Important information - investment values and income from investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest.
Building a seven-figure pension requires two things: money and time. But where you put your retirement savings makes a big difference too. In this article, we dive into the investing habits of Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) millionaires - and what they can teach the rest of us.
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What do they invest in?
To hit a million, you don’t have to be an expert stock-picker or take risky bets.
In fact, Fidelity’s SIPP millionaires have a clear preference for funds over individual stocks. Funds make up more than 70% of their combined assets, suggesting these investors favour ready-made diversification. Among their fund holdings, global investments are by far the most popular.
There is logic to this approach. A global fund spreads your money across different companies, sectors and countries, reducing your reliance on the fortunes of any single asset. And for a pension that may be invested for several decades, it also means you don’t need to keep predicting the next success story.
Over the past 10 years, global markets have been fuelled by the success of North America and its technology giants. More recently, though, other regions - such as the UK and emerging markets - have started to pull their weight, highlighting the (sometimes sudden) benefits of diversification.
Role of cash
Cash is also important to our SIPP millionaires. Collectively, they hold about 13% of their wealth either in money market funds or as uninvested cash within a pension.
Age may help explain this relatively large allocation. Fidelity customers with over £1m in combined assets have an average age of 63, meaning many are approaching or already in retirement. As people approach retirement, they often shift some of their assets into cash and other lower-risk investments. With less time to ride out market ups and downs, protecting what you have built can become more important than growth.
Cash can also provide a useful buffer once retirement begins. If stock markets tumble, retirees with plenty of cash can avoid selling investments when they are down.
There is a trade-off, however. Cash generally grows more slowly than investments such as shares, while inflation can gradually erode its purchasing power.
Interestingly, cash plays a far smaller role in ISA millionaire portfolios. This could reflect how the two accounts are used. A SIPP is specifically designed to provide money in retirement, when investors may be drawing down their pot regularly. ISA savings, by contrast, can be accessed at any time and used for any purpose, so there is no equivalent point at which investors necessarily need to start taking an income.
It is also important to remember that SIPP portfolios are not static. What a millionaire holds in their sixties may be very different from what they held at 40. The relatively high cash allocation today does not necessarily tell us how these customers became millionaires in the first place.
How many investments do they hold?
There is no magic number that tells you how many to hold. On average, Fidelity’s SIPP millionaires have 13 investments in their account, including funds, stocks, ETFs and investment trusts.
Beneath the surface, though, there is a huge variety of approaches. Some people have just one holding - typically a global equity fund or a multi-asset fund. Others have over 100.
What are their favourite funds?
Regular contributions and compounding do a lot of the heavy lifting in investing. But choosing the right investments is also key. We have tracked down the 10 favourite funds and stocks of SIPP millionaires in 2026.
Among the top funds, there are passive and active products, with cheap trackers sitting alongside concentrated, tech-focused portfolios. Meanwhile, the list of stocks is dominated by big income payers such as banks, insurers and utilities, as well as FTSE superstar Rolls Royce, which has seen shares soar in the past three years.
Top 10 SIPP millionaire funds
- Fidelity Index World Fund
- Fidelity Cash Fund
- Royal London Short Term Money Market Fund
- Fidelity Index US Fund
- Fidelity Index UK Fund
- Fidelity Global Dividend Fund
- Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust
- Fidelity Global Technology Fund
- Fidelity Global Special Situations Fund
- Polar Capital Global Technology
Source: Fidelity International. Based on total asset values for Fidelity Personal Investors holding at least £1m in their SIPP portfolio between January and July 2026.
Top 10 SIPP millionaire stocks
- Rolls Royce
- Legal & General
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Barclays
- Standard Life
- Croda International
- Vodafone
- BP
- HSBC
- Aviva
Source: Fidelity International. Based on total asset values for Fidelity Personal Investors holding at least £1m in their SIPP portfolio between January and July 2026. Excludes investment trusts.
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Important information - investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. Investments in emerging markets can be more volatile than other more developed markets. Reference to specific securities should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell these securities and is included for the purposes of illustration only. The shares in investment trusts are listed on the London Stock Exchange and their price is affected by supply and demand. The investment trust can gain additional exposure to the market, known as gearing, potentially increasing volatility. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. Withdrawals from a pension product will not be possible until you reach age 55 (57 from 2028). This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.
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