Abbey has teamed up with Knight Frank Corporate Finance to launch a ten-year investment, the Residential Property Plan.

The Residential Property Plan is designed to protect investors from the risks associated with buying a property as an investment.

The investment provides capital protection while offering investors exposure to the UK residential property market.

The investment tracks the Halifax House Price Index (HHPI) and provides 200 per cent of any growth in the index at maturity.

And with six months to go until the implementing of the new property pension rules on April 6th next year, this is an attractive option for trustees of Self Invested Personal Pension (Sipp) and Small Self Administered Scheme (SSAS) arrangements.

Many investors are looking to include residential property in their portfolios, commented the chairman of Knight Frank Corporate Finance.

Robert Hannington added that with a product designed to protect their capital, investors will be able to do so for a relatively low initial investment.

The minimum investment into the Residential Property Plan is £3,000 and the maximum is £500,000.

Abbey's head of business development Mike Brown added that many investors worry about the risk associated with buying residential property as an investment.

However, he believes this investment opportunity protects them against risks like void rental periods, difficult tenants, unexpected maintenance costs, time spent managing the property or the high initial capital outlay, high deposit and substantial start-up costs.