Andrew A. Darfoor, Group Chief Executive of Alexander Forbes.
Alexander Forbes has partnered with Just South Africa (subsidiary of the Just Group plc, a global financial services group listed in the UK) to launch a new retirement solution which combines the benefits of traditional asset classes and a lifetime income fund as part of a comprehensive range of retirement solutions, the Alexander Forbes Retirement Income Solutions (“AFRIS”).
Andrew A. Darfoor, Group Chief Executive of Alexander Forbes, says that the partnership with Just is designed to introduce a new framework to enable retirees to make a trade-off between their main objectives in retirement and structure the most optimal solution based on those goals.
“We have adopted the financial well-being philosophy as the anchor of our client value proposition and strategy. This approach better enables and equips clients to make informed choices and options over their lifetime. The launch of AFRIS, for instance, takes into account a retiree’s preference for providing a sustainable income, or providing an option for liquidity and inheritance planning. Depending on preference, this optimal investment strategy at retirement is then embedded into the Lifetime Income Fund providing longevity protection”, says Darfoor.
Darfoor says AFRIS has been launched against the backdrop of concerning statistics from the Alexander Forbes Member WatchTM survey which shows that the majority of individuals at retirement convert their savings into income at retirement using living annuities investing in traditional asset classes with no longevity protection.
“With the new framework and ability to invest in the Just Lifetime Income Fund, we aim to improve the overall outcomes of retirees at and during retirement”, says Darfoor.
Deane Moore, CEO of Just, says “Just entered the South African retirement market to develop sustainable retirement income solutions that take account of each individual’s particular circumstances. We are delighted to partner our underwriting and risk management capabilities with Alexander Forbes’ investment and administration capabilities to provide living annuity investors with the opportunity to secure an income which will last a lifetime.”
The solution, which has been designed in line with Alexander Forbes Investments’ outcomes-based Living*Investing approach, will be made available to Alexander Forbes retirement fund clients in the first quarter of 2018. The Living*Investing framework is a risk-led, forward-thinking investment approach aimed at achieving client objectives with greater certainty over their lifetime.
We aim to make this solution available, where appropriate, throughout the countries in which we operate, in line with our objective of offering our clients a lifetime of financial well-being and building Alexander Forbes into a globally distinctive pan-African financial services leader.
Get the latest issue of FAnews