Where are HL’s SIPP millionaires investing in 2024?

The number of Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) millionaires on our platform has soared by 20% in the past two years, from 3,166 to 3,794.

This surge shows that through careful planning and investing, it’s more than possible to achieve the retirement of your dreams.

Here’s what they’re investing in and our top tips to help you get closer to a million-pound pension.

This article isn’t personal advice and none of the investments mentioned are personal recommendations on where to invest. Investments and any income from them can fall and rise in value. It’s possible to get back less than you invest. If you’re not sure what’s best for you, ask for financial advice.

Remember, pension and tax rules can change, and any benefits depend on your circumstances. You can’t usually access money in a pension until you’re 55 (rising to 57 in 2028).

Where are our SIPP millionaire clients investing?

Our pension millionaires have a diversified approach to investing, with investments spread across US, UK and global markets. As a group they also hold slightly larger proportions of UK shares and gilts compared with other clients.

Some of the most popular funds among these millionaires include Fundsmith Equity, Artemis Income, and Legal & General International Index Trust. Top individual shares include tech giants like Apple, NVIDIA Corp, and Microsoft Corporation.

It’s important that when choosing where to invest, you consider if the investment’s objectives align with your own, and that there’s a specific need for that type of investment within your portfolio. Investors should understand the specific risks of a fund or share before they invest.

The average age of these pension millionaires is 63, so reaching this milestone is the result of long-term planning rather than quick gains.

There’s no ‘get rich quick’ formula, but rather a steady and disciplined approach to investing over a very long time period. Holding a diversified portfolio with investments from different sectors, geographies and type will help smooth out the ups and downs.

5 top tips for aspiring pension millionaires

The earlier you start contributing to a pension and investing, the better. It means your investments will have more time to potentially grow and you’ll benefit from your most powerful investment tool – compounding.

For example, if you start saving 12% of a £30,000 salary when you’re 30, your pension could be worth around £202,000 at age 67. If you didn’t start a pension until age 45 and paid in the same amount (12% of a £30,000 salary), you’d only build a pension worth around £101,000 by age 67.

These figures take account of inflation (assumed to be 2% per annum) and show the buying power of your pension in today's money. They assume a growth rate of 5%, charges of 1.5%, and that your salary (and so pension contributions) increases by 3% a year. These figures are only an example and not a guarantee of what will happen to your own pension.

Take full advantage of any employer matching schemes to boost your pension savings.

All UK employers have to enrol qualifying employees into a workplace pension and contribute to it on their behalf.

However, some private sector workers aren’t currently saving into a workplace pension. This means they could be missing out on ‘free money’ from their employer. Many more are just contributing the minimum.

If you have a workplace pension, it’s worth speaking to your employer about paying in more. If you increase your pension contributions, they could pay in more too.

Regularly review and increase your pension contributions if you can.

One of the best times to do this is if you receive a promotion or pay rise – being able to pay that little bit more in can help do the heavy lifting over the long term.

However, if you have a workplace pension, your contributions aren’t guaranteed to automatically increase in line with any pay rise.

For example, if your contributions are set at a value rather than as a percentage of your salary, any pay rise won’t be reflected in your monthly payments. You’ll need to talk to your employer or pension provider first and ask to make these adjustments.

Likewise, some employers might also offer a bonus sacrifice (which works in a similar way to salary sacrifice). You can choose to give up some, or all, of your bonus and have it paid it into your pension. You’ll benefit by not having to pay National Insurance or income tax on the amount you give up.

But again, bonus sacrifice won’t happen automatically – you’ll need to apply.

Investing is a marathon, not a sprint.

Stock markets ebb and flow in the short term based on people’s emotion and market sentiment. But history tells us that over the long run, they have tended to go up though of course there are no guarantees.

To maximise your chances of creating your own million-pound pension, it’s important to focus on long-term investments rather than short-term trends.

If you're looking for inspiration from our investment research team on where to invest your pension this tax year, explore our latest SIPP investment ideas.

Use our latest insight, guides and tools, like our pension calculator and more, to get a better understanding of all things pensions and retirement.

From the different types of pension and tax relief to five costly mistakes to avoid and how much you need to retire, we have what you need to know.

Looking for a new pension provider?

Whether you’re looking to change your current pension provider or bring all your pensions under one roof, with an HL SIPP you’re in control of how and where you invest.

Join over 500,000 clients already using the HL SIPP and benefit from:

• Flexible payments – monthly direct debits from as little as £25 a month, where you can pause or cancel payments.

• Invest where and how you want to – pick your own investments, invest in the HL Ready-Made Pension Plan, or get someone to help you invest with financial advice for a fee.

• Freedom at retirement – with the HL SIPP, you're free to choose from all the main retirement options.

A SIPP is for those who want to take control of their retirement savings. Before you transfer, check you won’t trigger any expensive fees or lose valuable benefits or guarantees. It’s rarely a good idea to transfer a final salary pension scheme.