Greenwich Associates today named Fidelity, BlackRock, Zurich's Corporate Savings business, and Standard Life as the 2013 Greenwich Quality Leaders in U.K. Bundled Defined Contribution Corporate Pension Services. Out of 16 DC pension providers evaluated, Fidelity received the highest ratings for overall quality from 15 leading corporate benefit consultants interviewed by Greenwich Associates as part of its most recent research on the U.K. DC pension industry, followed by BlackRock, Zurich and Standard Life. These four firms are the 2013 Greenwich Quality Leaders.

Greenwich Quality Leaders: U.K. Bundled DC Corporate Pensions
Every year, Greenwich Associates interviews leading corporate benefit consultants and asks them to name the bundled pension providers and multi-employer trusts they follow closely and to rate these firms on a total of 22 key investment, administration and client servicing proposition criteria. Greenwich Quality Leaders are firms that have distinguished themselves by receiving overall quality ratings that top those given to competitors by a meaningful margin, with all quality leaders scoring in the top quartile of the Greenwich Quality Index Overall. This authoritative research cuts through the noise and identifies those firms that currently deliver the highest quality across all aspects of their corporate pension proposition.

Flexibility is Key
All four Greenwich Quality Leaders achieve a top quartile position for the quality of their investment proposition, with BlackRock narrowly claiming the lead. “Consultants are ascribing increasing importance to the flexibility that pension providers are able – and willing – to offer supporting blended default fund solutions and bespoke fund ranges,” says Greenwich Associates consultant Marc Haynes. “This marks a change from the past when the quality and governance of a provider’s standard default fund and supporting fund range were all important.” This is consistent with a majority of benefit consultants interviewed indicating that the provision of advice around bespoke blended funds has become a key part of their value proposition to their clients.

Fidelity, BlackRock, Zurich, and Legal & General attain a top quartile rank for the quality of their administration platforms, with Fidelity leading by a slim margin. Greenwich Associates notes that of all the key administration factors measured, not a single provider stands out for excellence in providing prompt and accurate reporting to pension scheme members – suggesting industry-wide scope for improvement.

Fidelity, BlackRock, Friends Life, and Standard Life achieve a top quartile rank for the quality of their client service propositions, a category which focuses on the value-adding elements of client service, including the clarity and relevance of written communications to members, online resources offered and member engagement strategies. Fidelity leads in this important category by a statistically significant margin, due in large part to the perceived strength of its online proposition. A majority of consultants anticipate a shift towards more online communications, and note the need for providers to develop propositions that are supported by touch-screen devices and also to leverage social media developments.