The retirement industry has been receiving a lot of press lately, largely due to the current state of the retirement industry in the country and the number of people that are able to retire comfortably in the country.
While we are aware of the press surrounding the industry, there are pockets of excellence in the industry where the news is mostly positive. Batseta, the Council of Retirement Funds of South Africa, recently held its Imbasa Yegolide Awards which celebrates companies that make a positive contribution to the retirement industry.
Awards history
Christo Snyman, Batseta Research and Marketing Manager points out that the aim of the Awards is to reward professional excellence by recognizing service providers who were considered to have given excellent service to retirement funds. More importantly, the aim of the Awards is to highlight the role of Principal Officers and Trustees of retirement funds in South Africa.
“The 2015 Imbasa Yegolide Awards was the fifth successful event of its kind in South Africa. For the first time, the winners of the previous year's event, Imbasa Yegolide 2012, were able to defend their titles.
2015 Winners
As one of the few awards in the industry that focuses purely on the retirement industry, winning an Imbasa Yegolide is an achievement. The winners of the 2015 Imbasa Yegolide awards were:
Category |
Winner |
|
1 |
Cash Manager of the Year |
Momentum Asset Management |
2 |
Global Manager of the Year |
Coronation Fund Managers |
3 |
Custodian of the Year |
Standard Bank Investor Services |
4 |
Equities Manager of the year |
Coronation Fund Managers |
5 |
Manager of Managers (Multi-manager) of the Year |
Old Mutual Multi-Managers |
6 |
Emerging Asset Manager of the Year |
Prowess Investment Managers |
7 |
Hedge Fund Provider of the Year |
Old Mutual Investment Group |
8 |
Law Firm of the Year |
Jonathan Mort Inc. |
9 |
Investment / Asset Consultant of the Year |
Mentenova |
10 |
Responsible Investment Manager of the Year |
Futuregrowth Asset Management |
11 |
Training Provider of the Year |
Investment Consulting and Trustee Services |
12 |
Overall Investment / Asset Manager of the Year |
Investec Asset Management |
13 |
Employee Benefits Consultant of the Year |
Robson Savage (Pty) Ltd |
14 |
Employee Benefits Administrator of the Year |
10X Investments |
15 |
Absolute Returns Manager of the Year |
Argon Asset Management |
16 |
Transition Manager of the Year |
BNP Paribas Cadiz Securities |
17 |
Trust & Beneficiary Administrator of the Year |
Fairheads Benefit Services |
18 |
Tracing Agent of the Year |
ICTS Tracing Services |
19 |
Actuarial Firm of the Year |
Absa Consultants and Actuaries |
20 |
Risk Benefit Underwriter of the Year |
Hollard Group Risk |
21 |
Bond Manager of the Year |
Prescient Investment Management |
22 |
Balanced Fund Manager of the Year |
10X Investments |
23 |
Responsible Investment Consultant / Service Provider of the Year |
Prescient Investment Management |
24 |
Technology Provider of the Year |
10X Investments |
25 |
Member Education Fund Challenge |
|
25 a |
Financial Knowledge and Understanding |
Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund |
25 b |
Product Choice |
No award made |
25 c |
Financial Planning |
Old Mutual Superfund |
25 d |
Financial Control |
Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund |
Time for a change
Investec Asset Management won the award for Overall Investment/Asset Manager of the year. According to Khaya Gobodo, Co-Strategy Leader for Africa Public Markets at Investec Asset Management, there needs to be serious innovation in the industry.
“We all agreed that we need to transform our thinking and develop interventions to help more members achieve a comfortable retirement,” says Gobodo. In Gobodo’s view the big interventions need to be in preservation and contribution rates.
While the first is theoretically simpler to implement, the second is a far more complex problem. “Some people don’t choose to leave their jobs; they may be retrenched and it is very hard to argue that they should be prevented from accessing what is often their only source of savings for short-term survival,” he concluded.
Duty bound
Winning any award is a major achievement for a company. However, it means that the company sets a precedent that it needs to uphold; particularly when it comes to service excellence awards.
Richard Krepelka, CEO of Fairheads Benefit Services, said, “In our award submission, we strived to provide evidence of leadership and innovation. However, I feel it may have been our member centric approach that enabled us to go beyond customer expectations.”
He adds that because the company won the award, it holds itself accountable for high levels of service delivery. “The latest Imbasa Yegolide award motivates us to continue our efforts in providing a meaningful, value adding service,” says Krepelka.
Technological excellence
Technology is having a growing influence on the retirement industry, and companies who do not keep pace with these advancements will find themselves on the back foot.
Old Mutual won a number of awards on the evening and have credited the role that technology has played in receiving these awards.
Old Mutual Investment Group CEO Diane Radley says that the company is proud that it has been recognised for both investment excellence and its commitment to responsible investing.
Editor’s Thoughts:
Recognising and awarding excellence in the retirement industry is important as it will go a long way in building trust in the industry and will provide a solid foundation upon which advisers can have key discussions with their clients regarding retirement planning and saving. Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts jonathan@fanews.co.za.
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