Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Limited (RPPL), a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) operator authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has entered administration.

RPPL, which operates approximately 4,800 pensions, with assets under administration of £1.5bn, appointed Adam Stephens and Chris Allen of Evelyn Partners LLP (formerly Smith and Williamson LLP) as joint administrators on 31 August 2022.

The FCA confirmed that RPPL’s clients would not have their pension assets affected by the operator entering administration as the pension scheme assets (including cash) are held by
Rowanmoor Trustees Limited (RTL), which has not entered administration.

Stephens and Allen will continue operating RPPL’s pension schemes meaning there will be no immediate changes to the way the pension is handled, and the administrators will also continue to accept regular or ad hoc pension contributions.

The FCA stated that they are in regular contact with the administrators who are looking at the options available, including the transfer of RPPL’s clients to another FCA regulated SIPP operator which, they have said, is the option “likely to result in the least disruption to clients”.

If this is not possible, the FCA have said that the administrators will look to pursue other option aimed at transferring SIPPs or returning pension assets back to clients.

According to the FCA, the SIPP operator entered administration following complaints about historic high-risk non-standard assets and for not carrying out adequate due diligence before accepting these assets into customers’ SIPPs.

RPPL's directors determined that the company was insolvent and should be placed into administration, after seeking professional advice about the liabilities from existing and potential complaints when the Financial Ombudsman upheld a complaint that was “representative of most of the complaints received".

The FCA said that RPPL’s clients should remain alert to the possibility of fraud and that if they are cold called by someone claiming to be from RPPL, Evelyn Partners, or any other company claiming to be involved in the administration they should end the call and contact the administrators.

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