Aviva’s Pension Portfolio has topped the list of most recommended SIPPs in 2024, according to Defaqto’s latest data.
It is a position that it exchanged with the abrdn Wrap SIPP throughout the year.
For popularity, these two schemes are in close competition, Defaqto said, with Aviva securing 20% of the top ten share, compared with 19% for abrdn.
Quilter’s Collective Retirement Account came in third position (12%), closely followed by AJ Bell Investcentre’s SIPP (11%) and Aegon’s Retirement Choices SIPP (10%).
However, AJ Bell Investcentre’s Retirement Investment Account was also named sixth most recommended SIPP, accounting for 6.8% of the share. Together, the provider has a combined market share of 17.8%, putting it in third place overall.
Interestingly, there are no small or nice providers in the top ten, while those featured have almost identical target markets. Defaqto said all top ten products are a good match for retail clients that have at least a basic knowledge, an ability to bear loss without guarantees and at least a five-year time horizon.
The findings also showed that the most popular SIPPs are not the cheapest and while the top ten may imply that holding a service rating is normal, 65% of personal pension providers have not achieved either a gold or silver rating in 2025.
Defaqto said that when undertaking consumer duty fair value assessments, “the two key areas where we see quantifiable differences are price and service. These are also areas where Engage users have comparable impartial facts at their fingertips in far more detail than an overall rating can express.”
The firm added: “Ultimately, this means providers wishing to maintain market share cannot afford to drop their standards in any aspect of their proposition.”
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