Supporting best practices in the retirement industry

The IRFA Best Practice Awards Programme, which started off as a communication challenge, is now 30 years old and has grown to reflect industry best practices on an international scale. With that in mind the SABC Pension Fund stepped up in support of the programme by providing sponsorship for the awards presentation that was held at IRFA’s annual conference in Durban early in September 2017.

“As the SABC Pension Fund, we believe that the IRFA’s Best Practice Awards programme promotes sound and sustainable practices in the industry in relation to governance, stakeholder engagement, investment, financial reporting, transformation and trustee development,” says Anthony Williams, chief executive of the SABC Pension Fund.

“All funds are encouraged to enter the programme and share their practices with the industry at large, which is of utmost importance in terms of knowledge transfer,” he adds.

The awards are hotly contested and sought, with a judging panel that features subject matter experts and industry thought leaders. Entries are attracted from across the spectrum, from smaller funds to superfunds. Entries also reflect contributions from retirement funds involved in member communication and education, in an environment in which members work in many different locations and are rarely together in one place.

The status of the awards is reinforced by the fact that many of the awards winners have gone on to enter and win major international awards. One such winner is the SABC Pension Fund.

“We have been extremely fortunate that the SABC has been awarded five prestigious international awards this year, and therefore it is imperative that we support the 2017 IRFA Best Practices Awards in the interests of raising the standard in the industry for the benefit of both members of retirement funds and society at large,” says Williams.