Last week's Pension & Investment Provider Awards ceremony in London was a glitzy affair attended by key pensions industry folk from all corners of the sector.
Once again we were inundated with entries demonstrating how service providers had achieved results for their pension scheme clients.
We choose our panel judges from across the pensions industry, selecting each for their extensive experience in their area. Our judges take part because it’s an opportunity to share some of their knowledge and experience, as well as learn something new about the sector.
In fact, part of a video we showed at the awards dinner to give the audience a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the judging process showed Legal & General’s Adrian Boulding explaining how the judges are able to cross-reference the entries to “ferret out” cases where more than one company is claiming credit for a particular success.
It is then up to the judges to assess whether an adviser is overstating their role in a given project – a point at which our judges’ experience really comes to the fore – and they can pool their knowledge to draw the most sensible conclusions.
Illustration by Ben Jennings
But one thing events such as these do illuminate is the sheer number of advisers, and types of advisers, involved in managing pension schemes and driving them forward.
It all looks very expensive when you have it laid out in front of you – though no doubt the need for so many players in scheme decisions is a wider reflection of the continual battle schemes are fighting to secure adequate benefits for members.
The other noteworthy debate from the judging process was who should win our inaugural Industry Champion award.
It was one of the toughest categories to call, but Nest’s Tim Jones was agreed upon for his talent and for building Nest from the ground up – though I’m sure he’d be the first to admit he’s been gifted with a great team of helpers.
He said he was delighted to win the award and it had been an honour to be involved in Nest’s role of “helping create a new generation of savers”.
To see a full list of the winners, and to view the video mentioned above, click here.
Maxine Kelly is editor at Pensions Expert. You can follow her on Twitter @MaxineEK and the team @pensions_expert.
