Allied Dunbar is to start charging investors £2.75 a month for tied advice on its stakeholder-friendly pensions.
The move, which has won praise from independent advisers, will see the charge become an integral part of the product although it will fall outside the 1 per cent annual man-agement charging cap stipulated under stakeholder pensions.
Many independent advisers believe this could be the way forward for the rest of the industry.
Dunbar's individual pension plan and group plan, launched last week, will have 100 per cent allocation, a 1 per cent fund-based charge and no trans- fer out charges.
The minimum monthly investment is £50.
On a £600 annual investment, equivalent to £50 a month, Dunbar's £2.75 a month advice charge would amount to £33 or 5.5 per cent of the annual investment.
Zurich Financial Services press officer Sandra Paul says: “We decided on our advisers' remuneration package after extensive research carried out at the start of the year.
“We found that a monthly fee was the most acceptable way to charge for advice in the eyes of consumers.”
IFA Torquil Clark pensions development manager Tom McPhail says: “It is an ingenious solution.
“It is amazing how the market manages to find solutions by passing stakeholder pension rules. Others will go down this route, for sure.”
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