Royal London, Aviva and Quilter were the three most recommended personal pension providers by advisers in the first half of 2026, according to data from Defaqto.
The three held onto their positions in the rankings from 2025, with a similar level of market share.
Making up the top five were Prudential Retirement Account and Scottish Widows.
The full table:
Turning to self-invested person pensions (SIPPs), and Defaqto found the top three most recommended firms were Aviva, AJ Bell and new arrival Aberdeen. Completing the top five were offerings from Quilter and Aegon.
Nucleus was another new entrant to the top ten, while Scottish Widows climbed three places on last year.
The full table:
The findings are drawn from Defaqto’s whole-of-market data, covering more than 50 personal pension products from over 30 providers and more than 100 SIPP products from over 70 providers.
Andrew Duthie, insight manager for wealth and protection at Defaqto, said: “Aviva and Quilter’s high rankings reflect how strongly they also perform in the platform market.
“It’s interesting that Scottish Widows Platform Personal Pension has climbed the rankings which is likely a result of it being the Lloyds Banking Group brand’s flagship pension product. Its Retirement Account sat in fifth last year and advisers continue to favour a brand they know well.”
“Fidelity Adviser Solutions’ Pension now makes an appearance in the top 10 having narrowly missed out last year.”
“Aviva Pension Portfolio has a significant share of recommendations in the SIPP market,” Duthie continued.
“Its Choice option also ranks second in Personal Pensions, showing advisers clearly value the wide choice of investment options available within it.”
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