XPS launches concierge service for trustees
XPS Pensions has launched a service for trustees of defined benefit schemes allowing them to retain full control of investment decision making while delegating implementation.
Trustees can use the service - XPS Concierge - to delegate the growing administrative burden and timely asset transitions that, according to XPS, "have a material drain on trustees' time".
With the service, schemes can get the benefit of fiduciary management - which is an attractive option to many due to the delegated implementation it offers - without having to give up control of decision making.
The concierge service will allow trustees to fully outsource the implementation process with investment changes implemented quickly with minimal input from trustees, while also delegating document signing and day-to-day tasks to XPS.
XPS Investment partner Adam Gillespie said: "After undertaking nearly 1,000 asset transitions on behalf of our clients in the last 18 months, we can see first-hand the frustration trustees can have with the ever-increasing complexity of documentation and processes required to implement investment changes. The current lockdown has highlighted these difficulties further in two ways.
"Firstly, there are many examples of trustees trying to implement the changes they have agreed by wrestling with documentation the size of a manuscript, and having to post it for completion from one trustee to the next and the next and so on, while face-to-face contact isn't possible. This delays the implementation of the changes by days or even weeks which can cost schemes dear if they are unlucky.
"Secondly, we have been working closely with investment managers to ensure that asset transitions continue to be managed with a risk-controlled approach by identifying and addressing the challenges faced by their staff working from home and remotely. However, the current working environment does increase the risk of mistakes creeping into the transition process."
He added: "Errors in transitions can cost schemes millions of pounds, so it is critical trustees get the paperwork right and the process is comprehensively managed."
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