Can I Invest My £200k Fixed Term Annuity Maturity in a SIPP with ETFs?

In January 2026, I will have a £200k pot from a maturing 3-year fixed-term annuity. I took all my tax-free cash prior to buying this L&G annuity product.

I want to invest this £200k in my own choice of ETFs as well as receive a monthly drawdown income. What would be a good vehicle for this? A SIPP?

I will be very risk-averse when choosing ETFs given my age (70) and the stock market's overvaluations, with a correction coming in my opinion. Currently, I have in mind a combination of a gold ETF, Treasury bonds or similar ETFs, and staples and high dividend ETFs. Is this a good plan? Any suggestions?

I will look to switch back into the stock markets in a bigger way at some point when I believe things have bottomed out or are close to that. I will be in no hurry. I am not a 'jumpy' investor. However, I want to be able to make such switch decisions freely without restrictions slowing or blocking them.

Thanks for your question. We will answer your question with two perspectives. That of a Financial The simple answer is that there are indeed many SIPP providers that will allow you to invest in ETFs. They differ in exactly what they make available, but this is certainly a possibility with the proceeds of your fixed-term annuity.

Your asset allocation consists of traditionally ‘safe’ investments – bonds, gold and defensive stocks. If one were to look for worries, there are issues with all of these as ‘defensive assets’. Many think bond holders will have to lose much of their capital at some point to return developed economies to balanced budgets (perhaps through inflation). Gold has had a terrific run recently and some would see it as vulnerable to sharp drops in value. Asset allocation is a complicated and dynamic issue. However, there is a fair amount of statistical evidence that, regardless of whether we are in an AI-bubble or not, the best thing you could do would be to immediately reinvest the proceeds into a globally diversified portfolio of equities. You would then just hold it until you need to spend it on something. There is further evidence that trying to trade in and out tends to leave individual investors worse off. This is partly because of the contrary psychology of doing so, and also the concentration of positive returns amongst a few key moments in market history. In other words, you have a good chance of selling low, buying hig,h and missing the best ‘up’ days with your proposal.

I don’t know how significant this amount is for your long-term financial security, but if the answer is anything other than ‘irrelevant’, I think you would benefit from rethinking your strategy and, perhaps, seeking professional advice.

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We also asked our Founder & CEO what she thought. Please see her response below.

You are looking for regular income. I think it may be worth considering Investment Trusts as well as ETFs. There is a collection called 'Dividend Heroes' on the Association of Investment Companies website which shows those trusts which have paid out dividends on a reliable and increasing basis over time. You can find some options here which are less volatile than many global equity portfolios.

You are risk averse and also worried about a correction. However, trying to time these markets is impossible. So I think instead of looking at the £200k as one single pot with one single strategy, you could keep a shorter-term pot in a decent paying cash product, for example, and then allocate some to an income-paying ETF or investment trust which could swing up and down but still generate good returns over a longer timeframe. This way you have some cash which delivers shorter-term comfort and certainty, but some investment for a longer timeframe, accepting that some correction at some point is inevitable but over the longer-term things keep moving forward.

Holly MackayFounder & CEO, Boring Money