Standard Life offers gold investment via SIPP

Standard Life has teamed up with GoldMoney, one of the world's largest providers and holders of physical bullion for retail investors, to offer SIPP clients the ability to invest directly in gold bullion.

Clients of the Standard Life SIPP will be given online access to Goldmoney's website 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where they will be able to buy and sell gold bullion.

Customers can buy or sell a total of 2,000 grams of gold in one business day and receive it at a confirmed price - GoldMoney locks the price at which you buy or sell, using the Current Spot Rate to determine the price. The spot price displayed on the GoldMoney website is based on the trading prices from the London Bullion Market Association marker market prices.

Gold is available to all new and existing Standard Life SIPP investors and the gold bullion purchased by clients is held by GoldMoney in a secure vault in London.

Alistair Hardie, Head of Pensions Accumulation at Standard Life, commented: "Advisers and clients have asked us to introduce gold bullion as part of our specialist SIPP proposition. We have responded by working with GoldMoney to make it simple and easy for advisers to offer this option to their clients.  GoldMoney is a well established company with a decade of experience. It also has the levels of security and integrity that Standard Life requires in a partner.

"Our SIPP has a broad appeal, as evidenced by us recently passing the 100,000 customer milestone.  We will continue to be responsive to adviser and client needs to ensure our SIPP remains market leading."

Andrew McGowan, Head of Business Development at GoldMoney said: "Standard Life's decision to partner with GoldMoney is testament to our market position and high standards of security and transparency. Standard Life customers seeking an alternative way to save, and to protect their purchasing power, now have the ability to accumulate physical gold within their SIPP. Inflation worries and economic instability continue to be the driving forces behind investor demand for exposure to physical gold."

Standard Life has agreed preferential fees with GoldMoney, both for the purchase and storage of the gold. The purchase fees depend on the size of the transaction and range from 1.92% for small purchases to 1.04% for purchases in excess of £600,000. Storage fees are charged at 0.15% per annum.