Morgan Lloyd was yesterday (12 June) appointed by Hartley’s administrators as the nominated operator for the majority of the Sipp book of Hartley Pensions, providing light at the end of tunnel after two-year nightmare that has seen thousands of clients' assets trapped.

Morgan Lloyd will take on board everything apart from the RL360 and Ardan/Trireme business, the latter which will be administered by IFGL, though Morgan Lloyd said that exactly how much it takes on will "depend on the number of opt outs".

Anthony Carty, group financial planning director of Morgan Lloyd’s parent company Clifton Asset Management said on LinkedIn:
"Huge announcement this afternoon. Morgan Lloyd chosen as the nominated SIPP operator to receive Hartleys SIPP transfers.

"A lot of work to be done and ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ - but we’re committed to ensuring these clients (& their advisors!) at long last have a far more satisfactory experience than that which they’ve suffered in the last two years."

Morgan Lloyd (established in 2003) is a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and Small SelfAdministered Scheme (SSAS) specialist provider based near Bristol.

With more than 6,000 SIPP and SSAS members, Morgan Lloyd described itself as having "a long and proud history of service excellence and has invested in modern technology to keep its customers well informed and engaged at all times".

It is a subsidiary of Clifton Asset Management plc, who also operate financial planning and asset management businesses.

"The Morgan Lloyd team includes highly experienced SIPP and SSAS specialists with capabilities across a wide range of assets and a deep understanding of all facets of the self-investment of pensions", it said.

The position outlined by Hartley's administrators UHY for White Label SIPP clients is as follows:

RL360 –"we envisage the Documents (as defined in the letter dated 2 April 2024) will be posted to clients w/c 24 June 2024."

Ardan/Trireme – "Communications are ongoing however we hope that the Documents will be posted to clients w/c 8 July 2024."

Platform One/James Brearley/Fundment  – "We are in ongoing discussions however are unable to provide a timescale for the Documents to be sent to clients at this stage."

To streamline the transfer process, Hartley Sipp clients have already been informed by UHY Hacker Young that they will be transferred out in tranches.

FSCS has said that it will provide funding to cover the cost of the transfer out process.

Hartley Pensions went into voluntary administration at the request of the Financial Conduct Authority in July 2022.