STAR has signed Allfunds as its 75th organisation to its initiative aimed at improving the speed of transfer across the investment, pensions and savings markets.
Allfunds services include data & analytics, portfolio & reporting tools, research and regulatory services. It offers the world’s largest universe of mutual fund and ETFs.
The STAR initiative is the collaboration between industry bodies Criterion and TeX, STAR is supported by the FCA, The Pensions Regulator and the Department of Work and Pensions. The cross-industry solution to improve transfer times brings together platforms, pension providers, asset managers and service providers, to put in place service level agreements to ensure quick, efficient and predictable transfers and re-registration for customers.
STAR also recently saw its first Irish signing, when Retiretech Platform TontineTrust joined the initiative. TontineTrust is a fintech fiduciary organisation building a platform for issuing and operating Tontine-style Pan-European Personal Pensions (PEPPs) & Collective Defined Contribution pension schemes.
Andrew Marker, chair of the STAR Steering Group and head of Retail Pension, Vanguard Asset Management Limited (pictured) said: “We are delighted that Allfunds has shown their support for STAR which continues to grow. The initiative has galvanised the industry to create long-term solutions to improve the customer experience of transferring pensions, savings and investments between companies, by setting transfer targets, measuring each firm’s performance against a good practice framework, accrediting firms and publishing results.
Simon Shapland, Country Head UK & Ireland of Allfunds, commenting on their support said: “STAR is a win-win opportunity for organisations, not only improving operations for the benefit of customers but increasing their efficiencies and saving money in the process. We look forward to making an active contribution to this important industry initiative.”
STAR’s aim is to become the single, authoritative source of transfer data on how firms are performing, publishing a quarterly industry index to help industry participants benchmark their own performance and provide transparency for consumers. It will also operate an annual accreditation scheme of bronze, silver and gold, so that performance can be evidenced, rewarded and improvements encouraged.
Marker continued: “With a broad cross-section of the financial services industry signed up to STAR, momentum is growing, and it will be increasingly beneficial for companies to join the initiative, both on operational and competitive grounds. It will also give investors and customers confidence in the transfer process.”
The FCA, The Pensions Regulator and the Department of Work and Pensions (and ABI, IA) continue to support STAR’s aims and are observers at the Steering Group. The FCA has publicly stated that they will carry out a review of progress in 2022 and will consider taking forward further action if consumers’ experience of the switching process does not continue to improve. In 2022, the FCA expect to be able to see the impact of the implementation
During September, four of the leading platforms – Aegon, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown and Standard Life – contacted their fund groups requesting they support the STAR Transfers & Re-Registration initiative.
