10 tips to make the most of Sipps Why not do-it-yourself? Sipps can be used to gain tax relief on a wide range of assets - including bank deposits, bonds, shares, pooled funds such as unit and investment trusts, Open-Ended Investment Companies (Oeics), Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), commercial property, hedge funds, foreign currency and warrants. SIPPs have to be administered by an authorised provider to gain tax relief from HM Revenue & Customs but you decide what it buys and sells and when. Where's the rub? When things go wrong, you will see the person responsible in the mirror every morning. Stock market prices can and do fall without warning. When this hits the value of your Sipp, you won't be able to blame some twit in a stripey shirt. What do you want? Beware that not all Sipps are the same. Some - including those provided by Aegon, AJ Bell, Hornbuckle Mitchell, Legal & General, Rensburg Sheppard and Standard Life - offer the full range of 15 core investment options. Others - including Hargreaves Lansdown and Alliance Trust, which manage my Sipps - only offer a restricted choice; for example, Hargreaves does not allow investment in commercial property, offshore bonds or foreign currency. Will I have to go it alone? Some Sipp providers - including AWD Chase de Vere, Friends Provident, Jupiter, LV=, Rathbone and Suffolk Life - offer discretionary fund management as an option, so a professional can pick stocks and shares for you; subject to the terms of your agreement. How much do you want to spend? Lower costs can compensate for restricted choice, depending on your individual needs. For example, Hargreaves Lansdown imposes no initial fee, no annual management charge, nor fees on transfers in from other funds - although it does levy a £75 fixed fee on transfers out. What's not to like? Sipps will not suit people who do not wish to take any interest in or responsibility for their retirement savings. Cheaper options, such Stakeholder Pensions might prove more appropriate. Will my employer pay into my Sipp? Almost certainly not - which is why it makes sense to join company or occupational schemes that benefit from employer contributions. Doing anything else is akin to asking for a pay cut. You can have SIPPs and company pensions at the same time. When would be a good time to set up a Sipp? Like growing asparagus, you should always have started saving and investing five years ago. The sooner you get going, the longer compound interest has to work in your favour.