James Hay was founded in 1979 and incorporated in 1990 before becoming part of
Abbey National (now
Santander UK) in 1994. In 2010, Santander sold James Hay to its current parent, the IFG Group PLC, for a reported £35m. James Hay became the largest provider of SIPPs in the UK during 2001 following a dramatic period of growth in the demand for these flexible pension products. James Hay performed the trustee administration for a number of insurance companies who offer SIPPs to their customers who are often introduced via IFAs (Independent Financial Advisers). In 2014 James Hay evolved its SIPP to include other non-pension wrappers such as general investment accounts (GIAs) and
individual savings accounts (ISAs). The IFG Group owned several Adviser companies including London-based Saunderson House. In March 2014 IFG Group sold a number of these companies in order to focus on the James Hay and Saunderson House business units. James Hay won the MoneyAge SIPP Provider of The Year award in 2020 == Operations ==