The Principal Officers’ Association (POA), which represents principal officers of pension and retirement funds around the country, is launching a series of award categories to be presented to the best service providers to the retirement fund industry.
In a joint venture with UK-based Global Pensions, the awards – entitled the “Imbasa Yegolide” or Golden Trophy awards – will recognise service excellence and be presented to service providers in 15 different categories. This is the first joint venture that Global Pensions has entered into outside of the UK. Global Pensions are celebrating their 10th annual award ceremony in the UK utilising methodology that is tried and tested.
“While service providers will be lauded through these awards, a major aim of the awards is to highlight the vital role that principal officers play in the pensions industry as they are the main facilitators of everything that takes place involving the board of trustees and service providers,” says Wanjiru Kirima, chairperson of the Principal Officers’ Association, stressing that by law, every pension or retirement fund has to have a principal officer.
Principal Officers of funds will nominate service providers at their own discretion, based on their real-time experience and interaction with these service providers.
“Essentially, we see these awards, as accolades for professional excellence and to strengthen relationships between pension funds and service providers,” said Kirima, adding that principal officers are in the best position to put forward service provider nominations.
Importantly, pension funds that are members of the Principal Officers’ Association and non members alike will be targeted by the nomination process, increasing the database and making the awards as credible and as wide-ranging as possible. Established in 1998, the Principal Officers’ Association was registered as a non-profit organisation in 2002 and has had a full-time staff since 2007, providing services to more than 400 principal officers, some of them running the day-to-day affairs of the biggest pension and retirement funds in South Africa.
Importantly, adds Kirima, the awards will create an ideal opportunity to showcase South African retirement service standards, to show members and beneficiaries how well funds are managed by principal officers and trustees, and to demonstrate how prudent and vigilant funds are in selecting service providers that can deliver specialist support and top quality expertise on a sustainable basis.
Three service providers will be shortlisted for each category with each shortlisted entity then having to produce a 750 word submission outlining why they should be regarded as winners in their category. Only principal officers will be entitled to nominate service providers for the awards and the closing date for nominations is March 20, 2009.
Categories in the awards – which will be presented at the association’s annual conference on June 08, 2009 - include:
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