Last week saw the 14th annual Pension and Investment Provider Awards take place at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel.
It was a great opportunity to celebrate those companies going above and beyond in the services they provide to UK pension schemes.
The full list of winners can be found here.
It was especially pleasing to see how much a couple of first-time winners cherished their victories.
Companies that are genuinely passionate about the work they do and delighted that they came out of a tough judging process on top.
But there were some tough words from the judges too, where they felt entries were not up to scratch.
The defined contribution investment category had a thoroughly worthy winner, but judges expressed their displeasure that some of the other entries showed a “surprising lack of innovation” which was “quite worrying for the industry”.
Surely DC investment should be an area that is rife with new ideas?
Speaking to delegates after the ceremony, there was a feeling that the industry’s focus has been on getting the nuts and bolts of auto-enrolment in the right place.
The sweat and tears spent getting employers and schemes legislation-compliant has somewhat sidelined the push for innovative investment solutions, attendees reported.
Hopefully now auto-enrolment is underway, that pendulum can start to swing back. I’d hope the industry views the judges’ words as an opportunity rather than an indictment.
Next year’s DC investment trophy will be decided by the innovation, performance and service on display starting right now.
Speaking on behalf of next year’s judges, we can’t wait to see what you come up with. Now that’s something to get on your chair and shout about.
Ian Smith is editor of Pensions Week. You can follow him on Twitter @iankmsmith and the team @pensionsweek
