We hope you’ve enjoyed a restful summer and made the most of the longer, warmer days before we head into Autumn and the final stretch of the year!
Here in CIS Q3 has brought some exciting platform enhancements and new additions to our growing team. Read on for all our latest news and insights.
_________________________________________________________
Welcome to the team!
We’re delighted to introduce you to the two newest members of the CIS team.
Megan Lucas has joined CIS as a Client Relationship Manager and will focus on new client onboarding as well as delivering for our existing clients and their advisors. She has a wealth of experience in client delivery and will ensure that we continue to demonstrate service excellence as we grow our platform business.
Jason Cameron joined CIS back in March as part of a 2-year graduate rotation within Phoenix. He has been a real asset to the team, and we are thrilled that he has now secured a permanent role as a CIS Client Relationship Consultant, supporting existing client delivery as well as our new business pipeline.
_________________________________________________________
New for Q3 – CIS Client Reporting Portal
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new Client Reporting Portal, a secure online hub that will make it easier for trustees and their advisors to manage all scheme documentation and reporting in one place.
Providing on-demand access to new and historic scheme reporting, each secure client area can be tailored to requirements, creating efficiencies and supporting good scheme governance.
We look forward to rolling this out to our clients in the coming months and will be happy to provide further information and a demo on request. Please get in touch to find out more.
_________________________________________________________
CIS events
In September we co-hosted an exclusive roundtable event with the Pensions Management Institute (PMI), which focused on Securing the Future for Britain’s ‘Lost Generation’ of Pensions.
Joined by guest speaker Catherine Foot, Director of Phoenix Group’s think tank Phoenix Insights, we explored some of the challenges facing middle-aged Britons who missed out on gold-plated final salary schemes and are now running out of time to build up a pot that is adequate to support them in retirement.
We discussed how changes to auto-enrolment and investment strategies could support better outcomes for this cohort of savers, alongside different approaches to advice and guidance and better understanding and engagement.
We will share key discussion outcomes in the coming weeks – look out for the write up on our website and LinkedIn.
_________________________________________________________
New fund launches
This quarter we have focused in particular on enhancing our platform offering for DB clients to deliver the solutions they need – including access to LDI investments. This has resulted in a number of additions to our fund range, with an extensive LDI fund offering from Columbia Threadneedle Investments now available to access on our platform.
You can find out more about Columbia Threadneedle’s LDI solutions here.
Other new funds launched this quarter include:
- Insight Buy and Maintain Bond Fund: Find out more
- LGIM Dynamic Diversified Fund: Find out more
- MV Dual Credit Fund: Find out more
- Nordea 1 - Global Climate and Environment Equity Fund: Find out more
You can download our latest fund list here.
Awards
Awards season is nearly upon us, and we’re thrilled to have made the shortlist for a number of prestigious industry accolades.
We’re finalists in two categories at the PMI Pinnacle Awards - we've been shortlisted for ‘Innovation in New Product or Service’ for our market-leading ESG report, and Jess Williams has also been shortlisted for ‘Leader of the Year’.
_________________________________________________________
What’s more, Jess is a finalist in two categories at this year’s Women in Pensions Awards. She’s been shortlisted for ‘Sales/Marketing/Communications Professional of the Year’ as well as ‘ESG Woman of the Year’! This achievement follows hot on the heels of her success at last year’s Women in Pensions Awards, where she was named ‘Team Leader of the Year’.
_________________________________________________________
Good luck to all the finalists - we’re very much looking forward to celebrating with you at the awards ceremonies in November!
Looking ahead
As we head into Q4, our focus will very much be on implementing the LDI solutions our DB clients have asked us for, and the rollout of our new Client Reporting Portal. We continue to grow the team and are currently recruiting for a new CIS Performance and Reporting Analyst to enhance our reporting function.
Looking ahead to 2025, we already have a number of projects in the pipeline to ensure we continue to meet the evolving needs of our platform clients. This will include developing further at- and post-retirement solutions for the DC schemes we work with, so they can better support their members to secure a sustainable source of income in retirement.
For all the latest from Phoenix CIS, don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn.