Finance & Technology Research Centre (F&TRC) has unveiled a new ratings service that hopes to help advisers and employers select a workplace pension provider.
The service aims at rating providers according to the most suitable scheme for advisers’ clients.
The gold, silver or bronze medals are decided on the basis of eight categories. These include product offering and administration, investment and fund options, record keeping and governance, scheme setup, joiners and leavers process, education, at-retirement options and auto-enrolment process.
So far, the service has rated nine providers in all with three earning each rating.
The decision to award medals comes after gathering huge amounts of data. The methodology includes sending a detailed questionnaire of up to 3200 questions to providers. These questions relate to the products offered and then an individual story is built around these models by looking at the responses. The responses are then analysed and the provider is given a rating.
The primary aim of the service is to create an impartial model on the basis of the score that each provider is given according to their responses. It looks at various areas of services offered by the provider and then prioritises the most important. The review is updated annually and aims to include more providers in due course.
www.ftrc.co
Comment:
While it is good to have choice, it can become confusing too. Advisers need a system that will guide and lay down the pros and cons to make an informed decision.
F&TRC’s rating service provides customers with comprehensive data to simplify due diligence processes. It aims to make the recommendation process reliable.
The system rates workplace pensions providers in eight different categories, making it easy for customers to see individual performances of providers in various categories. It makes it easier for a client to then pick and choose their provider on the basis of their needs.
For instance, Now:Pensions has been awarded a bronze because it has a strong score in auto-enrolment but only a fairly satisfactory score in at-retirement options.
By breaking it down into sub-categories, the ratings service provides customers information when choosing the right provider.
Product facts:
– Workplace pension providers rated in gold, silver & bronze category
– Ratings done on the basis of eight sub-categories
– Sub-categories provides further information on processes
– Comprehensive data provided to make an informed choice
– Aims to simplify advice recommendation process
