Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Thursday 18 September 2025. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Royal London leads personal pension market as Aviva dominates SIPPs
Royal London remains the most recommended personal pension provider, while Aviva leads in the SIPP market, according to Defaqto’s latest analysis of adviser recommendations.
Data from Defaqto Engage, the financial planning tool used by more than 30% of UK advisers, shows over 64,000 personal pension and SIPP recommendations were made in the first half of 2025.
The Royal London Pension Portfolio retained its top spot in the personal pension market, accounting for 29.3% of the most recommended products.
Guardian appoints Gower Wisdom as COO
Guardian has appointed Gower Wisdom as chief operating officer (COO), effective 1 November.
He succeeds Duncan Mosely, who stepped down earlier this year.
Wisdom brings more than 20 years’ experience in life insurance and wealth management, spanning operational leadership, product development, and actuarial expertise.
He joins from AUL Assurance, a specialist startup life insurer, where he served as CEO and formerly COO.
Past performance raises concerns for new Pensions Commission
This month is rather special for me as it was 55 years ago that I walked through the doors of Sun Life and entered the world of pensions, writes John Moret, principal of MoretoSIPPs.
The pensions world then was very different, and 1970 was an important year as it marked the introduction of a new code of tax approval for pension schemes.
Since then, there have been a number of pension ‘milestone’ years
Quote Of The Day
Saving into a spouse’s pension, also known as third party contributions, is a helpful, but often overlooked, financial planning tool
-Susan Hope, Scottish Widows retirement expert, comments on the IFS’s latest report examining people’s employment plans amid a rising state pension age
Stat Attack
Three in five UK savers avoid investing because they believe it’s too risky, according to new research from investing and trading platform IG. The study also found that
51%
are unaware that cash savings can lose value over time due to inflation.
72%
of savers say disclaimers such as “Capital at risk. You may get back less than you invest” deters them from investing.
35%
of non-investors would consider investing if warnings explained both risk and reward. Additionally,
30%
said they would be more likely to move money from cash to investing if cash accounts highlighted inflation risk. There is a lack of understanding, particularly among younger savers, of the impact of inflation on cash savings, with
11%
of 18-34-year-olds believing that inflation only impacts investments, not cash.
Source: IG
In Other News
Three new directors and two new deputy chairs have been appointed to the Investment Association (IA) Board following its AGM.
The new directors are Eric Adler, CEO of Asset Management at L&G; Samantha Alexander, UK Country Officer & UK COO at DWS Group; and Sasha Wiggins, CEO of Private Bank & Wealth Management at Barclays.
The new deputy chairs are Joseph Pinto, CEO of M&G Investments, and Mark Versey, CEO of Aviva Investors.
The new directors replace Patrick Thomson (JP Morgan), Catherine O’Reilly (Fiera Capital), and Karen Zachary (Lansdowne Partners), while the Deputy Chairs replace Nasreen Kasenally (UBS) and Euan Munro (Newton).
Ann Prendergast, IA Board Chair, welcomed the appointments, highlighting the new members’ industry experience and contribution to driving growth and innovation. IA CEO Chris Cummings also thanked outgoing members, particularly Patrick Thomson, for their service and leadership.
Dynamic Planner has strengthened its customer-facing leadership team with several senior appointments.
Alan Smith joins as enterprise development director, leading sales of Dynamic Planner products and API solutions to major financial institutions. He previously held senior roles at AS WealthTech Consulting, Citibank, and HSBC, and reports to Mark Kiddell, sales director and executive management team member.
The team also includes Jonny Rayner, principal solutions consultant, and Melinda Lovell, promoted to enterprise account director.
Yasmina Siadatan, chief revenue officer, said the expanded leadership will sustain momentum, support growth, and help customers deliver digital advice at scale.
GBST has appointed Steve Knight as head of relationship management to strengthen customer engagement and support its expanding client base.
Reporting to David Simpson, Head of EMEA, Knight will lead the firm’s client strategy, focusing on long-term partnerships and aligning solutions with evolving market needs.
He joins from SS&C Global Investor & Distribution Solutions, where he spent over two decades in senior roles, most recently as Head of EMEA Client Account & Service Management.
Simpson said Knight’s experience in financial services technology and track record in client relationship management make him well placed to deliver value for GBST’s customers.
Bank of England gilts plan to eclipse rates vote (Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve cuts rates by quarter point and signals more to come (Financial Times)
BoE gilt sales more hassle than they’re worth (Reuters)
Did You See?
With the Autumn Budget set for 26 November, speculation is rife. Headlines about potential changes to tax-free cash and inheritance tax are sparking conversations among advisers and nervous questions from clients, writes Noel Butwell, chief executive officer at Aberdeen Adviser.
I understand the temptation to act now to “get ahead” of what might come. But the hard truth – as the advice profession well knows – is that speculation is not policy and irreversible decisions made on the basis of rumour can do far more harm than good.
Very recent experience tells us that accessing tax-free cash based on speculation is dangerous. If the changes being discussed never materialise, or if transitional protections are introduced, those hasty actions may leave clients with unnecessary tax bills and reduced flexibility in the years ahead.
