page summary including the cash retention drag, treat that as a flag.
3. Whole-of-market reasoning. The adviser firm proposing the IFGL SIPP is genuinely whole-of-market rather than tied to a particular product family. Ask them to name the two or three alternatives they considered (Novia Global, Morningstar Wealth International, and Invinitive are the obvious comparators) and why those were ruled out.
4. Cross-border tax position considered. For US persons: FBAR, FATCA, Article 17, NT code, PFIC, all addressed in writing. For UK persons living in the EU, the Middle East, or elsewhere: the relevant UK treaty position with that country, and any local pension tax rules.
5. Adviser holds the right permissions where you actually live. A UK FCA permission alone is not enough if you live in the US. Your adviser also needs SEC authorisation (typically as an investment adviser representative). For the EU, CySEC or equivalent; for the Gulf, the relevant local permission. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk and the SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure tool at adviserinfo.sec.gov. Our explainer on the Beacon Global Advisor Network (BGAN) model sets out how Cameron James advisers are authorised to advise US residents.
If any of those points are unclear, do not proceed until they have been resolved in writing. A pension transfer is, in most cases, an irreversible decision.
Frequently Asked Questions: IFGL SIPP for Cross-Border Clients
Can US citizens, Green Card holders, and US tax residents hold an IFGL SIPP?
Yes. The IFGL SIPP is one of a small number of International SIPPs that accept US-connected clients, whether they live in the United States or anywhere else in the world. FBAR and FATCA reporting obligations will apply, and US-UK Double Taxation Treaty positions need to be claimed correctly on the US tax return. PFIC rules do not generally apply to investments held inside the SIPP wrapper during accumulation.
Can I keep an IFGL SIPP if I move from the United States to the EU or the Middle East?
Generally yes. The IFGL SIPP is designed for non-UK-resident clients across multiple jurisdictions, and the wrapper itself does not require you to live in any particular country. What changes is the applicable tax treaty and the adviser permissions required to continue advising you. Notify your adviser before, not after, a country move.
Will I pay UK tax on IFGL SIPP income if I live outside the United Kingdom?
It depends on the treaty between the UK and your country of residence. For US tax residents, Article 17 of the US-UK Double Taxation Treaty generally allocates taxing rights on UK pension income to the United States. To stop UK tax being withheld at source, apply to HMRC for an NT (no tax) code using the DT-Individual form. Always coordinate this with a tax adviser qualified in your country of residence.
Do I need to file FBAR and Form 8938 for my IFGL SIPP?
If you are a US person (citizen, Green Card holder, or US tax resident), yes. FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) is required if your aggregate foreign financial accounts exceed $10,000 at any point in the calendar year. Form 8938 (FATCA) is required on your federal tax return where higher thresholds are met. Both apply to a UK SIPP held by a US person, wherever in the world you are physically located. Cameron James does not provide US tax advice, but we work alongside US tax preparers to make sure the reporting is handled correctly.
Is the IFGL SIPP a legitimate pension scheme?
Yes. The IFGL SIPP is administered by IFG Pensions Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under FCA registration number 458576. It is a UK-registered pension scheme under HMRC rules, operating under the MW SIPP 2 Trust Deed. Verify the registration at register.fca.org.uk.
What happened to the Sovereign International SIPP?
The Sovereign International SIPP was acquired by IFGL from the Sovereign Group in March 2023. It was rebranded as the IFGL SIPP and is now administered by IFG Pensions Limited within the IFGL corporate group. The underlying pension scheme and HMRC registration continue.
Do I have to use the Ardan platform inside my IFGL SIPP?
No, but the cheaper £500 per annum SIPP fee only applies where investments are confined to cash and the Ardan platform. Using a wider investment range outside the Ardan platform increases the annual SIPP fee to £600. In practice, the large majority of IFGL SIPP clients use Ardan as the underlying platform.
What is the IFGL SIPP transfer-out fee?
Transferring out of the IFGL SIPP to another UK-registered pension scheme costs £450. Transferring out to a QROPS costs £950. Both are event-based charges payable at the point of transfer.
I was transferred into IFGL from Hartley Pensions. Do I have to stay?
No. If you were moved into the IFGL SIPP or the Resolute SIPP as part of the Hartley Pensions administration process, you are not locked in. You can transfer out to another UK SIPP for £450. Before transferring again, however, it is worth taking advice from a properly authorised adviser on whether the IFGL SIPP is actually suitable for your situation. A second transfer also has costs and may not produce a materially better outcome.
Does the IFGL SIPP allow non-standard or unregulated investments?
No. The IFGL SIPP only accepts standard assets as defined by the FCA standard asset list: regulated funds, listed equities, listed bonds, and ETFs. Non-standard or illiquid investments are not permitted. If a non-standard asset somehow ends up inside the plan, IFGL applies a £300 per annum surcharge per asset.
What is the 2% cash retention policy and how does it affect me?
IFGL requires a minimum of 2% of the total SIPP value to be held in cash within the wrapper at all times, with the interest accruing to IFGL rather than to you. In the standard IFGL plus Ardan pairing, the Ardan platform operates its own cash retention policy at the platform level, also typically set at 2%. The combined effect is that up to 4% of your pension value may be held in unremunerated cash at any one time. On a £250,000 SIPP, that is £10,000 sitting idle. This drag is particularly significant for clients in the accumulation phase who are not yet drawing income, as the cash pool simply compounds against their portfolio performance year after year without generating returns. It is one of the features of the IFGL SIPP that we think compares unfavourably with the alternative providers on our shortlist.
Talk to a Dual-Regulated Cross-Border Adviser
Cameron James advisers are individually SEC-registered and FCA-authorised. Whether you hold an IFGL SIPP already or have been offered one, we will review it on its merits and show you the all-in cost in writing. Book a free, no-obligation consultation today.
