Opperman praises its “vital and independent voice in pensions governance”
The Association of Member Nominated Trustees (AMNT) celebrated its 10th anniversary in September 2020.
As the only pensions’ trade association that represents primarily individual pension scheme members rather than provider interests, it has grown to a membership of around 800 individual trustees, representing pension schemes with assets under management of over £900 billion. That is approximately one third of the total UK occupational pensions sector.
AMNT has played a leading advocacy role in many of the key policy developments of recent years including: The debates surrounding control of costs and charges to pension schemes; the promotion of environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) in pension scheme investment; and the promotion of the rights of pension schemes as asset owners and stewards. All of these debates have been heavily influenced by AMNT input.
Additionally, AMNT achieved considerable success in 2019 in maintaining the place of member representation in pension scheme governance in the face of moves to turn it into a provider monopoly, under the guise of “professionalisation”.
Commenting on the 10th anniversary of AMNT David Weeks, Co-Chair, said:
“I am proud to be part of the team guiding the AMNT as it celebrates a successful 10 years since launch. Much has been achieved but there is definitely no room for complacency ahead.
“In particular, our campaign to ensure the importance of the role and recognition of member nominated trustees continues. Additionally we will focus on the Red Lines Voting Campaign which we developed to enable pension schemes to take a more active asset ownership role, enabling them to become more responsible investors. Research shows that better run companies outperform their peers and therefore help pension schemes improve the longer term performance of the companies they invest in.
“Further, we must adapt to the evolving needs of the times and maintain our voice and influence in a field that is competitive. During the current Covid crisis we have been unable to run our usual programme of events which includes quarterly conferences for members and parliamentary receptions. However, we have embraced modern technology and run a series of successful webinars where speakers have included the Department of Work and Pensions and the Pensions Regulator. More are planned during the rest of this year to ensure that we keep members up to date with latest trends and thinking.
“To remain relevant in a turbulent world, we will continue to move with the times and look forward to serving our members over the coming decade and beyond”.
Commenting on the AMNTs 10th anniversary, Minister for Pensions Guy Opperman said:
"The AMNT offers a vital and independent voice in pensions governance. As well as raising standards of trusteeship with independent training and awareness sessions, they have had an uncanny knack of identifying both issues and solutions ahead of the pack – on Collective DC, ESG, member representation and pooled fund voting.
"I congratulate them on 10 years of helping the voice of the pension scheme member speak truth to the might of the finance industry and change the relationship".
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Notes to Editors
For further information or to arrange an interview with David Weeks please contact Andrew Sharkey. andrew.sharkey@amnt.org 07711 825 439.
The AMNT is a not-for-profit organisation supporting member-nominated trustees, member-nominated directors and employee representatives of UK based pension schemes in the private and public sector (funded and unfunded).
AMNT webinars during Covid-19.
Journalists wanting information on upcoming webinars should contact Shelley Ismail. shelley@amnt.org
16/04/20: LCP as partner: Latest developments in pensions: Bob Scott, Senior Partner, and Rt Hon Sir Steve Webb, former Pensions Minister
06/05/20: Willis Towers Watson as partner: Impact of coronavirus on your portfolio
28/05/20: The Pensions Regulator as partner: David Fairs, Executive Director
04/06/20: Department for Work and Pensions as partner: Pete Searle, DWP Director, Private Pensions
23/06/20: Aon as partner: Cyber security and scams: Paul McGlone, Aon Partner and APP President
12/08/20: OPDU as organiser: Consolidators: friend or foe?
17/08/20: Hymans Robertson as partner: The Pensions Regulator: defined benefit funding: the new code of practice: what does this mean for trustees?
26/08/20: Dimensional Fund Advisors as partner: Always look at the big picture
15/09/20: BC&E as joint organiser: Defined contribution pensions: the future
23/09/20: Rothesay Life and LCP as partners: De-risking and the journey to buy-out. Webinar linked to a book launch, with free copies for AMNT members
06/10/20: BNY Mellon as partner: Investments: action this day: ESG matters a lot (AMNT to secure Fiona Frobisher of TPR as keynote speaker)
Additional sessions will be added throughout the rest of the year.
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