XPS launches XPS Concierge – to bridge the gap between Traditional Consulting and Full Delegation

XPS launches XPS Concierge – to bridge the gap between Traditional Consulting and Full Delegation

28 Jul 2020

XPS Concierge is a new service for trustees of defined benefit schemes who want to retain full control of investment decision making but delegate timely and effective implementation.

As the regulatory requirements of running a pension scheme continue to increase, trustees need to filter through all the things competing for their time and attention and focus on the key strategic decisions that will ensure their scheme can honour the pension promises made to its members. The growing administrative burden of asset transitions can have a material drain on trustees’ time, but with XPS Concierge this can now be effectively delegated.

Adam Gillespie, Partner, XPS Investment 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, whilst 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 asset transition process. Errors in asset transitions can cost schemes millions of pounds, so it is critical trustees get the paperwork right and the process is comprehensively managed.”

“We have reacted to these frustrations and challenges by developing XPS Concierge to make our clients' lives as easy as possible. We will take on the administrative complexity to ensure their investment decisions are implemented with razor-sharp efficiency.”

“XPS Concierge fits naturally between fiduciary management and traditional consultancy. Many schemes are attracted to fiduciary management because of the delegated implementation it offers. With XPS Concierge schemes get this benefit without having to give up control of the decision-making”