2022 AWARDS

2022 Categories

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES

1. Trust Secretary of the Year
2. Board of Trustees of the Year
3. Chief Investment Officer of the Year
4. Pensions Consultant of the Year
5. Pensions Custodian of the Year
6. Pensions Personality of the Year
7. Pension Journalist / Columnist / Writer of the Year
8. Pension Lifetime Achievement Award
9. Corporate Trustee Ceo of the Year
   Evaluation Criteria – Individual Categories
   The judging process of the individual categories will be depended on the submissions received from or on behalf of the nominee(s). The judges expect a submission document in soft copies not exceeding 3000 words in total which will state clearly why they believe the nominated person should win. Please include a biography of the person being nominated on a separate sheet of paper. The basis for the award determined as outlined below:

(a) Pensions Consultant of the Year – Personal award for specific achievement in
advancing the interests of members and pension provision. Managers or
employees in the respective profession may nominate themselves for this award.
(b) Pension Custodian of the Year – Personal award for specific achievement in
advancing the interests of members and pension provision. Managers or
employees in the respective profession may nominate themselves for this award.
(c) Board of Trustee Chairman of the year – Award for the trustee board chairman
who has delivered the most for their scheme. Judges will look for evidence of
particular problems or challenges they have helped overcome and how they did
this along with innovations they helped the scheme to advance. Trustees and
trustee boards may nominate the individuals for this award.
(d) Trust Secretary of the Year – Award for the trustee board trust secretary who
has delivered the most for their scheme. Judges will look for evidence of
particular problems or challenges they have helped overcome and how they did
this along with innovations they helped the scheme to advance. Trustees and
trustee boards may nominate the individuals for this award.
(e) Chief Investment Officer of the year – The winner will have achieved growth and
excellent investment returns through strong, innovative leadership, strategic
thinking and successful achievement of stated investment aims.
(f) Pension Journalist/writer of the year – The winner will have published articles
on pension through journals, blogs, and newspaper columns on matters relating
to pension and will have created awareness on savings or investments in the
industry.
(g) Personality of the Year – This entry will be decided by Judges and will not
require any submission. The winning individual will be someone who has made
a personal contribution during the past 24 months to the success, growth,
development and profile of their organization/scheme and to the reputation of the industry.

SERVICE PROVIDER CATEGORIES

1. Pension Fund Manager of the Year
2. Third Party (External) Administrator of the Year
3. Internal Administrator of the Year
4. Corporate Trustee of the Year
5. Custodian of the Year
6. Pensions Consultancy firm of the year
7. Fund Actuary of the Year
8. Property Manager of the Year
9. Approved Issuer of the Year
   Evaluation Criteria – Service Providers Categories
   The service providers’ categories will be evaluated based on innovations, performance and
   service offerings. There must be clear demonstration of how Judges will look at the extent at
   which the firm has developed its services, products and offerings for clients and the extent to which these services have helped pension schemes, employers, trustees and scheme
   members.
   Service Providers Category – Assessments Maximum Score %
   1.1 Innovations 30
   1.1.1 What specific innovations or new services have you launched over the 24 months?
   1.1.2 What is available in addition to the basic core and value added services that are
   provided?
   1.1.3 How do you liaise with clients to ensure developments continue to meet their
   needs?
   1.1.4 Which new services have been introduced over the past year and how successful
   have they proved?
   1.1.5 The extent to which these innovations helped pension schemes, sponsors,
   trustees and scheme members.
   1.2 Performance
   1.2.1 Has the firm been successful over the period? Can they describe and evidence
   their key success parameters?
   40
   1.2.2 How has the firm delivered excellent long term performance for its clients?
   1.2.3 How do you measure how well you are performing for clients and how do you
   monitor performance or service standards and act on the results?
   1.2.4 How frequently do account managers discuss performance and operational and
   service levels with clients on a face-to-face basis?
   1.2.5 How is the Design, Content and Visual Appearance of your Reports
   1.3 Service
   1.3.1 In what ways have you improved your service to clients over the 24 months? 30
   1.3.2 Have you provided any extra value services such as training courses, seminars or
   education to trustees/clients over the period?
   1.3.3 Do you carry out formal research with clients to measure how effectively you meet
   or exceed their expectations?
   1.3.4 How often do senior managers review operational standards against the service
   standards agreed with each client?
   1.3.5 How do you report to clients and how do you ensure they receive up-to-date and
   meaningful information in a format that meets their requirements?
   1.4 Additional disclosure for the fund managers
   1.4.1 What investment governance decisions exist?
   1.4.2 How is the research process conducted?
   1.4.3 Past 3 year performance for overall portfolio?
   TOTAL SCORE 100

PENSION FUND CATEGORIES

1. Best Managed Individual Pension Plan
2. Best Managed Umbrella Fund
3. Best Managed Occupational Scheme
4. Best Managed Public Sector Scheme
5. Best Scheme on Governance
6. Best Managed Income Drawdown Fund
7. Best Managed Post-Retirement Medical Scheme
8. Best Managed Micro Pension Scheme
9. Best Scheme on Alternative Investments
   • Private Equity fund
   • Real Estate Investment Fund
   Evaluation Criteria – Best Scheme on Governance
   Governance is increasingly of significant importance to pension funds. This category will reward Schemes that have adopted high level of corporate governance in management of their schemes and the Judges will be looking at the following critical aspects of governance as a guide.

Best Scheme on governance – Assessment Maximum
Score %
1.1 Board Composition
1.1.1 Does the Board have, collectively, a mix of appropriate skills, knowledge
and experience? 5
1.1.2 Does the Scheme continuously review the terms of appointment of the
Trustees? What is the procedure of appointment? 5
1.1.3 Are there sufficient numbers in the Board and composition to achieve RBA
compliance requirement 5
1.1.4 Does the board meet the gender threshold (1/3 must be of the opposite
gender)? 5
1.1.5 Are regular Board meetings held – How often per year do the BoT meet? 5
1.1.6
Does the board have a succession plan i.e. a rotation plan for the Board in
order to avoid as much as possible the situation in which many Trustees
retire at the same time? 5
1.1.7 Does a Board Charter exist for the Trustees? 5
1.20 Conflict of Interest
1.2.1 Is there a policy to disclose any potential area of conflict that may
undermine their position as Trustees? 5
1.2.2 Has the entity disclosed whether it maintains a conflict of interest register?
5
1.30 Induction and Training
1.3.1 Is there an existence of an continuous skills development programme for
the Board during the year 5
1.3.2
Does the Scheme disclose whether members of the Board are given
induction training? 5
1.40 Board Performance
1.4.1 Does the Scheme disclose the mechanisms to monitor performance of the
board, committees and individual board members, including frequency and
effectiveness? 5
1.5 Remuneration
1.5.1 Does the Scheme have a remuneration policy for the Trustees which
provides clear establishments of a formal and transparent procedure for
remuneration of Trustees, approved by the Sponsor 5
_
1.6 Scheme Strategic Direction
1.6.1
Does the scheme have a vision and mission, business plan and strategic
plan prepared by the Trustees? How well is this disclosed in the annual
report and financial statements? 5
1.70 Conduct and Ethics
1.7.1 Is there a written code of conduct to be followed by the Trustees, members
and service providers 5
1.7.2 Does the entity disclose whether the code of ethics is distributed to all and
that all Trustees are required to confirm periodically in writing that they have
complied with the code of conduct? 5
1.80 Compliance/Statutory Accountability
1.8.1 Has the Board disclosed the existence of a process that identifies all
legislation relevant to the Scheme, and monitors changes to the legislation
and new legislation impacting on the Scheme? 5
1.9 Committees of the Board
1.9.1 Does the Board have any committee (s) and if yes, how effective are their
functioning and reporting 5
2 Policies and Procedures
2.1Does the scheme have any other documented policies and procedures? If
yes, how effective are they? 5
2.2 Does the entity maintain a risk register which is regularly reviewed by the
Board 5
TOTAL SCORE 100
Evaluation Criteria – Best Scheme on Alternative Investments
This award will recognise the schemes that have made best use of their alternative asset
strategies to achieve their investment objectives. Focus will be schemes that have invested in
Property, PE or infrastructure assets.
OTHER CATEGORIES

1. Pension Law Firm of the Year
2. Pensions Investment Innovation of the Year Award
3. Best Pensions Education & Sensitization Initiative
4. Pensions Educational Initiative of the Year
5. Corporate Social Responsibility Award
6. Pensions Insurance Firm of the Year
7. Pensions Technology Provider of the Year
8. Pensions Audit Firm of the year
9. Corporate Trustee Client Service Excellence Award

Entry Criteria
In addition to completing the entry form above, entrants will also have to write a submission and attach this to their online entry form which can be found here. This must be no more than 4 pages (sides) of A4 long and be attached to the online entry form in a Microsoft Word or PDF file format.
All parts of the submission must refer to specific developments during the year under review.

Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award
The Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award is open to the providers, advisers and asset managers that provide services to occupational pension schemes and trustees.
It aims to reward those firms that best promote diversity and inclusion within their own workforce as well as those who have contributed to industry-wide initiatives in this area.
The awarding board will, in particular, look at initiatives launched, conducted or largely completed during the year under review- awarding up to 100 marks in this category.
The submission should be no more than 4 pages of A4 in length.
Innovation Awards For the six innovation awards
DC Innovation of the Year, DC Investment Innovation of the Year, DB Investment Innovation of the Year, Fixed Income Innovation of the Year, Technology Innovation of the Year and Retirement Innovation of the Year – The awarding board will measure the submissions solely on the basis of innovations made over the past year.

The board will award up to 100 marks – looking at the extent to which your firm has developed new services, products and offerings for clients and the extent to which these innovations helped pension schemes, sponsors, trustees and scheme members. The submission should also be no more than 4 pages of A4 in length.

All parts of the submission must refer to specific developments during the year under review.

Initiative Awards (Pensions Communication Initiative of the Year and Educational & Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year)
For the Pensions Communication Initiative of the Year and Educational & Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year awards, the board will measure the submissions solely on the basis of an initiative launched or largely completed during the year under review.

The Educational and Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year category specifically aims to reward the consultancy or provider which has worked hardest to help trustees and employers understand the complex world of pensions and investments and those that have broken new ground in terms of pensions knowledge and understanding – either developing new ideas to help solve the issues pension schemes and trustees or challenging current orthodoxies during the year under review.

The awarding board will look at the extent to which consultant and provider initiatives have helped trustees understand complex topics, make better decisions or look at things in a new way. Initiatives may include such things as thought leadership, articles, whitepapers, seminars, conferences, videos etc.

For the Pensions Communication Initiative of the Year award, the board will look at the extent to which consultant and provider initiatives have helped engage scheme members or helped them understand their pension better. Initiatives should focus on the new innovations launched during the year under review and could include the use of technology; financial education; or simply the revamp of existing communications.

The submissions should also be no more than 4 pages of A4 in length. All parts of the submission must refer to specific developments and initiatives during the year under review.

For all other categories (those except the Innovation, Initiative, and Diversity and Inclusion accolades)
For all categories barring those above, the board will measure submissions against three set criteria – innovation, performance and service – in addition to looking at the entry forms submitted.
The overall aim of these awards is to recognize providers that offer the highest level of innovation, performance and service to occupational pension schemes and their members – and have done the most to improve this level of performance, service and innovation during the year under review.

The awarding board will award up to 100 marks on three set criteria – with up to 40 marks for innovation and up to 30 marks each on performance/benefit to clients and service standards.

The submission should be no more than 4 pages of A4 in length. All parts of the submission must refer to specific developments during the year under review.
The set criteria for the main submission, along with some ideas and pointers for things to include under each heading, are:

Innovation:
What specific innovations or new services have you launched over the review period?
What is available in addition to the basic core and value added services that are provided?
How do you liaise with clients to ensure developments continue to meet their needs?
Which new services have been introduced over the past year and how successful have they proved?
How quickly can products and processes be adapted to meet market changes or to meet an individual client’s needs?

Performance:
What has your performance been during the review period, and how does this compare to your peers? Do you benchmark your services to clients and, if so, how do you compare against your peers? How do you measure how well you are performing for clients and how do you monitor performance or service standards and act on the results? How frequently do account managers discuss performance and operational and service levels with clients on a face-to-face basis? How frequently are factual/statistical reports produced?

Service:
In what ways have you improved your service to clients during the review period? Have you provided any extra value services, such as training courses, seminars or education to trustees to clients over the period? Do you carry out formal and informal research with clients to measure how effectively you meet or exceed their expectations? How often do senior managers review operational standards against the service standards agreed with each client? How do you report to clients and how do you ensure they receive up-to-date and meaningful information in a format that meets their requirements?

How to enter
This year there will be two stages in the awards process – the deadlines of which are as follows:

1. Registration:
   Firms need to register and confirm nominations for the awards and let us know what categories they plan to enter before the stated deadline. Registration will open shortly and we will send you further information when it does. Registration is hugely important. Registering to enter for the awards will mean we can send you essential updates about the Ghana Pensions Awards 2022 as soon as they are available. It will also give you access to entry guidance and allow you to listen to our live Q+A with the awarding board.
2. Entry submission:
   Firms that register will then have to submit an entry form. The judges will use this form to draw up the finalists list and decide on the final winners. The deadline for receipt of the entries is Friday, 14th October, 2022.
   The entry forms and submissions will be considered by the awarding board made up from professionals from across the occupational pensions industry. The finalists list will be published and the winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Tang Palace hotel on Friday 25 November 2022.

Register to enter the 2022 Ghana Pensions Awards

TABLE PACKAGE OPTIONS:
PLEASE NOTE: We do not sell individual tickets.

VIP Table of 10
Table package includes:
• Prime position table seating 10 guests
• VIP drinks reception
• Branded logo on your table
• Professional group photograph of your table
• Unlimited wine (house labels) and soft drinks during dinner only
• 3 x Bottles of Champagne
• Awards ceremony, after party and entertainment

Standard Full Table of 10

Table package includes:
• Table seating 10 guests
• Drinks reception
• 3 course meal
• Half a bottle of wine per person
• Awards ceremony, after party and entertainment

Standard Half Table of 5

Table package includes:
• 5 seats at a mixed table
• Drinks reception
• 3 course meal 
• Half a bottle of wine per person
• Awards ceremony, after party and entertainment

VENUE:
Tang Palace Hotel

HOW TO ENTER
How to enter
Nominating your company for an award can be a daunting experience if you’ve never done it before, but fortunately the entry process for the Ghana Pensions Awards could not be simpler – here’s how it works:

Choose your categories
You can enter as many categories as you like, submitting each entry separately via the online form. Visit the categories page to read the criteria.

Write your main entry
Your nomination will be judged on a supporting statement of no more than 1000 words. This should outline the type of work you have been doing in the pension fund space, any particular highlights over the last year; how your offering stands out from the rest in terms of excellence, innovation and, where relevant, performance; and what you have done to add value in the overall pensions space (for example, organized seminars, conferences, discussion papers etc.).

Write a brief company profile
Tell us about your organization in 150 words or less. Your profile should give an overview of the company itself rather than the specific product, project or service, and may be used publicly in awards marketing material.

Submit your nomination online via the entry form
Upload all your documents (preferably in Word or PDF format) to the entry form and add your contact details so we can confirm that we’ve received your entry. Please note that there is a maximum 4mb size limit per file and our system may be unable to process your entry if you exceed this limit.

Don’t forget your logo!
A large, high quality company logo must be uploaded with each submission – if you’re nominating multiple companies for the same award please provide all relevant logos. If your entry is shortlisted, your logo will be displayed at the awards ceremony attended by hundreds of the leading names in the industry.

Who can enter the Ghana Pensions Awards?
The awards are open to any firm which serves pension funds in the country.

I’ve entered and received a confirmation email – what happens next?
Soon after the awards close for entries, we will announce the shortlist, from which our awarding board will select the winners who will be announced at the Ghana Pensions Awards ceremony on 22nd May 2020. The shortlist will be published on our website and all shortlist entrants will be notified by email.

TERMS & CONDITIONS:
• Firms can enter more than one category.
• Firms are encouraged to nominate themselves.
• The award winners will be chosen by an extensive panel of INDEPENDENT expert Awarding board panel, using a fair and transparent judging process.
• Award entries must be kept to a maximum of 1000 words. Entries that exceed this word limit will be disqualified.
• Additional material will not be accepted.
• A clear time frame must be stated in the submission. The project should have been launched or come to fruition during review time period.
• Members of the awarding board may not participate in those categories where there are conflicts of interest.

WHY ENTER?
• Stand out against the competition
• Reward employees and motivate your team
• Leverage your marketing – through PR and increased brand awareness
• Attract talent
• An opportunity to celebrate
• If you are shortlisted your company logo will feature at the awards ceremony attended by leading names in the industry.