Platform and SIPP provider AJ Bell has launched its new Retirement Investment Account (RIA) today, designed to be a new low-cost pension with a ‘streamlined’ investment proposition.

The company believes the RIA it will be competitive on charges for advised clients with pensions of £250,000 or less.

The RIA will sit alongside AJ Bell’s existing SIPP on the AJ Bell Investcentre platform for financial advisers and has a different pricing structure and investment range, enabling advisers to more effectively match the AJ Bell RIA and SIPP to different client segments, the company says.

The RIA has an all-in cost of 0.25% per annum for assets up to £500,000 and 0.20% per annum on assets over £500,000. 

There are no fees for setup, administration, dealing or drawdown.

The RIA includes the functionality of the AJ Bell Investcentre platform, including tools to help advisers with investment analysis, bulk dealing, regular investments, cash management and capital gains reporting. 

The investment options include full access to AJ Bell’s Funds & Shares Service alongside its Managed Portfolio Service, Retirement Portfolio Service and its multi-asset funds. This provides access to more than 4,000 external funds as well as a full range of Investment Trusts, ETFs, shares and bonds.

The company says, however, that it does not provide access to AJ Bell’s panel of investment partners and ‘off-panel’ investments, including commercial property. 

Andy Bell, chief executive of AJ Bell, said: “The new Retirement Investment Account has been designed to meet demand from advisers for a low-cost platform pension with an all-in pricing structure and comprehensive investment range to suit a particular segment of clients. 

“Mifid and PROD regulations have made it clearer than ever to advisers that they need to be recommending products that are demonstrably suitable for client needs.  Launching the RIA alongside our existing SIPP provides advisers with real strength in depth as they seek to meet that challenge.”