SSAS Permitted Investments

Note the requirement of Part 36 of the Pensions Act 1995 that the trustees must obtain professional advice upon the suitability of any investment transaction and consider the need for diversification. That advice must be provided in writing and made available to all the trustees by an expert who is suitably qualified. The adviser must be appointed by all the trustees, including any independent or professional trustee. We reserve the right to refuse any investment for which appropriate advice has not been obtained.

The following are generally permissible investments for our Platinum SSAS product:

	Bank account deposits*
	Cash
	Cash funds
	Fixed term deposits*
	Listed corporate bonds**
	Exchange traded commodities**
	Government and local authority bonds and other fixed interest stocks**
	Physical gold bullion
	Investment notes (structured products)
	Shares in investment trusts**
	Managed pension funds (including trustee investment plans offered by UK based insurance companies)
	National Savings and Investments (NS&I) products
	Permanent interest-bearing shares** (PIBs)
	Real estate investment trusts** (REITs)
	Shares listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), or a recognised overseas stock exchange**
	Units in regulated collective investment schemes (this includes authorised open ended investment companies (OEICs), exchange traded funds** (ETFs) and unit trusts)
	UK-based commercial property and land (please see our Platinum SSAS Property Notes for further information)
	Secured loan to the Principal or Sponsoring Employer or a Participating Employer (please see our Platinum SSAS Member’s Guide for further information)

* We also allow bank account deposits and fixed term deposits to be held via a range of cash management platforms.

** These investments need to be purchased or acquired using a stockbroker who is based in the UK and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Note that for any of these investments which are listed overseas, we will only allow investments traded on major markets, subject to our individual approval.

We do not have a dealing desk, so cannot facilitate any investments which require this functionality. However, we allow investment platforms to be used to provide these services within our pension schemes.

We also allow our pension schemes to borrow from an approved commercial lender or any connected party such as the customer or their company.

Here are examples of assets that cannot be held by our Platinum SSAS product:

	Overseas property
	Residential property
	Loans (including peer-to-peer lending)
	Mini bonds
	Plant and machinery
	Unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) or their near equivalents, non-mainstream pooled investments (NMPI)
	Unlisted (unquoted) shares or bonds, or those traded over the counter (OTC) or via lower tier exchanges
	Carbon credits
	Storage pods
	Bed & Breakfast accommodation
	Assisted living accommodation
	Log cabins / glamping pods
	Intellectual property
	Contracts for Difference (CFDs)
	FX trading
	Illiquid investments with no readily determinable value, incapable of being traded within 30 days

Note that we do not currently offer pathway investments, which are investment solutions aimed at non-advised customers entering drawdown. If you wish to access pathway investments, you will need to transfer your plan away from us to a pension scheme which offers them. You can use the Money and Pensions Service Drawdown Comparator Tool to find providers which currently offer them here.