The retirement industry is critical in providing savings for millions of South Africans.
The Imbasa Yegolide Awards are awards specifically designed to celebrate these important companies.
Important roles
Service providers inevitably have an important role to play in helping funds keep their promises to their members.
Batseta, the Council of Retirement Funds for South Africa, supports and encourages retirement funds and their service providers to find ways in which to excel. One of the best ways to do this is for Batseta to reward providers for service excellence in the South African retirement fund industry.
Top of the pile
The winners of the 2018 Imbasa Yegolide awards were:
| CATEGORY | WINNER |
|---|---|
| Risk Benefit Underwriter of the Year | Sanlam Employee Benefits Group Risk |
| Custodian of the Year | Standard Bank |
| Equities Manager of the Year | Coronation Fund Managers |
| Manager of Managers of the Year (Multi-Manager | Old Mutual Multi-Managers |
| Emerging Asset Manager of the Year | Legacy Africa Fund Managers |
| Alternative Asset Class Manager of the Year | Futuregrowth Asset Management |
| Law Firm of the Year | Jonathan Mort |
| Investment / Asset / Solutions Consultant of the Year | Old Mutual Corporate Consultants |
| Training Provider of the Year | The Association of Savings and Investment SA (ASISA) |
| Overall Investment / Asset Manager of the Year | 27four Investment Managers |
| Employee Benefits Administrator of the Year | Verso Financial Services |
| Employee Benefits Consultant of the Year | Robson Savage |
| Transition Manager of the Year | RisCura Solutions |
| Trust and Beneficiary Fund Administrator of the Year | Absa Trust Limited |
| Actuarial Firm of the Year | ARGEN Actuarial Solutions |
| Bond Manager of the Year | Futuregrowth Asset Management |
| Balanced Fund Manager of the Year | Allan Gray |
| Technology Provider of the Year | Old Mutual Corporate |
| Communications and Marketing Provider of the Year | EBnet |
| Responsible Investment Manager of the Year | Futuregrowth Asset Management |
| Responsible Investment Consultant / Service Provider of the Year | Sukha and Associates |
| Financial Control - Managing current expenditure | Momentum FundsAtWork Umbrella Funds |
| Financial Planning - Managing future income and expenditure | PathCare Retirement Fund |
| Product Choice - Choosing the right financial product | PathCare Retirement Fund |
| Financial Knowledge and Understanding | No award was made in this category. Special Recognition Award handed to BP SA Provident Fund |
| Special Recognition Award | Special Recognition Award handed to Natal Joint Municipal Pension and Provident Funds (NJMPF) |
Financial literacy is key
In a country where the amount of people who are able to retire without any financial worries is relatively low, consumer education has big role to play in the market.
One of award winners was the Momentum FundsAtWork Umbrella funds which won the award for Financial Control – Managing current expenditure.
Katherine Barker, Head of Momentum FundsAtWork, said that quality consumer financial education has a big role to play in closing the retirement and insurance gaps.
“However, many retirement fund members are intimidated and shy away from the technical financial jargon that clutters our complex industry. This is why Momentum developed Motheo Financial Dialogues. Motheo is a Sesotho/Setswana name that means foundation. The programme strives to demystify financial planning and enable members to create a solid foundation for their financial wellness journey,” said Barker.
Expanding reach
Baker points out that Momentum’s FundsAtWork Umbrella Funds are forging ahead with plans to extend the scope and reach of this programme.
“The results of the latest Momentum/Unisa’s Consumer Financial Vulnerability Index (CFVI) show consumers’ state of financial vulnerability continues to deteriorate across all income bands. Given that FundsAtWork membership spans a range of income bands, the intention is to extend the Motheo programme to address the needs of earners across different income bands. Extending the reach of the programme can be challenging, particularly when trying to reach diverse employee populations in their workplaces,” said Barker.
Editor’s Thoughts:
Winning awards not only celebrates hard works, but it also gives clients an indication that the companies that they place their trust in are working to achieve their goals. Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts jonathan@fanews.co.za.
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