Standard Life's life and pension business has fallen as the company prepares for demutualisation. Sales for the three months to December were around £221 million, down by 12% on 2004 figures for the same period. But overall, life and pension figures rose over the whole year by 3%. Self invested personal pensions and investment bond sales were up by 186% and 23% respectively on comparable figures for 2004. The provider has predicted that Sipps would continue to sell strongly, despite the government's decision to exclude property from this type of investment.
Our view:
Standard Life is a big hitting brand and their sales, even if marginally down, still dwarf many other well known brands.