As entrants scramble to get their applications in, two judges provide some words of wisdom to help you maximise your chances of winning a PIPA.
We are also proud to unveil this year’s judges.
Make it genuine
As tempting as it is to pull an all-nighter on Powerpoint to design an entry that would sit at home in the Louvre, there is a good case for making awards entries as authentic as possible.
Eve Keith, a pensions manager at Tesco who will judge entries for this year’s scheme services awards, advises entrants against making overly polished submissions.
“I think you can tell entries where people have got very good marketing departments,” she cautioned.
“Case studies are good. Client testimonials are good, things that just make it all seem a lot more real, and that they’re not just trying to spin a submission so that they’ll pick up points.”
Award entries need to meet basic standards, however. Text that has been clearly copy-pasted from an entrant’s website will not be particularly well regarded.
“I’ve read quite a few submissions that have just got glaring typos,” Keith said.
You don’t get an award for doing the day job
Award winners need to demonstrate how they have gone above and beyond in their fields.
Karen Bolan, retirement communication director at Gallagher, is also a judge for this year’s scheme services awards.
She said she wants to see evidence of innovation when reviewing submissions.
“I want to see credible claims for projects they have worked on and what their precise involvement was,” she said.
Bolan made the case that this year’s award winners will stand out by doing things better, improving results, and providing evidence of what, why and how they have achieved the best results for their clients.
“‘Worked on the biggest buyout in 2021’ is not going to win an award,” she added.
“You shouldn’t expect to get an award just for doing the day job.”
The judges are here
The PIPAs will once again be judged virtually this year, drawing on a wealth of industry experience to pick out standout performers in the pensions industry over the past year.
For the second year, investment services assessments will be assisted by performance and cost data derived from real mandates, delivered by ClearGlass.
The judges – scheme services
Kirsty Bartlett – partner at Squire Patton Boggs
Kirsty has more than 15 years of experience in pensions law. Her practice focuses on UK occupational pensions, working with trustees and sponsoring employers on matters ranging from significant projects such as mergers, benefit changes and buy-ins, to the impact of new legislation, day-to-day compliance and member complaints.
Eve Keith – DB pensions manager at Tesco
Eve is a pensions manager at Tesco working on the closed defined benefit scheme. She has worked in the pensions industry for 24 years, initially in DB administration then moving into a variety of trustee secretariat roles. Eve really enjoys working in the pensions industry and feels passionately about adequate pensions provision, good governance, and for the retention of DB where practicable. She has been a fellow of the Pensions Management Institute since 2021, having attained an advanced diploma in retirement provision and DipEB qualifications in 2008.
Andy Cheseldine – trustee director at Capital Cranfield
Andy joined Capital Cranfield in 2017. He previously acted as an adviser to trustees and employers at Watson Wyatt, Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow, and latterly as a partner at LCP. Using his experience of more than 30 years in consulting on both defined contribution and DB pension arrangements and liaising with regulators throughout the pensions and financial services industry, Andy is able to use his wide knowledge and understanding for the practical benefit of trustee boards. He has served on the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s DC council since 2013.
Alison Bostock – client director at PTL
Alison, representing PTL, was appointed as chair on October 12 2017. PTL is a specialist and award-winning provider of professional trustee and governance services. Alison joined PTL as a client director in July 2015 with 25 years of experience in actuarial, investment and DC consulting.
Ian McQuade – chief executive of Muse Advisory
Ian has 30 years of experience across pension scheme management and administration, governance, project management and review, selection and implementation work.
Richard Williams – director of policy and communications at Clara-Pensions
Richard leads the communications and policy functions at Clara-Pensions — setting strategy, planning activity and developing policy positions. Clara-Pensions is the member-first consolidator for DB pension schemes. Clara’s model serves as a bridge to the insured market for the UK’s DB schemes and their members. Richard previously led the communications function at the Pension Protection Fund, covering external communications, internal communication, and stakeholder and public affairs.
Darren Philp – director of policy and communications at Smart Pension
Darren is well known for his work lobbying for change in pensions and financial services. He joined Smart in 2018 following roles in policy at The People’s Pension, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and HM Treasury. He was involved in developing the architecture of the UK’s flagship auto-enrolment initiative. He chairs steering committees at the PLSA and the Pensions Management Institute, and is governor of the independent Pensions Policy Institute.
Jeanette Holland – head of pensions practice at Baker McKenzie
Jeanette Holland offers nearly three decades of experience advising employers and trustees on all aspects of pensions law. She is head of the pensions practice in Baker McKenzie London. Jeanette is co-secretary of the Association of Pension Lawyers’ Legislative and Parliamentary Committee, having previously been on the International Committee.
Michael Clark – owner and chief executive of CBC Pension Services
Michael has spent much of his working career in the pension services sector, where he has spent more than 30 years working in a variety of roles before in 2012 founding CBC Pension Services, an independent company specialising in providing professional trusteeship and secretariat roles. CBC clients include FTSE 100 companies, and master trusts. In April 2020, Michael became the first professional pension trustee to be accredited by the Pensions Management Institute. He is a regular speaker and chair at conferences and seminars.
Aimée Denham – trustee director at 2020 Trustees
Aimée joined 20-20 Trustees in July 2019 and is based in its Birmingham office. Aimée’s career has been spent in a number of senior roles with ‘big four’ consultancies KPMG, Deloitte and most recently at PwC, where she was senior manager for pensions and employee benefits with particular expertise in DC, but also providing advice to a variety of clients across the UK in relation to scheme design, governance and risk management, strategy, communications, scheme closures and provider review and selection. Having held diverse roles, she has been able to build a strong knowledge of the pensions market and regulatory landscape and has deep technical expertise.
Anne-Marie Gillon – director at IC Select
Anne-Marie joined IC Select in May 2020 having previously worked for over 20 years as an investment professional at a leading asset manager, the last 12 of these as a fixed income and multi asset product specialist. As a trustee herself she understands first-hand the intricacies and challenges that pension schemes face. Anne-Marie is a CFA charterholder.
Ian Neale – director at Aries
Ian has been working for the pensions industry since 1988. Since co-founding Aries and the Aries Pensions System knowledge base, as well as several computer-based pensions training systems, Ian has become one of the leading experts on demystifying changing pensions regulations and on legislative issues. Frequently quoted in the pensions press, Ian is active in the SPP, ILAG and the HMRC Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum.
Simon Kew – director at Teneo
A former ‘pensions regulator’, Simon is a high-profile figure and is frequently asked to judge industry awards, speak at events or quote for the press as an expert on employer covenant and pensions regulation.
Karen Bolan – director of retirement communication at Gallagher
As director of retirement communications, Karen has responsibility for Gallagher’s engagement strategy as well as the delivery of multifaceted communication projects for some of its biggest clients. She has more than 28 years of commercial experience in large corporate organisations including 15 years in senior strategic and operational communication roles. Her corporate experience is combined with excellent pensions knowledge and a proven track record in developing engaging communications strategies for clients. Karen is an accredited member of, and examiner for, the International Association of Business Communicators and has received several international communication awards.
Anna Copestake – partner at Arc Pensions Law
Anna has many years of experience advising trustees and employers of DB and DC pension schemes, including master trusts. She regularly advises on matters such as day-to-day governance, regulatory compliance, pensions investment issues (including climate change risk), benefit design and due diligence, scheme endgames and wind-up. Anna was named Lawyer of the Year at the Professional Pensions Women in Pensions Awards 2019 and is recognised as a ‘next generation partner’ in the UK Legal 500. Alongside other things, she is currently the chair of the PLSA’s Legal Advisory Group and sits on the Association of Pension Lawyers’ investment and DC committee. Anna was one of the experts on the PLSA’s 2019 ESG and Stewardship Taskforce and 2020 Voting and Implementation Statement Working Group.
The judges – investment services awards
Dr Chris Sier – chief executive of ClearGlass
Chris is the fintech envoy for England at HM Treasury and is chair of Fintech North, the innovation community for the north of England. He also chaired the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s panel investigating costs, fees and transparency in institutional investment, wrote the Local Government Pension Scheme cost transparency standard and has worked with the World Bank, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, the Committee on Workers’ Capital and institutional investors around the world on the same subject. Combining these two worlds he is chair of ClearGlass, a technology platform that sits between asset managers and pension funds and operates a near-zero price model for the collection and analysis of pension fund cost data. ClearGlass is based in London, but also operates in Bangalore where the chief technology officer and development team, currently of eight but growing, are based. In addition, Chris is visiting professor of financial technology at the University of Leeds, professor of practice and Newcastle University, and in the distant past he was a police officer in Edinburgh.
Danielle Markham – associate and senior investment consultant at Barnett Waddingham
Danielle advises trustee and corporate clients on investments, including asset strategy, risk reduction and manager selection.
Simeon Willis – chief investment officer at XPS Pensions Group
Simeon leads the group’s thinking on journey planning and asset allocation, along with being responsible for research across the investment team. He is an experienced investment specialist with 19 years of experience, advising trustee and corporate clients on a full range of investment-related matters, with a particular emphasis towards strategy and risk management. Simeon is frequently quoted in the press on matters relating to investment opportunities and topical debate.
Celene Lee – principle and senior investment consultant at Buck
Celene has been advising clients on pension scheme investment and financing matters for more than two decades. Prior to joining Buck, she specialised in providing corporate investment advice to sponsors of DB pension schemes with a global consultancy company. Celene has also spent time on the provider side as global head of pensions at Moody’s Analytics which provides asset and economic risk-modelling expertise to pension investment consultancies, banks, insurers and asset managers. During Celene’s career, she has advised a portfolio of DB and DC pension scheme clients ranging from circa £30mn to £6bn on investment strategy, manager selection, liability hedging, bulk annuity purchase, dynamic derisking strategies and DC default design. She also has leadership responsibilities within the company. A frequent speaker at key industry events, Celene provides thought leadership in the design of investment strategy for pension schemes and has been on the judging panel for the PIPAs since 2017. She is a qualified actuary and the former chair of the National Association of Pension Fund North London Group. Celene is a strong believer in giving back to the profession, and serves as a board member on the finance and investment practice at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.
Vineet Sood – senior investment consultant at Dalriada Trustees
Vineet is an investment specialist whose focus is to assist trustee representatives on any investment issues. He has a range of experience in setting investment strategy using asset-liability modelling, conducting manager research and selection exercises, derisking over time using triggers, hedging liabilities using traditional and sophisticated methods such as liability-driven investment. Vineet has also worked on schemes to minimise investment risk in the lead up to buy-in.
Luba Nikulina – global head of research at Willis Towers Watson
Luba has 24 years of investment experience and leads the global research function at Willis Towers Watson’s investment business. Her team includes more than 100 investment professionals around the world responsible for conducting economic and capital markets research, evaluating asset management companies in a variety of different asset classes, coming up with investment recommendations and creating new investment solutions where there is demand from asset owners but no solutions exist. Luba’s primary responsibilities are pure investment (ensuring the quality of research and investment decisions as well as responsibility for the ultimate performance of investment portfolios), business management (new products and services, team management, culture, efficiency, resourcing), and working with some of the largest asset owners globally advising them on their governance structures, strategy, portfolio construction and investment selection.
Laura Myers – partner and head of DC at LCP
As head of LCP’s DC team, Laura sees it as vital to remain at the forefront of understanding the market and spotting new opportunities and solutions for her clients. With expertise in DC investment, she provide her clients with clear advice on a wide range of DC areas, including identifying appropriate investment strategies and managers and the efficient implementation of any investment changes.
Maria Nazarova-Doyle – head of pension investments at Scottish Widows
Maria is responsible for defining the investment offering across Scottish Widows’ pensions business, covering workplace savings, individual and longstanding customer segments, and for incorporating ESG into the investment design. She has previously held senior DC investment roles at Mercer and JLT. She is a spokesperson on investment matters, a regular contributor to pension industry events and a professional awards judge. Maria also volunteers on the PMI Policy and Public Affairs Board and the CFA UK Pensions Expert Panel.
Dinesh Visavadia – director at Independent Trustee Services
Dinesh, who joined ITS in October 2016, has a background in managing domestic and international pension arrangements with some of the UK’s most prominent employers. Most recently he was the global head of pensions and benefits at Britvic Soft Drinks, prior to which he was head of pensions at the John Lewis Partnership.
Sarah Leslie – partner and director at Ndapt
Sarah has been working in the investment and pensions industry for more than 15 years. With a vocal and passionate attitude, Sarah considers the bigger picture and how to get things done, without being afraid to get her hands dirty to ensure results are achieved. During her career, Sarah has specialised in investments and fiduciary management services, as well as being a qualified Associate of the Institute of Actuaries and holder of the Investment Management Certificate.
Amanda Burdge – partner and head of investment at Quantum Advisory
Amanda joined Quantum in 2001, having previously worked at SBJ Benefit Consultants (now part of Capita) and Tesco Pension Trustees. With more than 25 years of industry experience, Amanda’s expertise spans both DB and DC clients. She prides herself on delivering innovative and pro-active advice, and has extensive experience of working on a range of clients of different sizes and complexities.
Alan Baker – director at Law Debenture
Alan leads LawDeb’s sole corporate trustee business and is a member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees’ subcommittee on the code of practice for professional sole corporate trustees. He currently acts as trustee on eight pensions schemes ranging from £7mn to £4bn, chairing two schemes and leading on three professional corporate sole trustee clients where he is lead director. Alan has extensive experience of investment strategy, risk management and derisking, and is currently working with two schemes going to market. He is an accredited member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees.
Lars Hagenbuch – investment consultant at RisCura
Lars has more than 25 years of experience in a range of investment fields, including asset consulting, funds of hedge funds, multi-strategy products and portfolio management. This, combined with his expertise in systems development, helps RisCura streamline its investment decision processes and client proposition. Prior to joining RisCura in January 2019, Lars worked at Old Mutual for four years as an actuarial assistant, two years at Southern Asset Management as a quantitative portfolio manager, six years at Barclays Global Investors as an asset allocation and fund of hedge funds product specialist, followed by two years at Man Group in a similar role. Lars has also lectured in the MSc (Finance) programme at Warwick Business School.
Adam Davies – founder and managing director at K3 Advisory
Adam is founder and managing director of K3 Advisory, the pension market’s only specialist independent bulk annuity and consolidator advisory business. He has led on more than 100 buy-ins and buyouts, totalling in excess of £3bn of pensions liability secured. Prior to setting up K3, Adam led KPMG’s buyout advisory practice in the north of England and Scotland. Before that he was a founding member of MetLife’s bulk annuity team and led its pricing team. With more 15 years in the pensions industry, Adam provides trustees and scheme sponsors with advice and brokering services to secure a smooth and effective transfer of liabilities to an insurer or consolidation vehicle.
Keith Guthrie – deputy chief investment officer at Cardano
Keith Guthrie is deputy chief investment officer at Cardano, where he has worked for almost 15 years, and is a sustainability champion. He supports the chief investment officer in overseeing the investment team and process in order to deliver on clients’ investment objectives. His primary areas of focus are investment philosophy, portfolio construction, investment framework development, manager selection, LDI and sustainable investing. Prior to joining Cardano in 2008, Keith worked at GAM managing a variety of multi-asset and hedge fund portfolios. He started his career as an actuary before moving into investments at RMB International in London. Keith graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, with a BSc in statistics and actuarial science and a BSc (Hons) in actuarial science, and qualified as an actuary in 1997.
Credit: Source link
